Queen Rania Attends High-Level Call to Action for Palestinian Children Meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York

(Office of Her Majesty – Press Department – New York) - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah attended a high-level ministerial meeting co-hosted by Jordan, Belgium, and the European Union at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Wednesday, which called for the urgent assistance of Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank.

Jordan, Belgium, and the EU jointly launched the Call to Action for Palestinian Children in the West Bank and Gaza in 2024, outlining a five-point plan for their assistance. The plan also aims to raise awareness about the suffering of Palestinian children and increase humanitarian support for them.

Co-chaired by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, and European Commissioner for Equality and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, Wednesday’s follow-up meeting highlighted the conflict’s toll on Palestinian children, and the urgent need to protect and restore hope to young people in the West Bank and Gaza.

Other key speakers included UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, Save the Children International CEO Inger Ashing, and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban. The meeting also displayed pre-recorded video messages from Palestinian children.

Currently endorsed by 71 UN Member States, the Call to Action for Palestinian Children in the West Bank and Gaza urges the implementation of several measures, including an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the respect of international law, an end to any grave violations against all children,  the safe and unrestricted humanitarian access to and within Gaza, as well as  the support of a scaled-up UN-coordinated humanitarian response to Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank.

After the meeting, Her Majesty met with Fletcher and discussed the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.