Swiss delegation raises education in emergencies at plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie

• 224 million children and young people caught up in humanitarian crises are in urgent need of educational support. 72 million of those are out of education entirely.

• The Swiss Delegation to the Parliamentary Association of the Francophonie (APF) raised the issue in a session with the Secretary General of the organisation of French speaking states and international instituions calling on the organisation to do more to safeguard the right to education in emergencies.

• The Geneva Declaration, launched at ECW’S High-Level Financing Conference in February in Geneva was informed by the APF’s Resolution on strengthening education in emergencies in the wake of COVID-19.

The Swiss delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF), led by State Counsellor Charles Juillard, is bringing Education in Emergencies (EiE) to the table at the APF Plenary Session held in Tbilisi, Georgia on 7-8 July.

The APF, and Switzerland’s delegation in particular, has strongly advocated for EiE at the international level, including by adopting a resolution on the strengthening of education in emergencies in the wake of COVID-19 which, among other things, served as the model for the Geneva Declaration on Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises.

The Geneva Declaration provides a framework for raising awareness of the unprecedented impact of forced displacement and humanitarian crises on education and sets out the challenge posed by humanitarian crises to the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4).

Speaking at the launch of the Geneva Declaration at Education Cannot Wait's High Level Financing Conference in February, Swiss member of parliament Nicolas Walder said, “For us in the International Francophonie, the right to education is essential. Education is a lifeline for children everywhere, it brings stability and hope to young people and their families, and is is our duty to pursue solidarity and concerted action to support that right to education.”

Nicholas Walder speaking at the launch of the Geneva Declaration at Education Cannot Wait High Level Financing Conference, February 2023, Geneva.

The question being posed by the Swiss delegation, addressed to the Secretary General of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo, provides an update on the state of EiE and encourages all OIF members to both contribute to awareness-raising among governments about this crucial issue and engage with Geneva’s Global Hub for Education in Emergencies. The statement is as follows:

Ms. Secretary General,

In the spring of 2020, the closure of educational and training establishments deprived 95% of the Francophonie’s children and young people of the benefits of in-person teaching. This situation led, in January 2021, to the APF’s adoption of a resolution on the strengthening of education in emergencies.

The Geneva Declaration on Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises, adopted in 2023, is based on this resolution. As things stand, 224 million children and young people are in urgent need of educational support – including 72 million who are out of education entirely.

As International Geneva brings together numerous actors active in this arena, Switzerland has decided to unite these efforts by making Geneva a Global Hub for Education in Emergencies. Would the OIF contribute to awareness-raising among governments about this crucial issue, and about engaging with Geneva’s EiE Hub? This would be of great help to the growth of political and financial engagement towards EiE.

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