ICRC’s official describes Kuwait as a ‘pioneer of humanitarian diplomacy’
Child migrants at risk of violence, exploitation: IFRC
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 3: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Vice President Jill Carbonne has recently praised Kuwait’s efforts in the field of humanitarian work and expressed his happiness with the excellent cooperation with the Kuwaiti government, describing Kuwait as the “pioneer of humanitarian diplomacy”, reports Al-Rai daily.
“The ICRC has established strong relations with Kuwait and we are grateful to Kuwait for its support and assistance,” said Carbonne, who is visiting Kuwait for the first time. “He met with senior officials at the Foreign Ministry to express gratitude for this relationship.”
“We discussed strengthening humanitarian diplomacy to high levels in different regions, including Yemen, which is in a difficult situation,” he said. “Humanitarian aid cannot solve the crisis in Yemen, because the Yemeni issue requires a political solution.”
He stressed that “Feeding a billion hungry people, which was the initiative announced at the eighth annual conference of the International Islamic Charitable Organization under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, the humanitarian leader came at the right time”. He pointed out that “was focused in the activities of this conference on how to cope with hunger and eliminate it by 2030”.
“The wonderful thing at this conference,” he said, “which was overseen by the president of the International Islamic Charitable Organization, Dr Abdullah Al-Ma’atouq, was that he did not address only the treatment of hunger, but the ways to eradicate it, and that hunger is linked to the existence of armed conflicts and respect for international law.
Meanwhile, thousands of unaccompanied and separated children are at daily risk of sexual and gender-based violence along the world’s migratory trails, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned on Monday.
The shocking situation is revealed in a new report ‘Alone and Unsafe’, launched as governments prepare to meet in Marrakech, Morocco, to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (9-11 December).
IFRC’s President Francesco Rocca said, “The number of children migrating alone or without their families has grown substantially and alarmingly in the past decade. Tragically - unacceptably - these children are easy prey for abusers, exploiters and traffickers.
“A child who is migrating alone, without the love and protection of a parent, family member or guardian, is arguably one of the most vulnerable people in the world. The world is failing these children and we all need to do more to help them.”