RABAT, Feb 21 (KUNA) -- The Islamic Conference of Ministers in Charge of Childhood kicked off Wednesday, with the participation of some concerned Islamic and Arab bodies and organization.
In an a message to the participants delivered on behalf of Morocco's King Mohammed VI, State's Minister of human rights Mustafa Ramid said the King stressed the great importance of ensuring safety and protection of rights of children as mentioned in the international conventions and charters.
The King said, in the message, urged the international community to assume its responsibility towards violence facing children, calling for providing required international protection to save them from wars, violence and starvation.
The King also appealed to Muslim countries to enhance their solidarity and cooperation, make efforts and share expertise in the field of protecting childhood.
He asked those countries to build constructive partnerships and to be keen to involve civil society organizations in this move.
For his part, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Director General Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri pointed to the Arab and Islamic countries' reality, which coincides with the holding of the conference that is witnessing wars and unrest especially in some Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries.
He added that this reality affects negatively efforts exerted in the area of comprehensive development.
He noted that some regions of the Islamic world have become a "theater of war", which led to child victims due to the consequences of poverty, illiteracy, violence and extremism.
He warned of the increasing number of children suffering from conflicts and insecurity in some Islamic countries like Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Afghanistan.
In a speech delivered on his behalf, OIC Secretary General Yousef Al Othaimeen referred to tragedies facing children in some countries of the Arab world due to wars and conflicts that require the need of collective actions to confront these tragedies. The last period has witnessed a remarkable rise in violence against children, mainly in Palestine and in several hotspots, he said.
There are more than 12 million Syrian refugees, more than half of them are children who left schools years ago, he stated, referring also to refugee children in Yemen and Somalia as well as other areas of both Arab and Muslim countries.
Such conditions require an urgent action to end suffering of children, he affirmed.
He stressed the necessity of developing an integrated strategy within the framework of OIC to strengthen legislative and judicial protection measures to ensure the protection of children from various forms of violence.
The two-day conference's agenda includes the review of several documents pertaining to childhood issues, containing a main document on the forms of violence against children.
It also includes a general project on protecting children from violence in the Islamic world.
The event brings together a number of ministers from OIC member states, as well as representatives from regional and international governmental and non-governmental organizations interested in childhood issues. (end) mry.ysa.hm