(Sharjah) – On its closing session, the ‘Investing in the Future’ conference issued the ‘Sharjah Principles’ which called for providing international protection to all refugee children and adolescents so as to enjoy their right to family unity and be protected from family separation.
All refugee children and adolescents to enjoy their right to quality education in a safe environment supportive of their developmental needs and to be protected against violence, abuse, and exploitation, including child labour, and have access to national systems and services delivered in a protective way, including health and psychosocial support, the Sharjah Principles emphasised.
The conference marked the first regional conference devoted to the protection of refugee children and adolescents in the Middle East and North Africa. Hosted on 15-16 October by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in partnership with The Big Heart and under the patronage of HH Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the conference was held at the invitation of Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, and the first Eminent Advocate appointed by UNHCR. More than 300 participants from the Middle East and beyond gathered at Sharjah’s Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre to examine the protection of children and young people in a refugee context, exploring and highlighting concrete ways to strengthen child protection systems to address the tragic reality that every minute another child is forced to flee in the Arab world.
(Courtesy WAM)
