United Nations: Saudi Arabia has strongly denied claims by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that it threatened to stop funding UN programmes if it was not removed from a blacklist for “violating child rights” in Yemen.

Ban said he had to consider “the very real prospect” that millions of other children in the Palestinian territories, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and many other places “would suffer grievously” if UN programmes were defunded.

Saudi ambassador to the UN Abdullah Al Muallami denied that Saudi Arabia used “threats or intimidation” in its contacts with the secretary-general saying “it is not in our nature to conduct ourselves in any such aggressive style”. Al Muallami said the government pointed out that the Saudis were not contacted about the report’s conclusions as required, and therefore only one side was reflected, which made its findings “wrong”.

“We did say such listing and such unfair treatment of Saudi Arabia and the coalition forces would obviously have an impact on relations with the United Nations,” Al Muallami said.

But he denied talking about defunding the UN agency for Palestinian refugees “or anything else for that matter”.

Al Muallami said he wouldn’t be surprised if “tens of countries” told the secretary-general that his listing of the coalition was unacceptable, citing statements from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council criticising the report.

UN secretary-generals are always subject to pressure from the 193 member nations. But in a rare rebuke, Ban said in this case some unnamed countries had gone too far, declaring “it is unacceptable for member states to exert undue pressure”.

Ban said he stands by his annual report on children and armed conflict, which “describes horrors no child should have to face”.

Ban said he decided “to temporarily remove” the Saudi-led coalition countries from the blacklist of governments and armed groups violating children’s rights pending a joint review of cases with the Saudis.

“We will assess the complaints that have been made, but the content will not change,” he said.

Ban did not say explicitly that the coalition could go back on the list after the review.

But the secretary-general did say that in response to concerns from Saudi Arabia and other governments, the UN is considering if there is a better way to distinguish countries from “terrorist and extremist groups” who are now listed together on the blacklist.

Al Muallami told reporters shortly afterwards that “It is our firm belief that this delisting is final, irreversible and unconditional, and when all the facts are in, that will be further reconfirmed.”