Queen Rania highlights plight of refugee children

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Wednesday took part in the first regional conference on refugee children in the MENA region held in Sharjah, UAE. 

In her keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the conference, titled “Investing In the Future: Protecting Refugee Children and Adolescents – MENA” (IIFMENA), Queen Rania highlighted the plight of displaced people and host communities, according to a statement from her office.

“The year 2014 has witnessed the largest human displacement; one disaster after another around the world have displaced millions of people. The number of people who left their homes exceeded 50 million for the first time since World War II, and Syria is the most affected,” Her Majesty said.

Queen Rania told the audience that 85 per cent of displaced people in the world take refuge in neighbouring developing countries, whose limited economic potential constrains their ability to provide from their resources and income, adding that they still open their doors, and take in those seeking refuge, sharing food, security, water, fuel, hospitals, schools and much more.

“In Jordan, we know this very well... the high numbers of Syrian refugees pose a great challenge to us, especially in the local host communities,” the Queen said.

Talking about the humanitarian role Jordan plays in helping Syrian refugees, Her Majesty noted that “while Jordan is small in size, it is big in its national and humanitarian sense of responsibility… The world has come to know very well it can rely on Jordan in difficult humanitarian crises. And the world has a major role in supporting all countries hosting refugees, because that is a guarantee of our region’s stability.”

Queen Rania explained that the UN estimates the needs of Syrian refugee hosting countries to exceed $3 billion in 2014, however, only 50 per cent of the required figure has so far been secured.

Her Majesty also highlighted the situation of refugee children, saying that hundreds of thousands of Arab children are out of school because of conflicts. 

The Queen stressed that the best way to help these children overcome the aftermath of war is to provide them with quality education. 

“The most valuable thing we can offer these children is education, to protect them from loss and despair, and prevent the refugee crisis from crippling their future.”

The two-day conference is organised under the patronage and in the presence of Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, member of the supreme council and ruler of Sharjah, and upon the invitation of Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of the ruler of Sharjah and UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, who also attended the event, the statement said. 

Gathering over 300 international figures including leaders and top officials concerned with the issues of refugee children, the conference aims to develop mechanisms to unify efforts of the concerned international organisations to alleviate the suffering of refugees and improve their living conditions.

Queen Rania also thanked the UAE, the Emirate of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan, Sheikha Jawaher and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for hosting this conference.

In his address at the event, Sheikh Sultan stressed that holding conferences on the protection and care of children and adolescents is not new, as the matter is directly related to human nature and high human values adopted by all peoples of the world, no matter how different their civilisations and identities are.

He praised the efforts being exerted by countries neighbouring conflict zones, as well as UNHCR, UNICEF, Arab League organisations, and civil society organisations, which established temporary camps to provide shelter to refugees and displaced people and to provide financial and moral aid as well as basic services in the camps, the statement said. 

The IIFMENA conference is being held in collaboration with the Big Heart campaign. 

The event includes a number of discussion panels and workshops that will discuss several issues such as children protection, sexual and gender-based violence, children affected by armed conflict, and the importance of legal documentation.