QNA/New York
Qatar pays special attention to children’s rights at all local, regional and international levels in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol adopted by the international community.
Addressing the UN “Social, Humanitarian and Cultural - Third Committee” on item (68) entitled “Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children”, member of Qatar’s delegate to the UN General Assembly 70th session Sarah al-Saad al-Kuwari said that, according to UN reports, millions of children around the world are still suffering from armed conflicts and acts of violence, including killing and recruitment by parties to the conflict and terrorist groups, in clear violation of the rule of law and human rights, and despite all achievements of the international community towards the promotion of children’s rights.
She pointed out to a report by the Secretary-General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui, and another report by Secretary-General, Special Representative on Violence against Children Martha Santos, which shed light on the prevalence of abuse and neglect and fear in the lives of children in many countries.
Meanwhile, she praised the Special Representative’s efforts to create a safe environment for protection of children, and hailed the importance of the campaign “Children, not soldiers”, initiated by the Unicef to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict by the year 2016.
The statement affirmed Qatar’s commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights of children on the basis of Qatar National Vision 2030, and the National Development Strategy 2011-2016, as well as family and society related strategies.
The statement also highlighted Qatar’s establishment of several institutions dealing with children’s rights and protection, such as the Qatar Foundation for Social Work, which includes many other institutions dealing with children, including the Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs.
The statement of Qatar before the UN’s Third Committee also sheds light on the importance of education in Qatar for its prominent role in the process of comprehensive development.
The statement pointed to the global initiative “Educate a Child” which aims at enabling children to restore their right to basic education, especially those who face special challenges because of their presence in the conflict zones, and in the poor countries.
The statement reaffirmed Qatar’s keenness on the protection of children, and its commitment to continue its efforts to protect the children in armed conflict, and to provide an enabling environment for the development of their abilities, noting Qatar’s initiative in the third donors’ conference in Kuwait to establish a joint fund for education and professional development for the benefit of the displaced Syrian young people and children.
Sarah al-Saad added in the statement that Qatar considers with great concern what is happening to children in the areas under foreign occupation, where they are exposed to violations of their most basic rights to life, protection and development, pointing out the case of Palestinian children and the daily violations by the Israeli occupation authorities and settlers.
She underlined that the reports of the UN Secretary General must reflect the tragedies experienced by those children and must find urgent solutions to the tragic situation. She called on the international community to unify efforts in order to improve the circumstances of children and to achieve their happiness and well-being all over the world.
