Yemen one of worst countries for children: UNICEF

A continuing brutal conflict and a subsequent economic crisis have left basic social services systems across the country on the brink of collapse with far-reaching consequences for 12 million children in Yemen.

Taiz: Yemen, the conflict ruined nation, has been declared as one of the worst countries for the children. The UNICEF on Monday pointed out that children in Yemen are still being deprived of their human rights. More than 12 million children in the war-torn nation are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

The organisation has been marking 30 years since the UNGA adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in1989. But the plight of Yemen's youngest citizens is under the spotlight.

A school in the country's southwestern city of Taiz lies in ruins. Its another example of the difficulties facing the country's children.

Among the battered buildings, they still attend lessons. But this is not a good environment for education.

"A continuing brutal conflict and a subsequent economic crisis have left basic social services systems across the country on the brink of collapse with far-reaching consequences on children," the organization said in a statement.

Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the UNICEF Yemen Representative, said that the situation is desperate in the Middle-Eastern nation.

"Children on any given day may not have food to eat, on any given day, they might not be able to go to school and even if they go to school, they may sit on rocks, some children in Saada even sit in a cave - that's happening today in Yemen," she said.

"30 years ago, Yemen's children got an education and they learned, they developed and they thrived. Will the children of today have the same opportunities? They will only if we fulfill our responsibilities and hold ourselves accountable for fulfilling the rights of the child," she added.

The conflict in the Arabs world's poorest country started in 2014, when the Houthi rebels captured the capital Sanaa along with much of the country's north.

The Saudi-led alliance intervened in 2015 to drive out the Houthis and restore the government.

The war in Yemen has killed over 1,00,000 people, displaced millions and pushed the country to the brink of a major famine.