Kuwait calls for enhancing humanitarian relief to Syrian refugees

PARIS, Oct 13 (KUNA) -- Kuwait called on the international community here on Tuesday for enhancing the humanitarian relief to Syrian refugees, and to exert more efforts in supporting Syria's neighboring countries in assisting Syrians who took up refuge on their lands.
The permanent representative of the State of Kuwait to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Dr. Hassan Al-Ibrahim added in a speech he gave on the occasion of the 197th session of UNESCO's Executive Council held in Paris, which was attended by Kuwait's Permeant envoy to UNESCO Dr. Meshaal Hayat, that "the number of the Syrian refugees abroad exceeded four million people due to the armed conflict in their home land, and most of them are women and children, which indicates that this crisis is the worst in the world since nearly a quarter of a century".
He called on the international community to offer all possible support to Syria's neighboring countries, especially Lebanon and Jordan; regarding the great burden such countries are suffering in hosting this number of refugees despite the shortage of resources and the weak capabilities in facing the consequences of this crisis".
He stressed on the importance of taking all the possible measures in encountering the Syrian children employment by improving their living conditions by financing income-generating initiatives, besides education, and safety. He also tackled the acts of sabotage and destruction to the humanitarian heritage in many sites in the Middle East, which is the mother of old civilizations.
He praised the launching of international alliance in protection of heritage initiative last June, under the supervision of UNESCO, considering it as a response to a continuous international threat of destructing the humanitarian cultural heritage, especially in the Middle East.
The launching of such an international alliance comes at a time heritage is being damaged due to terrorist groups' attacks, that have taken the heritage sites as strongholds, and made them as "heritage shields", as out of 10,007 international heritage sites, a total of 48 ones are under the threat of destruction.
Kuwait has advised all parties to work hardly in encountering such criminal acts, and called on supporting and enhancing this international alliance, he affirmed.
The fruitful participation in sustainable development will greatly contribute in avoiding conflicts through offering the appropriate conditions needed to achieve integration between culture according to respect of humanitarian positive values, human rights, and fighting of radicalism and intolerance, he said.
He called the Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, and UNESCO's Executive Council to enhance the capabilities of the youth sector and support the role of women to best serve their societies. (end) amm.lb