The Diplomat
Representatives from 20 countries and specialised international organisations are analysing, at the request of the Spanish government, guidelines to prevent the military use of schools and protect education in conflict situations.
The Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ángeles Moreno Bau; the Secretary of State for Education, Alejandro Tiana Ferrer; and the Deputy Director General for Plans and International Relations of the Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant General Fernando José López del Pozo (former coordinator of Operation Balmis against the coronavirus), inaugurated an international virtual seminar on Wednesday to implement the Declaration on Safe Schools, “an unavoidable intergovernmental political commitment to guarantee the right to education during armed conflicts”, in the words of the Secretary of State.
The seminar, which will take place over several days until 17 March, has been organised by the Humanitarian Action Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), with the collaboration of the Directorate General of the United Nations, International Organisations and Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
During the seminar, more than 70 members of the security forces and civil servants from the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs from 20 countries, as well as members of specialised international organisations, “will share good practices for compliance with the Guidelines for the Protection of Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict, approved in 2015”, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The holding of this seminar responds to the commitment of the Government of Spain, during the III International Conference on Safe Schools held in 2019 in Palma de Mallorca, to organise a training programme for the implementation of the Declaration and Guidelines on Safe Schools”, continued the Department headed by Arancha González Laya.
Over the past five years, 106 countries have endorsed this initiative, promoted by Argentina and Norway and joined by Spain in 2019, which has led more countries to revise their military doctrine to restrict the use of schools and universities for military purposes, proving that it can be avoided altogether. Seminar participants are from Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Mali, Morocco, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Lebanon, Somalia, Ukraine, Vietnam and Yemen.
