Kuwait stresses govts’ vital role in achieving ‘protection’ for children

Suffering of Palestinian and Rohingya children highlighted

KUWAIT CITY, July 14, (KUNA): Kuwait continued aiding countries in need this week, including executing pledges and delivering humanitarian aid.

In Geneva Saturday, Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to UN and International Organizations in Geneva Jamal Al-Ghunaim said Kuwait would begin handing over its Yemen humanitarian commitments to international humanitarian organizations as of this week.

Al-Ghunaim told KUNA this step was in accordance with the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah, and Kuwait’s pledge to the Yemen Support Conference called by the UN last April.

Kuwait hopes that this support will contribute to alleviating the suffering and shortage of humanitarian needs facing Yemini people in the face of imminent famine, he added.

Al-Ghunaim explained that Kuwait would cooperate with a number of international humanitarian organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) in order to halt the cholera epidemic, rebuild the health sector as well as agriculture through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

In New York on Tuesday, Kuwait has stressed the critical role of national governments in achieving effective and sustainable protection for children, a role affirmed by Security Council 1612 and 1882 resolutions and the importance of monitoring violations against children as provided by resolution 1612.

This came in a speech delivered by the Permanent Representative of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations, Ambassador Mansour AlOtaibi at the Security Council session (Children and Armed Conflict).

The best way to respond effectively to violations against children is to prevent conflict and create sustainable peace. The protection of children in armed conflict should be an integral part of all peace processes, Al-Otaibi said.

He also called on all Member States to sign and ratify relevant international conventions to ensure the protection of children in armed conflicts.

Al-Otaibi during his speech highlighted the suffering of Palestinian children under the occupation and that of Rohingya children in Myanmar, reiterating the central role of national governments in protecting children and underscored the importance of reliable and independent sources in providing insight into situations on the ground. He also expressed concern about the increase in the number of violations against children by about 35 percent compared to 2016 during the period covered by the Secretary-General’s report on children and the current armed conflict. Also in Geneva on Wednesday, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Ambassador William Lacy Swing, said that “the words of thanks are not enough to convey to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah for his generous support for international humanitarian work”.

This came in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) following his meeting with Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Jamal AlGhunaim to discuss Kuwaiti support for the organization’s programs in Yemen.

“Three years of conflict in Yemen has caused the suffering of millions of civilians, and as armed conflict continues and the peace process ceases, Yemen remains in the grip of a devastating humanitarian and development crisis,” Swing said.

He pointed out that His Highness the Amir’s efforts have always been praised in every international occasion concerned with humanitarian files.