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QNA
New York
THE State of Qatar reiterated its commitment to protecting children in armed conflicts.
It stressed its support for international efforts to achieve this goal and stated that it will spare no effort to support those efforts to protect children in all circumstances and by all means and to provide an environment conducive to their development in safe and healthy conditions, enabling them to develop their capabilities to become creators of a future of peace, security and prosperity for all the peoples of the world.
This came in a statement delivered at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York by Acting Charge d'affaires of the State of Qatar to the UN Abdulrahman Yacoub al Hammadi, at the UN Security Council's official meeting on 'Children and armed conflict: Protecting children today prevents conflicts tomorrow'.
Al Hammadi expressed the State of Qatar's concern about the statistics contained in the latest report of the UN Secretary-General, which indicated a significant increase in violations against children in the context of armed conflict in 2017, despite the important progress noted in the report on promotion of child protection, and continuing violations against children in many regions of the world.
Al Hammadi added that the protection of children and the guarantee of their rights were important and should be given special attention in dealing with the situations considered by the Security Council in our region and elsewhere.
The Acting Charge d'affaires of Qatar to the UN appealed to the international community to shoulder the collective responsibility to redouble efforts and take further decisive action to deal with this issue as an integral part of any comprehensive strategy for conflict prevention and resolution, and the establishment of a sustainable peace that ensures that children are not deprived of the"layers" of protection by the family, society and the law, welcoming the development of a practical guide on mainstreaming child protection issues into peace processes.
Al Hammadi announced the participation of the State of Qatar in organising the first international conference on youth participation in peace tracks in partnership with Finland and Colombia in cooperation with the Office of the Secretary-Generals Envoy on Youth to be held in Helsinki in December 2018.
He also stressed the firm belief of the State of Qatar that children and young people are the key to peace and security, and are the hope of the future and the importance of investing in the protection and education of these two groups, especially the children.
At the end of the statement, Al Hammadi welcomed the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council for the protection of children in armed conflict, pointing out that the State of Qatar adopts this resolution as it reflects the principles it is keen to protect children in armed conflict and is in line with its priorities, and would support international efforts to that end.
