Kuwait calls for relieving refugees’ children
GENEVA: The State of Kuwait has voiced deep regret that dramatic events in the Arab world has “undermined stability of our region wasting time and efforts at the expense of development of our homelands.”
Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghuneim, the State of Kuwait Permanent Delegate to the United Nations, who was addressing a session held by the UN Higher Commissioner for Refugees, said this meeting is being convened in shadow of rapid developments that have jeopardized “stability of our region wasting time and effort at expense of developing our homeland, thus aggravating the challenges we have been facing.”
Shedding light, in particular, on plight of the refugees and their children, the State of Kuwait Ambassador called for collective international efforts to seek to resolve the existing regional conflicts and boosting efforts for protecting the impoverished children who have been exploited and traded.
Number of the displaced and refugees in the Middle Eastern troubled countries has alarmingly soared as a result of random abduction of civilians, namely children, many of whom have been coerced to carry the gun and fight, Ambassador Ghuneim said. “The figure of the refugees and asylum seekers has soared to unprecedented and horrific levels,” he stressed.
Oppression and poverty have prompted many refugees to trek for sake of safety, however many have lost their life while struggling to survive, he said, noting that more than 7,000 people have drowned to death in the Mediterranean while fleeing their troubled homelands. This situation warrants a unified international stance to resolve these conflicts and crises that have been dragging on, the State of Kuwait delegate stated.
Ambassador Ghuneim called for urgent measures to protect unaccompanied children in their troubled homelands, transit and asylum countries, noting the need for facilities to help those who have become alone due to the war circumstances to re-unite with their parents and families. He lauded countries and communities hosting the refugees, bearing brunt of mounting economic, political and security hardships, singling out the UNHCR for relieving victims of wars and conflicts.
Keen on backing the UNHCR, the State of Kuwait, since 2008, has doubled its relief allocations for the UN agencies, thus becoming the number-one contributor to these relief organizations. It had also hosted three international conferences for aiding the Syrian refugees.
Ambassador Ghuneim, who noted the health and educational support for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, disclosed that Kuwait would host an international convention for backing education in Somalia, in addition to a planned conference for aiding the Palestinian children. — KUNA