The United Nations General Assembly has been petitioned by two human rights groups, calling for the suspension of Saudi Arabia from the Human Rights Council. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International made this call in a joint letter to the UN on Wednesday, accusing Saudi Arabia of what they termed as “gross and systematic violations of human rights.” “…Saudi Arabia…has used its position on the Human Rights Council, aided by its allies, to effectively obstruct the creation of an independent international investigation…” the statement read. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia and a handful of the members of its Islamic coalition, have been involved in a “military intervention” in conflict-ridden Yemen, killing thousands of people in the process.

This is not the first time either group has made a complaint to the UN about human rights violations in Yemen but, so far, none of these complaints have led to any action. Amnesty International claims that it has documented reports of how the Saudi Military, armed by British and American weapons, have hewed out a path of destruction in Yemen, in a bid to reduce Iran’s hold on the country. So far, about 3000 civilians, including children, have been reportedly killed by Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. Therefore, it was surprising when, after diplomatic pressure from Saudi Arabia, the United Nations removed the Islamic caliphate from its list of “states and armed groups that violate children’s right in conflict,” further questioning the organisation’s credibility. Saudi Arabia’s position on the Human Rights Council is in the spotlight, with its membership up for review this year. It will probably not be removed with the help of its “friends in high places.”

This is also not the first time the UN has, by proxy, supported the killing of children by its inaction. The Isreali-Palestinian conflict, which has raged on for quite some time now, gained worldwide attention after news of extrajudicial killings on children by Israeli soldiers broke into mainstream media. And going by the number of documentaries that ran condemning those killings, the UN seemed to have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to these incidents.

The UN’s General Assembly Resolution 60/251, under which the Human Rights Council was created, states that “the General Assembly, by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, may suspend the rights of membership in the Council of a member of the Council that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.” By voting they say. This will probably not happen. With the main war-profiteers of the war being the war-mongers (that is, the UK and the US), their ally will probably dodge every allegation, just like Israel did, and still does. It is ironic that both countries, amid migration problems, are still willing to sponsor wars in Arab countries, despite their last interference in Iraq failing with the proliferation of ISIS. We should expect an influx of Yemeni immigrants in Europe and the Americas soon enough.

So, if the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, despite their pedigree as human rights advocates, cannot get the UN to change its policies concerning its favourites, who will? Surely, not the other UN members who probably have their own human rights violations to contend with or need favours from Saudi Arabia. The title of this article suggests to the avid reader it’s rhetorical in nature; there’s no answer. Like Fela’s famous song, it’s very much still a “dis-united United Nations.” Cue the “Beasts of No Nation” theme song. Fade out…