Global affairs were a top priority during Education International’s 43rd Executive Board meeting in Brussels, where resolutions targeting the Ebola crisis and refugee children from Syria and Iraq were among many items adopted.
As Education International’s (EI) Executive Board meeting came to a close following three days of discussion, the adoptions of two resolutions and two statements made clear the organisation’s influence and involvement in some of the world’s hardest hit areas.
Fighting Ebola
In order to provide some financial assistance to its member organisations affected most by the Ebola epidemic, EI adopted a resolution to launch a solidarity fund that will aid prioritized requests. The resolution comes following the latest World Health Organization (WHO) data, which confirms that more than 8,900 people have been infected, of whom at least 4,500 have died from the outbreak, predominantly in West African countries.
With cases expected to double by the end of the year, the resolution states that EI “should help those organisations to develop plans to prevent the spread of the disease which would be implemented at the school and community level and to develop appropriate health and hygiene programmes to be implemented in the schools in the aftermath of the epidemic, to try to ensure that it will not reoccur.”
Protecting refugees
With the conflicts in Syria and Iraq showing no signs of letting up, and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reporting that 32,000 people were forced to flee their homes every day last year, the EI Executive Board adopted a resolution calling for the protection of refugee and internally displaced children, and to ensure their right to an education.
The resolution, targeting governments, intergovernmental organisations and the international community, also demands that relevant, safe and secure education services and facilities are provided for all refugee children. It also makes clear that education unions in the concerned countries are properly consulted on education plans and programs, including the potential impacts of emergency measures.
#BringBackOurGirls
In the first of two statements, the Executive Board strongly repeated its condemnation for the kidnapping of more than 200 school girls by the terrorist group Boko Haram, in Chibok, northern Nigeria. In its statement, the Board members called “on the Nigerian federal authorities to increase efforts to secure the safe release of the school girls,” and “On all member organisations to support the ‘Safe School Initiative’ that EI is assisting the government to put in place.”
The board also issued a solemn reminder of the 171 Nigerian teachers killed since 2009, as well as the 46 children murdered while they slept in their dormitories in July 2013 by Boko Haram.
Acknowledging Nobel Laureates
The Executive Board also celebrated the international recognition of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yosafzai. Mr Satyarthi is a long-time friend of EI, most notably through the Global March against Child Labour. Malala Yousafzai, 17, is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize. The continuous threats on her life, including being shot in the head by the Taliban in 2009, have not held Ms Yousafzai from advocating for girls’ right to an education in Pakistan and worldwide.
The Executive board joins world leaders and ordinary people in recognising the courage, vision and tenacity of these two global advocates for children’s rights.