Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater attending the event via video conference.
Geneva: The State of Qatar has affirmed that the responsibility to respect, protect, and activate the right to education necessitates putting education at the top of priorities in times of war and peace alike, with the necessity to protect schools, universities, and all educational facilities from attack, as well as always recognizing their civilian nature, for them to remain as safe havens, promoting peace, development and stability.
This came in the State of Qatar’s speech delivered today by Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater via video conference, at a side event in Geneva on the occasion of the celebration of the fourth International Day to Protect Education from Attack.
The event was organized by the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN in Geneva, the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), and the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), under the auspices of the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Nigeria, Norway and Spain to the United Nations in Geneva, as well as the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) core group, the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies, and Save the Children.
The Minister of State for International Cooperation expressed the State of Qatar’s appreciation for all those who worked courageously and tirelessly to ensure educational opportunities for all children, especially those living in emergency situations due to conflicts or crises. She pointed out that despite these sincere efforts, attacks on education and the military use of schools have continued unabated over the past years, by all warring parties in different parts of the world, making it impossible for millions of children to continue their studies and education.
She noted the invaluable support provided by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, an advocate for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), in directing efforts towards protecting education and providing quality education to children who are out-of-school, through her initiative “Education Above All”, in addition to initiating the United Nations General Assembly declaration of the 9th of September as International Day to Protect Education from Attack.
She pointed out that the State of Qatar has adopted education as one of the strategic tools for regional and international cooperation, with the Education Above All Foundation (EAA) implementing projects via the “Educate a Child” program, together with 82 global partners in 50 countries, achieving its goal of helping more than 10 million of the most marginalized and out-of-school children by providing them with access to a good primary education.
Al Khater pointed out that EAA and other Qatari development and charitable organizations such as the Qatar Fund for Development and Qatar Charity, have built and renovated schools in Palestine and assisted Palestinian refugee students to complete their university education. Not to mention Qatar’s support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) which led to the acceleration of its programs aimed at providing educational opportunities for Palestinian refugees.
She noted that last month, EAA succeeded in completing its Ukraine Emergency Education Program - designed to integrate more than 6,000 Ukrainian refugee children into Polish educational and social systems.
