Qatar affirmed its firm commitment to working with the UN and all international partners to enhance efforts aimed at preventing and resolving conflicts, mitigating their impact on children and protecting them.
This came in a statement delivered by HE the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN, Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, before an open debate held by the Security Council on children and armed conflict, at the UN headquarters in New York.
HE Sheikha Alya indicated that the UN Secretary-General's report on children and armed conflict reminds that children continue to pay the highest price for armed conflicts, which continue to endanger their lives and undermine their basic rights, highlighting in this context the increasing numbers of grave violations committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian children, especially in the Gaza Strip.
She referred to the horrific reports issued by Unicef and humanitarian organizations on the catastrophic humanitarian situation of children in the Gaza Strip, which has become a graveyard for children, where a hundred children are killed or injured daily due to indiscriminate Israeli shelling, systematic starvation, and the use of food as a weapon by preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid, which prompted the UN Secretary-General to include the Israeli occupation army and security forces in the list of parties involved in committing serious violations against children in situations of armed conflict.
HE Sheikha Alya reiterated that the State of Qatar condemns in the strongest terms the serious violations committed by the Israeli occupation against children in the Gaza Strip, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, treaties, and international protocols concerned with the protection of children in conflict, and relevant Security Council resolutions, in addition to the interim orders of the International Court of Justice.
Stressing the State of Qatar's firm position that the right to education should not be lost due to armed conflicts, and that efforts should be made to ensure children's right to education, especially in countries experiencing conflict, Her Excellency added that the State of Qatar expresses its condemnation of attacks on schools and hospitals, and on protected individuals who are connected to schools and hospitals.
The State of Qatar expresses its pride in its pioneering and ongoing international efforts in supporting quality education, and promoting and protecting the right to education, especially in emergency situations, including the prominent efforts of the Education Above All Foundation in Qatar, Her Excellency said, noting that many achievements have been made in this field, which has made a fundamental change in the lives of millions of children around the world.
In this context, and in recognition of the serious repercussions of attacks on education in the context of conflict prevention and peacekeeping, the State of Qatar played a pioneering role through which it led international efforts towards the adoption of General Assembly Resolution 74/275, which designated Sept. 9 as the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, HE Sheikha Alya added.
She stated that the State of Qatar provided support for the operation of the Analysis and Communication Center of the Office of the Special Representative in Doha, which was opened in June 2022, in order to support capacity building, and end and prevent grave violations against children in armed conflict.
She added that the State of Qatar evacuated more than two thousand wounded and sick people and their companions, including children, from the Gaza Strip, in addition to sending dozens of aircraft loaded with relief and humanitarian supplies, stressing the importance of concerted international efforts and giving priority to enhancing the protection of children affected by conflicts.
HE Sheikha Alya the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN stressed the need to ensure accountability for perpetrators of violations, and to respect obligations under international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and relevant Security Council resolutions.
