'Global efforts needed to solve Syria, Yemen crisis'

Nobel Laureates and human rights activists today called for immediate global endeavour to solve the crisis faced by millions of children in conflict-hit Syria and Yemen.

More than 5.6 million Syrians have fled the country as refugees, according to the UNHCR. Half of people affected are children.

"International communities have allegedly failed to take concrete action to protect the people of Syria and Yemen. This is the main reason why children are still facing problem there," former UN special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said on the sidelines of the 'Second Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit 2018' on the historic banks of the Dead Sea in Jordan.

The summit, which was held under the patronage of Jordan King Abdullah, aims to ensure that every child, especially children in the most vulnerable sections of the world, are free, safe, educated and healthy.

Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, who has established the Laureates and Leaders for Children organisation, said that each and every life is important and efforts should be done to secure the childhood of the children.

"Like technology, education and wealth does not require borders, the same way children should not need passport and visa to cross borders. I aim to see that kind of world, where children are let free," the 64-year-old Satyarthi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 along with Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai, said.

"We should ensure that children should get safe and secure future that incorporates human values. Everybody should think from the point of view of getting some good change in the society," Jordan Prince Ali bin Al Hussein said during the summit at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre.

"Education is costly, but not as costly as weapons... so we should pay more emphasis on educating children," he said.

Launched in 2016 by Satyarthi, the summit is meant to lay the foundation for a more sustainable and forward-thinking leadership to safeguard the future of the world's children, particularly in the face of global challenges and chronic social challenges impacting communities worldwide.

The first summit was hosted by former president Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi in 2016, when 21 Nobel laureates and world leaders joined 400 distinguished thinkers and influencers from academia, business, entertainment, government and civil society to work together to prioritise the world's children in their spheres of influence.

Healthcare centres, schools, and water and sanitation systems have been damaged during the course of the war between the Syrian government troops and the rebels.

An estimated 2.75 million Syrians are registered in Turkey, around 3.5 per cent of the country's population, according to International Crisis Group, an independent body working to prevent wars and shape policies for a more peaceful world.

More than 13 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, several studies have suggested.