UAE- Children bear brunt of conflicts: paper
(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
ABU DHABI 4th February 2016 (WAM) -- It is tragic that children are paying a heavy price in conflict zones and very little is being done to rectify the situation commented a UAE daily.
According to UN officials nearly five years into the Syrian war some four million Syrian and host community children and youths aged 5-17 years are in need of education assistance including 2.1 million out-of-school children inside Syria and 700000 Syrian children in Turkey Lebanon Jordan Iraq and Egypt.
"With no clear political solution in sight to one of the most brutal conflicts the world has seen in decades the number of children missing out on education continues to climb" said The Gulf Today in an editorial on Thursday.
"UNICEF officials have cautioned that Syria is losing a whole generation of its youth and the United Nations is set to seek $1.4 billion at a major conference in London on Thursday to save the current youth generation. The organisation recently noted that nearly 24 million children living in crisis zones in 22 strife-torn countries are being deprived of a school education threatening their own future and that of their societies.
"Also children now make up more than one third of the migrants and refugees making the perilous sea journey from Turkey to Greece marking a sharp increase in recent months. For the first time since the start of the migrant crisis in Europe there are now more women and children crossing the border from Greece to Gevgelilja in Macedonia than adult males.
"According to the International Organisation for Migration 60 children were among the 272 who died trying to cross from Turkey to Greece by sea in January. In Australia the high court has thrown out a challenge to offshore immigration detention camps clearing the way for the deportation of dozens of infants born in Australia to detained asylum seekers.
"The court rejected a legal test case brought by a Bangladeshi woman that challenged Australia's right to deport detained asylum seekers to the South Pacific island nation of Nauru.
"The detention centre on Nauru houses about 500 people and has been widely criticised by the United Nations and human rights agencies for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse.
"Governments at the London meeting should put more pressure on parties to the Syria conflict to end attacks on schools and other places of learning in accordance with international humanitarian law.
"Failure to protect children would reflect very poorly on the international community and leave an unsightly scar on its face" concluded the Sharjah-based daily.
WAM/Esraa/Moran
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