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FLASHBACK: A Palestinian boy next to his family’s house destroyed during
Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip in 2009

Arab young at risk from regional war effects

MANAMA, April 9, 2015

An expert has warned about the damaging effect of regional wars on the development of young Arabs, with 60 per cent of the Arab population aged under 25.

He has predicted that violence, gender inequality and poverty will only increase as a result of conflicts, uprisings and wars, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

This dystopian picture of the region's future was depicted yesterday by Tunisian child rights and legal protection expert Lazhar Juwaily.

He was speaking in Bahrain during the Children's Status in Light of the Current Political and Social Unrest in the Arab Region seminar, which opened yesterday at the Golden Tulip.

Juwaily said 39.9 per cent of the region's population already faced poverty, with rates of economic development decreasing.

"Figures show that the population in the Arab region is estimated to be 395 million, 60pc of whom are youths who were affected hugely by the changes that occurred and still exist, be it a war or an uprising," said Juwaily, who is also a judge in Tunisia.

"Children have the right to live in a healthy environment and develop, but figures do not indicate a good future because poverty has increased to 39.9 per cent, while gender inequality and violence against females have increased markedly and social development is decreasing.

"Child and women's rights in the Arab region were never up to international standards, but the critical situation that we are currently facing and has started years ago made it worse.

"The economic status in the region affects the social development of a society and without a good economy, a government will not be able to secure its citizens, including children.

"The uprisings, or what some call revolutions, initially aimed to improve the people's living conditions, but what happened was the opposite and it ended up worsening the people's conditions and rights.

"In Tunisia, for example, the status of the child's rights is worse than it was before the revolution in 2011, despite people thinking that it would have a positive impact on children.

"The country is now facing major issues such as child labour, migrating children out of the country, as well as violence against children because there was no security or law in a long period of time.

"Children were also psychologically affected by the revolutions and now some don't bother going to school and skip classes because the country is lacking order.

"In Iraq and Syria, children are living in a disaster - they are raped, separated from their parents and also recruited in armed groups. The situation takes us on a journey of pain and sadness. I can only say that there is just a flicker of light in a tunnel of darkness."

The seminar, held under the patronage of Social Development Minister Faeqa Al Saleh, aims to come up with a vision to overcome current political and social challenges to protect the future of children, especially in war-torn areas.

It was attended by experts from across the region and continues today.

Lebanese child's rights specialist Dr Elie Mekhael said children affected by conflict in Arabic countries must be socially reintegrated and rehabilitated.

"All public sector entities should work on providing these children with what they need," he said.

"However, they must help these children in an early stage and enable them to live a normal live and become part of society."

Additional issues facing children are child marriage and circumcision, he added. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: arab | war | population | young |

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