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EU officials visit refugees in Jordan; pledge to advocate for more support

By Rana Husseini - Mar 06,2019 - Last updated at Mar 06,2019

AMMAN — EU parliamentary members who were on a visit to the Kingdom on Wednesday said they would return to their countries with a message to continue supporting children in Jordan.

“Our message will be clear during the Third Brussels Conference on the Future of Syria: Continue to support children in Jordan, including Syrian refugees,” said the European Parliament (EP) coordinator on child rights, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt.

Bildt and Chair of the Child Rights Intergroup at the EP Caterina Chinnici were in Jordan visiting children and their families at Zaatari refugee camp, home to 80,000 refugees.

Members of the European Parliament (MEP) travelled to Jordan to see how UNICEF, working closely with donors including the EU and the government, was supporting programmes to empower vulnerable children and youth.

“The EU partnership with UNICEF makes a real difference on the ground for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and other vulnerable children in Jordan. We are committed to the safety and security of children everywhere,” Bildt told a press conference at Fremont Hotel in Amman.

Ahead of the Syrian conference, Bildt added, “we should not forget the plight of the Syrian refugees and the challenges of host countries. Together, we need to go beyond the humanitarian response and towards long-term sustainable development in the region”. 

However, robust social safety nets are still needed to address the poverty and vulnerability of children and protect them from serious violations, Bildt added. “Since the beginning of the crisis, some 80 per cent of Syrian refugees, most of them children, have been crossing the borders of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey looking for safety,” she told the press.

UNICEF Representative in Jordan Robert Jenkins also addressed the press conference expressing his gratefulness for the “long-standing partnership with the EU”.  

“Through continued support and investment, we have a unique opportunity to harness the potential of Jordan’s significant youth population so that they can reach their potential and contribute to society,” Jenkins added.

“Eight years since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, the refugee crisis continues to place significant pressure on... host countries like Jordan,” added Bertrand Bainval, UNICEF deputy regional director for the MENA region.

“Even though Syrian children living in Jordan are spared the armed conflict, they are continuously exposed to a myriad of challenges,” Bainval explained. 

“Many families are struggling to survive, living below the poverty line, putting children at greater risk of dropping out of school or resorting to negative coping mechanisms, including child marriage and child labour,” Bainval added.

“Jordan has done a tremendous job in helping accommodate a vast number of refugees, including 340,000 refugee children,” said MEP Caterina Chinnici.

“Much more needs to be done, though, to help these children and their families, who are fleeing from violence and the atrocities of the war. It’s a responsibility of the European Union and the international community as a whole,” Chinnici added.

The UN and MEP officials also agreed on the need to focus on children who were born to families of Daesh, saying that “they also have the same right as any child in the world to live in a safe and sound environment whereby they continue their education and are safely integrated into their own communities”.

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