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Ted Chaiban, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that the Middle East and North Africa had record numbers of young people and destitute children victims of serious violence around the world.
Despite this sad record, Shaiban said in an interview with Agence France-Presse that there was a silver lining provided new relationships were established between the region’s governments and young people ten years after the outbreak. so-called “Arab Spring” revolutions.
Rising conflicts and falling oil prices
Shaiban said: “After 2011, the lives and futures of young people have been threatened due to increasing conflicts and falling oil prices.” The result was devastating in a region with 124 million young people between the ages of ten and twenty-four, or 26 percent of the total population, according to UNICEF.
“Today, 38 million children and adolescents are in need of humanitarian assistance in this region, which is the largest number in the world. The same goes for unemployment, ”he said.
The unemployment rate is 29% in North Africa and 25% in the Middle East. The unemployment rate is higher for women, at 39 and 41 percent, respectively.
“For UNICEF, the Middle East and North Africa region accounts for more than 50 percent of the total amount of humanitarian aid appeals, a significant increase since 2011 due to economic and political deterioration,” stresses Shaiban. And the outlook is also bleak.
In a report published in mid-January, the World Bank estimated that 300 million new jobs must be created by 2050. A World Bank official said at the time that the region needed “800,000 new jobs. jobs per month ”to meet the demands of young people. enter the labor market. In addition, the region is the scene of brutal repression.
“Since 2011, the region has seen a steady increase in violence against young people,” said Shaiban. According to the UN official, half of the 28,000 “serious violations” against young people recorded worldwide in 2019 occurred in seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
These numbers doubled between 2017 and 2019, according to United Nations figures. United Nations organizations include incidents of injured or killed minors, recruitment of children, sexual violence, kidnappings, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian aid as alleged “serious violations” to minors.
Prevent 40% of students in the area from studying
According to Juliette Touma, media director for UNICEF’s regional office for the Middle East and North Africa, “these (numbers) are just the tip of the iceberg. The actual number of children killed or injured seems to be much higher. “
As proof, 22,000 minors have been killed in Syria alone since the start of the conflict, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which since 2011 has been counting the victims of the conflict in Syria. The Covid-19 epidemic has made matters worse, as 40% of students in the region have been prevented from studying due to their lack of access to distance education.
“We have to use a hybrid system that combines face-to-face and distance learning,” Shaiban said.
Despite the bleak picture, Shaiban expressed his optimism. “Despite unrest, armed conflict and economic instability, more children are going to school, getting vaccinated against childhood diseases and getting clean water,” he said.
He stressed that it is important to improve the quality of education to keep pace with the development of employment. “We have a great opportunity to reform the education sector in the region, to involve children and young people and give them the tools to respond to the rapidly changing economy, market and labor demands. in the future, ”he said enthusiastically. But to achieve this, “there is a particularly urgent need for a new relationship between governments and young people,” according to Sheiban. “We must create places and spaces in which young people can express themselves, freely express their concerns and constructively exchange their ideas on poverty, inequalities and better government,” he said.
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