Daily Nation, United Nations :Two leading human rights groups urged UN member-states on Wednesday to suspend Saudi Arabia from the UN Human Rights Council over the killing of civilians in Yemen and repression at home.Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said they would begin lobbying the UN General Assembly to hold a vote on suspending Saudi Arabia from the Geneva-based council, even though they admitted this was a long shot.”Over the past few months, Saudi Arabia has gone beyond the pale and does not deserve anymore to sit on the Human Rights Council,” said HRW deputy director Philippe Bolopion.Human Rights Watch accused Riyadh of targeting civilians in the war in Yemen, using cluster bombs banned by international conventions and laying siege to ports to prevent basic goods from reaching Yemen.The joint appeal again put the spotlight on Saudi Arabia, which has been leading an Arab coalition carrying out air strikes against Huthi rebels and their allies who seized much of Yemen.The coalition is supporting Yemen’s President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in a war that the UN says has killed more than 6,400 people, about half of them civilians since March 2015.
