Middle East Monitor / March 15, 2022
The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) has highlighted its concerns about the condition of refugee children in Lebanon, Safa News Agency reported on Monday.
Speaking at the 49th meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, the representative of the advocacy group explained the economic and social difficulties facing Palestinian refugee children in Lebanon and called for urgent relief for them.
“The Palestinian refugee children in Lebanon are still suffering due to the harsh economic conditions which were aggravated due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of schools for more than a year,” he explained. “They are living and working under very difficult conditions and are subject to mistreatment and exploitation.”
The PRC pointed out that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has registered more than 60,000 children among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, making up 30 per cent of the total. Most of them are unable to attend Lebanese schools.
According to the statistics, the poverty rate among the refugees is 73 per cent. This has pushed children to look for work in order to help their families.
The PRC called for the Human Rights Council to work on supporting Palestinian refugee children and take urgent measures to meet their needs.
