Ashour asserts agreement at IPU on women, children protection

MP Saleh Ashour said here on Sunday that there is a remarkable agreement among participating parliamentarians at the 130th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly meetings on a draft that addresses role of parliamentarians and parliaments in women and children protection. Today's Parliamentarian women session disclosed that there is an agreement among members on protecting children from all forms of exploitation, including compulsory military recruitment in some countries, with shedding some light on situation of immigrant children, Ashour, who is also chairman of women and children affairs committee at the Kuwaiti Parliament, said to KUNA. However, there are differences in views among European and non-European countries on parliamentary dealing with the issue of changing of demographics and its impact on native residents' protection as immigration laws vary fron country to another, he added, noting that some countries allow wide immigration to their lands and some prefer towards rationing it with limited standards. Issues related to women and children are often highlighted in the Middle East region, primarily Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan, together with some Muslim countries like Afghanistan, said Ashour. The four-day meetings are also to discuss key commitments on democratic values and global security. Several meetings will be held by Gulf, Arab and Muslim delegations on the sidelines of the IPU gathering. More than 715 parliamentarians from 141 countries will commit to efforts to make the world free from nuclear weapons. This will be one of the several key decisions that IPU Members are scheduled to take in the important meeting with significant implications on the world or the IPU. The Kuwaiti delegation includes MPs Faisal Al-Shaya, Jamal Al-Omar, Saleh Ashour, Saif Al-Azmi, Abdullah Al-Turaiji and Madhi Al-Hajri, as well as National Assembly Secretary General Allam Al-Kandari