Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children and Youth Through Education Takes Center Stage
Speaking at the Human Rights Council Social Forum on Tuesday, 1 October, the Education Above All Foundation (EAA) founder and chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, led a call to action on the promotion and protection of education as a fundamental human right. Her remarks were a precursor to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between EAA, Silatech, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights).
Seventy years after the international community adopted the Universal Declaration for Human Rights (UDHR), the right to education—Article 26 of the UDHR—continues to remain elusive. Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser made an impassioned case for why education must be protected, highlighting the personal stories of the children and communities who are living in crisis and conflict zones with little to no access to education. She additionally called upon the international community to take true accountability of the long-term, global effect of not ensuring every child has access to quality education and put forth a call for an international day for the protection of education in conflict, to be marked annually. Her words were particularly potent given that the event coincided with the 30th Anniversary year of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
As a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocate and long-time leader in the education advocacy space, Her Highness pointed to the challenges and negative outcomes of leaving any child behind when it comes to educational equity. With more than 14,000 attacks on education across more than 30 different countries in the past five years, she drew attention the devastation experienced by students in the MENA region, as well as the challenges to education access experienced by students in her native Qatar, due to the ongoing blockade by neighbouring nations.
, violations of the right to education persist worldwide. Today the right to education remains more of a statement of principle rather than a reality for 264 million primary and secondary age children and youth that are out of school[1]. Girls, children with disabilities, those from disadvantaged backgrounds or rural areas, indigenous peoples, foreign students, migrants and national minorities still face discriminatory practices, regarding their access to education but also within education systems themselves.
A major focus of Her Highness’ remarks was on bold solutions and accountability. She challenged those in the room to create true accountability and consequences for those who deliberately target schools and access to education during crisis and conflict. She also urged the need for innovation in the space—not just in funding but in how education can be accessed and quality assured. Partnerships with local actors and civil society were pointed to as ways in which innovative, sustainable solutions can be identified, implemented and supported.
Through its various programmes, including Protecting Education In Conflict (PEIC), which was part of establishing the Safe Schools Declaration—now adopted by 96 nations, EAA has built a network of multilateral partners with a strong emphasis on local and community actors all focused on protecting education. The organisation and its partners stand well-positioned to elevate the need for the global promotion and protection of education, particularly for the most marginalised children and youth.
Emphasizing the need to support the work on youth, community and civil society to protect human right to education, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Mr. Fahad Al Sulaiti, Chief Executive Officer, EAA; Ms. Sabah Al-Haidoos, Chief Executive Officer, Silatech; and Mr. Eldon Pearce, Chief of Finance and Budget Section, UN Human Rights. Her Highness and Ms. Michele Bachelet Jeria, who currently leads UN Human Rights witnessed the signing. EAA and Silatech, both founded by Her Highness, focus their efforts on ensuring every child and young person has access to quality primary education and the ability to connect to jobs that allow them to contribute to the social, inclusive and sustainable development of society.
The MOU prioritizes cooperation to promote and protect the human rights of young people. The emphasis of the agreement is to support young people’s economic and social empowerment; strengthen coordination and share expertise on the human rights of young people per their objectives and fields of work; and explore possibilities of cooperation in areas of mutual interest between the organizations.
Also showcased by EAA was a photographic exhibition and film featuring the stories of children from conflict zones and marginalised regions around the world, produced by humanitarian photojournalist Paddy Dowling. The exhibition and film were presented at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
At a time when youth voices are resonating on key issues of global import, the organizations hope to further empower youth advocates in the fundamentally important spaces of education, economic development and peace building.
[1] UNESCO, Global Education Monitoring Report 2017
