The
Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway, would like to
express deep appreciation to the Republic of Niger for organizing this
important debate on Children and Armed Conflict with particular focus on
attacks against Schools.
Education
is key to long-term peace and security, and sustainable development. Education
is a human right. And yet attacks against schools or hospitals still constitute
one of the six grave violations against children in armed conflict. We
acknowledge that progress has been made on the protection of schools and
protected persons in relation to schools from attacks and threats of
attacks.
The
Security Council adopted resolution 1998 in July 2011, and related resolutions
have followed. The Safe School Declaration of 2015 has been an important
protection tool with its objective to prevent military use of schools and stop
attacks on schools during armed conflicts. As of today, 104 states are
signatories to the declaration. It indicates strong commitments of joint
efforts to implement it.
Yet
we are alarmed when the latest Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed
Conflict of June 2020 verifies 927 attacks on schools and hospitals – and as of
December 2019 more than 3,300 schools have been closed due to insecurity in the
central Sahel Countries, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – affecting more than
650,000 children.
The
reality is that there are growing security threats and crises in the world.
When children are deprived of education, it has a huge impact on long-term
peace and security and sustainable development. Attacks on schools are not only
attacks on a building, they are attacks on the generations of tomorrow – even
when a conflict ends, schools and teachers will be gone if attacks are not
prevented.
Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic will
exacerbate the crises and security threats of the world, not least for the most
vulnerable in the conflict areas such as young girls who often are subject to
increased sexual and gender-based violence.
COVID-19 emphasizes the need for improving
remote verification. Remote verification is already ongoing in some conflicts,
but enhanced methods are needed. Member states can play a role in supporting
access to financing and innovative methods for remote data collection.
The
Nordic Countries urge all UN Member States to keep a strong focus on preventive
measures to protect children and ensure children’s education and access to
mental health and psycho-social support in humanitarian crises. Protection of
children’s rights must be integrated in all operational activities at
country-level, as must an understanding of what protection is needed for girls
and boys at different ages. Furthermore, we reiterate our call for all States
to join and implement the Safe Schools Declaration and for defending the
mandate of the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism.
The
Nordic Countries also urge all UN Member States to speak openly about how we
can establish effective accountability measures. This is key. We need to ensure
that those who are responsible for attacks on schools are brought to justice.
This is important for long-term resilience and stability in affected societies.
Most of all, we urge all parties to armed conflicts to comply with
International Humanitarian Law to mitigate the severe implications on children
in armed conflict.
Children
in armed conflicts must always get the attention and protection they are
entitled to.
Thank
you