Intervention by the Permanent Representative of the Argentine Republic, Amb. Martín García Moritán

May 10

Your excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

It is an honor for Argentina to partner with Qatar, Norway and the Institute for International Education to support the launch of the fourth report of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

This new publication focuses on cases of threat or use of force against students, teachers and education staff, and against schools, universities and other education institutions carried out for political military, ideological, sectarian, ethnic or religious reasons.

It represents the most comprehensive effort to map the vulnerability of people and education facilities on the ground in conflict situations, showing that attacks on education have worsened in the last five years, becoming more widespread and increasing in some countries.

Therefore, we look forward to listening to the high level panel today which will present some of the findings of the 2018 Report on "Education under Attack" and specific cases illustrating the importance of this topic.

We hope that the publication of the report will contribute to a deeper understanding of the need for greater protection of children, students, teachers and educational facilities during armed conflict and will stress the relevance of the Safe Schools Declaration adopted in Oslo in 2015.

Since its inception, Argentina has been an active and strong supporter of the Declaration, in the understanding that education is fundamental to development and to the full enjoyment of human rights, and that continued access to safe education can help protect children and youth from the perils of armed conflict.

As host of the Second International Conference on Safe Schools in March 2017, Argentina is glad to see that 74 countries have already endorsed the Declaration and that the number is increasing continuously.

We stand ready to work together with governments, the United Nations system, civil society and all relevant actors to redouble our efforts to increase the amount of endorsements and to protect education from attacks.

Thank you.