Bid to protect kids from joining armies - Kuwait joins Paris forum 

(MENAFN - Arab Times) Kuwait has announced joining The Paris Commitments to Protect Children Unlawfully Recruited or Used by Armed Forces or Armed Groups.

The announcement was made, late on Monday, by the Charge d'Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Kuwait to the United Nations (UN), Abdulaziz Al-Jarallah, in front of the 5th forum of following up on the Paris Commitments.

This step comes in accordance with Kuwait's commitment to UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its two optional protocols, especially The First Optional Protocol that restricts involvement of children in military conflicts. The forum was organized by the permanent mission of France to the UN, The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the The Office of Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children.

"The Kuwaiti delegation is delighted to take part in this forum to follow on the Paris Commitments that highlighted the importance of children protection from unlawful recruitment or being used by armed forces or armed groups," Al-Jarallah stated.

He added that such commitments and principal approaches that came in year 2007 came to form an international forum to reconsider all international regulations issued by the Security Council concerning the use of children in armed clashes.

He expressed hope that the "Forum would achieve aspirations of the people and countries of the region in reforming a world away from wars and conflicts. " After Kuwait, Yemen, Comoros, Bolivia, and Guinea Bissau joined the forum. Member countries reached 106, after there were only 52 countries in 2007.