Kuwait voices concern over children affected by current conflicts

Kuwait said it shareed UN concern over children affected by current conflicts, as well as violations committed against them, urging the international community to strengthen children protection and make it a top priority for national plans and international agendas.
It is important that the UN, its international partners, and member states consolidate all efforts to alleviate the impact of armed conflicts on children and commit politically to implement national and international legislations regarding children protection during conflicts, Ali Redn Al-Bakhit, Third Secretary, Permanent Mission of Kuwait to the UN, told the UN's Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee Friday.
In completion of its efforts to boost children rights, Kuwait has been keen to provide child care as part of its constitutional principles and international commitment mentioned in agreements and treaties it had signed and joined, particularly UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child treaty along with its two affiliated optional protocols, and the International Labor Organization's (ILO) agreements; ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labor, 1999, and ILO Convention No. 138 on the minimum age for admission to employment and work, added Al-Bakhit.
He also said that Kuwait had approved several national legislations that topped the country's interests in child's welfare area, adding that these legislations were embodied by institutions specialized in providing cultural, entertaining, recreational, and harboring services for children, notably the Women and Childhood Department and its affiliated children parks and nurseries, and the Department of Family Nursery and its affiliated homes.
In health field, the Kuwaiti health ministry has been providing nearly 30 vaccinations for children, beginning from pregnancy stage and until adulthood in order to immunize them from various types of diseases, he added.
On educational services, the Kuwaiti government has been providing free educational care for children, starting from kindergarten level and all the way to academic level, Al-Bakhit noted.
On disabled children care, Kuwait has given priority to lay plans and design programs for disabled children through integrate them in society and work places effectively without any discrimination, he said.
Kuwait will spare no effort in defending the rights of the child in all regional and international arenas, Al-Bakhit said, affirming that Kuwait will continue to work without hesitations for children protection.