(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
ROME: Italy's parliament on Thursday approved a law that allows unaccompanied refugee children to stay in the country and be protected from mistreatment.
'This is a civilized choice for the protection and integration of those who are in a difficult situation," Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni wrote on Twitter.
The law is regarded as a first among the EU countries.
The UN's children agency said March 13 that child deaths increased 20 percent in war-torn Syria in 2016, making it the 'worst year since 2014.
UNICEF said in a statement that at least 652 children were killed in Syria in 2016 -- 255 of them in or near schools.
'The most vulnerable among Syria's children are the 2.8 million in hard-to-reach areas, including 280,000 children living under siege, almost completely cut off from humanitarian aid, the statement said.
Approximately 6 million children depend on humanitarian assistance and millions have been displaced and, more than 2.3 million are living as refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, the statement added.
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