MUSCAT, June 6 - The Sultanate has been ranked third among Arab nations as the “least dangerous country” for children, according to Kids Rights Index 2017. The index is issued by Save the Children Organization, an international non-government organisation for children’s rights and based in UK. Oman, with 927 points, occupies the 43rd place internationally out of 172 countries. According to the index, mortality rate among the under-five in the country was 11.6 for every 1,000 live births, stunting of children 14.1 per cent and child labour zero per cent.
At a time when conflicts around the world were forcing one child out of every 80 children to leave their home, Oman registered no emigrant children.
A whopping 168 million children in the world are engaged in work, with half of them (85 million) performing hazardous work that affect their mental, social and educational development. The Sultanate is also ranked fifth among Arab countries and 70th in the world on the 2017 Global Peace Index, which has 163 countries.
According to the institute’s report, there is a slight improvement in the peace indicators, which stand at 0.28 per cent, yet, the world is still witnessing “regular levels of violence” and severe human crisis. While conditions deteriorated in 18 out of 36 countries during this period, 68 countries witnessed a decline. A total of 93 countries registered “higher peace levels”. Violence around the world cost $14.3 trillion, which is 12.6 per cent of the international Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
By Zainab al Nassri
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