The warring parties in Yemen must prioritize the protection of the country's children as a core concern when they convene for peace talks for the first time in three years, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) The warring parties in Yemen must prioritize the protection of the country's children as a core concern when they convene for peace talks for the first time in three years, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said on Wednesday.
"Twenty-one children were killed in the Yemen conflict in July, according to United Nations teams on the ground," Fore said in a statement. "Another 55 were reportedly killed in two weeks in August. After more than three years of fighting, the situation of children in Yemen is getting worse, not better."
Social services in Yemen are barely functioning and the whole country is on the verge of collapse, Fore observed.
"When these services fail, children are the first to suffer as their health, education and protection needs are overlooked. Unless we act now, the impact of this war will haunt us all for generations to come... The children of Yemen need to heal. They need justice. They need lasting peace, now." she said.
Fore called on the warring parties in Yemen to guarantee unimpeded and safe access to all children in need, stop airstrikes and attacks on civilians to protect children's lives, stop the recruitment and use of children in the conflict and release all children associated with armed forces or groups.
She also demanded an end to the arbitrary arrest and detention of children, including those detained for alleged association with armed opposition groups and the release of all children detained on security-related charges.
