The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have appealed for one billion dollars in donations for Syrian children affected by the ongoing conflict in the Arab country.

"The future for these children is slipping away, but there is still a chance to save them," UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres said on Tuesday at the launching of the “No Lost Generation" initiative in Geneva.

Patrick McCormick of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said, “Over one million Syrian refugees are children, of which more than 425,000 are under the age of five. The vast majority of these refugees have fled either to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq."

"If you want to get children out of a labor situation then education is the answer. But it costs money and that's why we're asking for a lot of money. It sounds like a lot, a billion, but I tell you now, that'll go very quickly if, and when, we get it," he stated.

McCormick described it as a call for money and awareness, lamenting that the situation in Syria is slightly falling off the radar screen in the midst of other emergencies around the world.

The UN campaign was launched to build momentum, one week ahead of a major donors' conference in Kuwait.

UNICEF says that Syrian children have become vulnerable to various forms of exploitation, such as child labor.

UNICEF called on governments, aid agencies and members of the public “to protect a generation of Syrian children from a life of despair, diminished opportunities and broken futures” by funding critical education and protection programs.

According to the UNHCR, the number of Syrian refugees is over 2.3 million.

Lebanon currently hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees, half of them children. More than a million other Syrians have fled to Jordan and Turkey.

The UN refugee agency also said some 4.2 million people have also been displaced inside Syria since the beginning of the conflict in the country.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

By Press TV

 

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