IPNEd supports calls from the IPU for renewed commitment to multilateralism

IPNEd welcomes the IPU’s call for a stronger commitment to international humanitarian law, including especially the protection of educational staff, students and infrastructure during armed conflict

• At the 149th IPU Assembly, lawmakers urged stronger international collaboration to address escalating crises, from conflict to climate change.

• The resolution condemned attacks on civilians, with a focus on safeguarding education. IPNEd’s Joseph Nhan-O'Reilly encouraged governments to support the Safe Schools Declaration.

• IPNEd calls on parliaments to endorse the IPU resolution by advocating for policies that protect education and promote peace globally.

Against a backdrop of escalating conflicts around the world, the consequences of climate change and the risk of pandemics, resulting in a multiplication of humanitarian crises, lawmakers meeting at the 149th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union - the global organisation of national parliaments - emphasised the urgency of a collective response and cooperation at the international level.

The resolution passed at the Assembly begins by quoting UN Secretary-General António Guterres address to the United Nations General Assembly on 24 September 2024, in  which he  said: “Our world is in a whirlwind. We are in an era of epic transformation – facing challenges unlike any we have ever seen – challenges that demand global solutions.”

The resolution highlights the gravity of the challenges the global community is facing resulting in a multiplication of humanitarian crises and urgently calls for a collective response, founded on renewed political will, to cooperate at the international level to build a more peaceful world and create a better future for current and succeeding generations.

The resolution calls for a series of things including the “complete rejection of the indiscriminate targeting by armed forces of civilians” drawing particular attention to attacks on education workers and education infrastructure, “which represents a grave breach of international humanitarian law based on the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.”

“IPNEd welcomes the IPU’s call for a stronger commitment to international humanitarian law, including especially the protection of educational staff, students and infrastructure during armed conflict,” said Executive Director Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly.

“The latest data from the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack identifies around 6,000 reported attacks on students, educators, schools, and universities, as well as cases of parties to conflict using educational facilities for military purposes.

“Attacks on education and military use increased by nearly 20 percent in 2022 and 2023 compared to the two previous years and given the escalation of conflict around the world including in Palestine we expect that number to increase in 2024.”

The Safe Schools Declaration, which was initiated by the governments of Norway and Argentina in 2015, is an inter-governmental political commitment designed to protect students, teachers, schools, and universities from the worst effects of armed conflict.

Since then 120 states around the world have endorsed the Declaration and we encourage all states to do so.

The Declaration builds a community of nations committed to respecting the civilian nature of schools and developing and sharing examples of good practices for protecting schools and universities during armed conflict. It offers guidance on concrete measures that armed forces and armed non-state actors can take to deter military use of educational facilities, to reduce the risk of attack, and to mitigate the impact of attacks and military use when they do occur.

“If parliaments are looking for ways to take action, in line with the IPU resolution, to strengthen international cooperation in response to the armed conflict, one very practical way to do so would be to call on their governments to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration,” said Mr Nhan-O’Reilly.

“If their governments have already endorsed the Declaration then I encourage members of parliament to ask the government what it is doing to implement the Declaration.

“International cooperation is critical to responding to the global challenges we face, all of which directly threaten the achievement of SDG 4 - quality education for all.”

IPNEd welcomes the IPU resolution and with the IPU and its member parliaments commits to defend the principles of peace, human rights, dignity, equality, justice and solidarity, and will do everything we can to support our members navigate the complexities of current crises.