Qatar Affirms Peace is Only Way to Protect Children Affected by Armed Conflicts

Abdullah Ali Behzad

The State of Qatar affirmed that the best and only way to provide full protection for children affected by armed conflicts is to work to bring peace, security and stability.

This came in the statement delivered by the third secretary of the permanent delegation of the State of Qatar to the United Nations office in Geneva Abdullah Ali Behzad before the 49th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC49) during the interactive dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

Behzad stated that the State of Qatar, in the context of its international humanitarian efforts, has also paid attention to education as the main gateway to the enjoyment of all human rights, and it has implemented many projects aimed at providing quality education to millions of children who have been deprived of this right due to poverty, armed conflicts, insecurity, and disasters. This came within the framework of the 'Educate a Child' program, which succeeded in enrolling 10 million children in school by implementing more than 65 projects in 50 countries in partnership with 82 global partners.

He added that Qatar has supported international efforts to protect education from attacks through a number of initiatives, and encouraged countries and all actors to commit to protecting education and educational facilities in times of armed conflict by adopting and applying the texts of the Safe Schools Declaration, which is an important document in this regard. Qatar also called on all parties of the armed conflict to immediately stop any attacks on educational facilities and to prevent their use for military purposes, he added.

He stressed the importance of collecting data on attacks on education in order to enhance the monitoring process, assist in investigations and hold perpetrators accountable, pointing out to the attention paid by the State of Qatar to the category of children and the importance of keeping them away from the dangers of war as part of its efforts to bring peace to the conflicts it mediated.

Behzad emphasized the important role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict in raising awareness of her mandate. He especially thanked her for the valuable information she provided during her participation as a keynote speaker at the high-level event to celebrate the International Day to Protect Education from Attack organized by the State of Qatar, Education Above All Foundation, UNESCO and UNICEF in Nov. 2021. (QNA)