Sharjah: A two-day Sharjah conference on refugee children produced six recommendations for world leaders to consider when dealing with the refugee crisis in the region called the Sharjah Principles.
The six recommendations were put forward on Thursday during the Investing in the Future: Protecting Refugee Children conference to support millions of children and adolescents forced to leave their homes as a result of turmoil in the region.
Although the Sharjah Principles are not legally binding, Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees said they will help in the ongoing search for future solutions in the refugee crisis.
The six principles include international protection for refugee children and adolescents, their best interests taken as a primary consideration in all matters affecting their well-being and future and registration and documentation at birth in countries of asylum.
“The principles that have emerged from this conference are vital in ensuring that refugee children will have a chance to grow up in safety from exploitation, to develop their potential and ultimately to help shape the future of their countries in a positive way. Given the centrality of child protection in any humanitarian response strategy, these key principlesalso serve as an entry point for solutions on a broader scale,” said Guterres.
Gutteres said the principleswill serve as guidelines during a conference that will take place in Berlin, which is expected to come out with legally binding solutions regarding the refugee crisis in the region.
Gutteres stressed the importance of political leaders role in preventing the violence in the first place.
“The best protection for a refugee child is not to allow the child to become a refugee. If there is anything I have learned from history is that old conflicts never die and new conflicts multiply and it is the responsibilities to prevent conflicts. ”
The conference, which was the first in the Middle East was hosted by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah ended with remarks from Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture Youth and Community Development.
Shaikh Nahyan said that refugee children and young adults are in urgent need of a special care, as they represent a human and development problem, and they are part of the coming generation in the region.
“Therefore, we must relentlessly protect and enable them to be leaders of tomorrow and pioneers of the future,” he said.
He added that providing protection and empowerment to refugee children and young adults in the region requires immense efforts on a number of areas, including human development, spreading awareness in community, commitment to international conventions, conducting researches and registering and documenting all cases to name a few.
The conference also saw parallel sessions under the theme ‘protection’.
During one of the parallel sessions Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares initiated the session, first taking time to recognize the altruistic work of the late Sheik Zeyed that guides his organisation today. Gurg then spoke about education as a vital right of children around the world and the life altering impact that education can have on the mind of a refugee child and well as her entire community.
The conference ended after bringing together over 300 global leaders, government officials and experts with the aimof uniting efforts and drawing up a comprehensive and unified strategy to help refugee children.
