A/HRC/45/CRP.7 Conflict, outlining forces and groups involved in violation of children’s rights in conflict.353 The Secretary-General’s action was taken despite his simultaneously reporting that 222 children were killed or maimed by coalition forces, including 171 by airstrikes in 2019. While this is a 69 per cent decrease from the 729 child casualties (685 from airstrikes) attributed to the coalition in 2018, it is still a high rate of child casualties. The Group notes that other parties to the conflict in Yemen remain listed by the Secretary-General for killing and maiming despite also seeing a decrease in child casualties during the same period.354 The Group notes that the Secretary-General had previously delisted the coalition for killing and maiming children, ostensibly as a result of some measures reportedly taken by the coalition in 2016 and 2017 to reduce the impact of the conflict on children.355 However, the criteria defined by the Secretary-General in 2010 specifies that de-listing may only occur following the complete cessation of violations for one year, regardless of protective measures taken.356 The Group is concerned about the de-listing of parties while so many children are still being killed and maimed as a result of the conflict. It notes that parties other than the coalition remain on the list, and emphasises the need for the even application across all parties to the conflict in Yemen of the criteria defined by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2010 for the listing/de-listing process within the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM).357 Child malnutrition and health and impact of COVID-19 243. In a context of severe food insecurity, protracted barriers to humanitarian aid and economic deterioration, there were already disturbingly high rates of malnutrition and hunger among children. These figures have risen even further since the outbreak of COVID-19.358 Although the virus spares most children, the pandemic increases the risk of children losing adult caregivers, breadwinners, and life-saving health and education services. In turn, this increases the risk of economic survival strategies such as child recruitment, child labour and forced and early marriage. UNICEF and the Yemen Health Cluster report that the combination of the pandemic, the cumulative impact of years of conflict on the Yemeni health system and funding constraints, resulted in a 81% drop in child health services from January to April 2020, the discontinuation of tetanus, diphtheria and polio immunisation programs, a decrease in malnutrition risk monitoring, and school closures (affecting an estimated 7.8 million children).359 According to UNICEF, by the end of 2020, these factors 353 United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict and Annex, 9 June 2020, A/74/845-S/2020/525 (hereinafter “UN Secretary-General Report 2020”). 354 For instance, the Houthis remained listed in 2018 and 2019 for 398 child casualties (2018) decreased to 313 child casualties (2019). See UN Secretary-General Report 2020, para. 188 and UN, Secretary-General’s Report on Children and Armed Conflict, S/2019/509, 20 June 2019, para. 191 and Annex. Moreover, parties to other conflicts were listed by the Secretary-General in 2020 for killing and maiming for similar numbers or fewer child casualties than the coalition forces in: Afghanistan (ISIL-KP, 242 children), Nigeria (Boko Haram, 105), Somalia (Somali Federal Defence and Police Forces, 78), Iraq (ISIL, 68), and Myanmar (Tatmadaw, 25), Syria (ISIL, 23; Hay’at Tahrir Al Sham, 14), South Sudan (South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, 8), and Central African Republic (Anti-Balaka, 4) (See UN Secretary-General Report 2020, paras. 20, 33, 71, 139, 150, 175, 209). 355 See A/HRC/42/CRP.1, para. 667. 356 UN, Report of the Secretary-General on CAAC (2010), 13 April 2010, S/ 2010/181, para. 178: “A party will be de-listed on condition that there is United Nations-verified information that it has ceased commission of all the said grave violations against children for which the party is listed in the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict, for a period of at least one reporting cycle.” 357 In 2005, the Security Council requested in resolution 1612 the UN Secretary-General to establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism (MRM), managed by country-based task forces co-led by UNICEF and the highest UN representative in the country, to provide timely and reliable information on six grave children’s rights violations. 358 Yemen Nutrition Surveillance System detected 22% of total children 6-59 months screened in May 2020, with 45% stunting and 6% Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). See WHO Yemen: Nutrition Surveillance, May 2020 Dashboard, http://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/yemen/dashbaord-may2020.pdf?ua=1 359 Yemen Health Cluster Bulletin, April-May 2020: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/yemen_health_cluster_bulletin_april_may_2020.pdf ; UNICEF Yemen, Humanitarian Situation Report, May 2020, available at: 65