Solve conflicts to curb refugee flow – Respect humanitarian law: Kuwait

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HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chairs Kuwait delegation to 71st session of the UN General Assembly.
HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chairs Kuwait delegation to 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

NEW YORK, Sept 20, (Agencies): Kuwait on Monday called for addressing causes of regional conflicts to tackle rising number of refugees and immigrants, highlighting its huge financial aid to those in need worldwide. “We emphasize the need to act urgently to address the causes of those conflicts (in the region), and work towards reaching political solutions to stop the bloodshed, compel the parties to those conflicts, (and) to shoulder their responsibilities to protect civilians,”

First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said. He was addressing a high-level summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.

He said the parties of all conflicts should allow access of humanitarian aid to those who deserve it, respect UN Charter, international humanitarian law, human rights law, and international refugee law. “We also need to activate the international mechanisms to criminalize all internationally banned acts, and insist that impunity cannot be an option in armed conflicts,” he asserted. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said the proliferation of conflicts and civil wars in Middle East have political, economic, social, development and humanitarian consequences.

This, he added, “must drive us to foster our joint action to address the extraordinary conditions being endured by the people in the region, especially in Palestine, Syria, Yemen and Somalia.” Kuwait, said the senior official, has been providing humanitarian assistance to all countries in need, exceeding USD two billion over the past five years, or 2.1 percent of GDP. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said today’s summit was being held in “exceptional” circumstances due to the growing number of humanitarian crises caused by armed conflicts or natural disasters, forcing over 65 million people to be either refugees or internally displaced, in addition to 224 million migrants registered in 2015.

He urged the UN to create innovative mechanisms and creative ideas with objective of dealing with crises whose numbers have multiplied significantly during the past 10 years, and were claiming lives of civilians, women, children and the elderly. He urged the international community to work on protecting those peoples from the danger of drifting towards the vicious circle of violence and terrorism.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said the international community must also combat so-called “xenophobia,” fanaticism and violence against refugees and migrants in order to fulfill their aspirations and hopes to live in peace and security, as well as enabling them to live a free and dignified life.

He also called for solving the plight of Palestinian refugees who were suffering from the oppressive injustice for almost seven decades. “We affirm their (Palestinian) right of return, and call for a just solution for their plight,” in line with UN General Assembly resolution 194 and the Arab Peace Initiative, he said, calling for continued support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled noted that the adoption of the political declaration of this summit represented an “important step on the path of our collective humanitarian action.” Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled was accompanied to the summit by Assistant Foreign Minister for Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled’s office Ambassador Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah and UN Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated member states for adopting by consensus the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants at the highlevel meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants. On behalf of the UN Chief, his Deputy Jan Eliasson delivered the closing remarks last night, noting that the adoption shows that despite differing perspectives, the world can unite around common principles and around core commitments to refugees and migrants.

As the large movements of refugees and migrants present some of the most challenging issues of current time, the UN official stressed the situation today requires urgent attention and urgent action. During both the Plenary and Round Tables, Eliasson said States have emphasized the centrality of human rights for migrants and refugees, and reaffirmed their international obligations.

“They have committed to tackle the discrimination and gender-based violence that women and girls face everywhere,” he added. While many Member States have highlighted the negative consequences of irregular migration, others have called for greater cooperation to address the despicable human trafficking and smuggling of migrants and refugees.

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