The State of Qatar confirmed that it attaches great importance to education in its development and relief policies and programs that it implements at the national, regional and international levels.

The State of Qatar stressed that education has positive effects on the development of children on a sound basis away from violence and extremism, expressing belief that it is important to deal with the root causes of violent extremism and associated armed conflicts.

This came in the State of Qatar’s statement delivered by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani at the official meeting of the UN Security Council on the item “Children and Armed Conflict”.

“Based on our conviction that the right to education does not fall due to armed conflict, the State of Qatar has attached great importance to the issue of ensuring education for children in emergencies, especially in situations of armed conflict,” HE said, adding that this keenness was embodied through the establishment of ‘Education Above All Foundation’ and other educational initiatives and programs which are implemented in cooperation with international organizations, through which the State of Qatar has been able to access quality educational services to millions of children around the world.

She pointed out that the Security Council’s continued consideration of this issue over the past years reflects the commitment of the international community to provide protection for children, who are the hope of peoples to build safe and stable societies and achieve peace and security in the world.

HE Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the UN stressed that the fulfillment of the obligations imposed by the international humanitarian law on the conflict parties to protect civilians during armed conflicts is an important factor in the protection of civilians, especially children who pay the greatest price for these conflicts because they are the weaker segment.

HE Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani pointed out that during the current armed conflicts, violent extremist groups are not paying attention to any obligations towards international humanitarian law and are committing grave violations against children without hesitation or fear, adding that UN Secretary-General said in his report that 6,800 violations against children in ten countries affected by armed conflict have been perpetrated by violent extremist groups.

In 2016, the State of Qatar, in cooperation with the President of the General Assembly at its 70th session and with the participation of several Member States, initiated a high-level discussion on the protection of children and youths affected by violent extremism, HE said, pointing out that this discussion came out with important conclusions and recommendations on how to move forward regarding this issue.

On September 18, 2017, the State of Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism and Silatech foundation in Qatar to enhance the employability of young people in the Arab and Islamic region as part of building their capacities and launching projects to prevent them from violent extremism, she said in the statement.

Furthermore, HE Ambassador Sheikha Alia said “as part of our commitment to protecting the right to education in emergencies, my country was one of the first countries to ratify the Oslo Safe Schools Declaration.” She also commended the framework for action of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, which provides suggestions, examples and practices to benefit States in implementing their obligations by declaring safe schools.

In this regard, HE expressed the State of Qatar’s deep concern over the violations suffered by children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Syria, which the Secretary-General referred to in his report, stressing the importance of the international community’s decisive engagement in achieving a just and lasting solution to these conflicts in which children pay a heavy price.

Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani concluded the statement by stressing that the State of Qatar will spare no effort to support international efforts to protect children in all circumstances and by all means and to provide the favourable environment to their development in safe and healthy conditions that will enable them to develop their potential for a peaceful, secure and prosperous future for all peoples of the world

Source: Fana News