SOS Children’s Villages has received 36,122 signatures on a demand that Norway go from words to action, and do more for children who are alone in Gaza.
– Over 20,000 children have lost their parents in Gaza since October 2023. Our colleagues in SOS Children’s Villages in Palestine tell of a desperate need for a coordinated international effort to protect these children, says Secretary General Sissel Arak.
– If Norway is to follow through on the promises in the humanitarian strategy to prioritize the protection of children, and especially those who are alone, resources must be set aside for this target group in the emergency work.
Must make greater contributions
The Norwegian authorities have one own humanitarian strategywhich includes, among other things, a point on strengthening efforts to prevent children from being separated from their caregivers in humanitarian crises. SOS Children’s Villages believes that this investment must be accompanied by money, and that Norway must support the initiatives for a coordinated effort to identify, register and reunite children who are alone with surviving family.
– The enormous scale of the conflict, as well as massive and repetitive displacement in addition to very limited opportunities to get out of the conflict area, has created a situation where the risk of family division is very high and the consequences for these children are enormous. When over 36 . 000 Norwegians are asking Norway to do more for the children who are alone in Gaza, it is a clear sign from the people that the words from the humanitarian strategy must be translated into action, now, believes Arak.
In March, 68 children for whom SOS Children’s Villages in Palestine have legal responsibility were evacuated to Bethlehem in the West Bank.
– Thanks to good cooperation and local initiative, some of the children who have been left alone in Gaza are registered – and receive good care and protection. Among other things from SOS Children’s Villages which collaborates with Unicef, ICRC and local partners. If this is prioritized by the Norwegian authorities, we can achieve much more than we do today – even in the chaos that prevails while the war is going on, says Arak.
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– Not just about economics
Recently, SOS Children’s Villages handed over the collected signatures to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
State Secretary for Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap), Andreas Kravik, says it is very good that SOS children’s villages help to shine a spotlight on the situation for orphans in Gaza. The number of children in Gaza who lose or become separated from their caregivers has increased dramatically over the past year.
– As of now, there are probably more than 17,000 children killed, far more injured, and 60,000 malnourished children in Gaza. The numbers are almost unfathomable.
Norway supports a number of organizations that work with children’s rights in Palestine.
– The most relevant organizations that have received Norwegian support in Palestine after the war broke out are the ICRC, Unicef, Save the Children and UNRWA. The ICRC works in particular to track down children who have been separated from their parents, says Kravik.
Together, these organizations have received almost 300 million in Palestine alone this year. ICRC stands for the International Committee of the Red Cross, while UNRWA is the United Nations aid organization for Palestinian refugees
– The most important thing that can be done for the children in Gaza is to stop the war. That is what the parties themselves must do, but we have been asking for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages for over a year now. We will also continue to financially support many of the organizations that help these children. Nevertheless, work to improve the situation for children in Gaza can mean many things, it is not just about finances, says Kravik.
– In the UN, for example, we are working to mobilize all the world’s states to vote for the international court to clarify Israel’s obligations to ensure humanitarian access to Gaza. Unfortunately, the financial support is of little help if vital aid does not reach the people in Gaza, he says.
– We are extremely happy about the support people in Norway have shown by signing, and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accepts the stack of signatures and promises to take this further into the budget negotiations. Then we hope that it will also appear when the money is to be distributed, says Arak in SOS Children’s Villages.
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More than 44,000 killed
Over 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in the more than 13-month-long war in the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
In addition, at least 104,638 Palestinians have been injured in the ravages of war, according to the ministry’s overview, writes NTB.
The figures have not been independently confirmed, but the UN and aid organizations consider them credible.
The tally of dead and wounded from Gaza’s health ministry does not include thousands of people who are missing, many of whom are believed to be buried in the rubble of bombed buildings.
Nor are Palestinians who have died as a result of other consequences of the war, such as illness and lack of food and medicine, included in the overview.
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