“UK Government must act to bring peace in Yemen”:

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Categories: News

Jeff Moore 19/03/19

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Tuesday 19th March: Ahead of the fourth anniversary of the conflict in Yemen MPs join more than 60 Save the Children activists of all ages from across the UK as they hand in Save the Children’s peace petition of more than 55,000 signatures to the Foreign Office. The activists want the UK government to enforce the importance of a ceasefire at the UN Security Council. Recent reports of increased fighting in Yemen – already the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world – have cast doubt on the future of the peace process.

This week Brendan O’Hara MP joined activists at Westminster to demand support for the children of Yemen.

With recent reports of increased fighting in the Yemen, which cast doubt over the future of the peace process that only began in December 2018, the petition of more than 58,000 signatures calls for urgent action from the UK Government.

Commenting, Brendan O’Hara said:

“I am delighted to support Save the Children’s petition and I hope that it will encourage the Foreign Office and the UK Government to take urgent action to ensure a better future for the children of Yemen.

“Yemen is already the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world and with reports of increased fighting; the UK Government must turn their political promises into practical change by using their power at the UN Security Council to bring peace to this country.

“The slim window of opportunity to secure peace in Yemen is now. Following four years of conflict, civilians of Yemen continue to fight for survival.

Save the Children is calling on the UK to put children in front and centre of its foreign, defence and aid policies, calling out allies when they commit atrocities against children, and implementing clear strategy to protect children and their families caught up in conflict.

  • Save the Children estimates 85,000 children under five in Yemen may have died from extreme hunger since the escalation of the conflict in April 2015. Others died while fleeing the violence in Hodeidah or other areas. Currently, one in ten children have been forced to flee their homes and some two million children are out of school.