The Permanent Representative of Malta to the UN, H.E. Mrs. Vanessa Frazier, drew attention to the widening education gaps in emergency situations, especially the gender dynamics, further calling for all countries to commit to the Safe Schools Declaration, the Vancouver principles and the Paris commitments. H.E. Philippe Kridelka, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Belgium to the UN, underscored its country's commitment to addressing the needs of children affected by armed conflicts and ensuring their continued access to quality education as he called for sufficient resources and capacities to support child protection actors on the ground. Together with Niger, Norway spearheaded the elaboration and adoption of UNSC Resolution 2601. The Deputy Permanent Representative of Norway to the UN, H.E. Ms. Trine Heimerback, encouraged improved implementation of Qualifications Passport for Refugees and Vulnerable Migrants to secure access to education for vulnerable groups in times of conflict. Considering education is a driver for development, Gabon emphasized the national efforts in particular as regards capacity building for implementing training on the legal framework. Moreover, the state of Qatar, as a global advocate for the protection of education, highlighted the celebration of the 3rd International Day to Protect Education from Attack pointing out their continuous support of the event and corresponding efforts.
As the UN lead agency for education, UNESCO continues its unwavering support for the protection of the right to education. Mrs Stefania Giannini, the Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO shared news on the Transforming Education Pre-Summit in Paris in June, where more than 150 Ministers of Education and 1,800 participants, came together to forge a common vision of transformative education. As the progress towards inclusive and equitable quality education is reversing in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, she emphasized the need for more robust, well-coordinated government and partner engagement to deliver on collective commitments. At UNESCO, in collaboration with Education Above All, KoBo Toolbox and the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, more efforts are made to enhance data standards and methodologies for the production, monitoring, and reporting of data on attacks on education.
Echoing the role of national commitment and international mechanism, Mrs Stefania Giannini spotlighted the ongoing and upcoming Transforming Education Summit. These top-level political platforms are promising to put a stop to one of the most egregious violations of the right to education, further strengthening the implementation of the 2030 Agenda Framework.
Mrs Virginia Gamba, SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict, following by stating the fundamental role of data collection in informing the decision of policymaking thus concrete action plans can be developed to stop the attacks on schools. In this regard, robust data and policy measures are necessary to make sure education systems are effectively responsive to those attacks.
To monitor and assess the effects, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) and the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) have released respectively new data on attacks on education and conflict-affected population. This year, the GCPEA has published a report that chronicles approximately 5,000 incidents of attacks on Education and cases of military use of schools, with 9,000 students and educators being abducted, arrested, injured, or killed. The investigations show persistent gaps in the implementation of existing commitments in protecting schools from attack.
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