Our Responsibility to Protect

The world is becoming more insulated, more isolated and more dangerous by the day. As nations turn toward domestic priorities, we are witnessing seismic shifts in the funding and delivery of international aid.

Moves toward nationalism will have dangerous repercussions the world over, while at the same time limiting our economic potential, undermining global peace efforts, and derailing our collective work to deliver on the commitments outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals, and other accords that form the backbone of the UN Charter and International Human Rights Law, including the Responsibility to Protect and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

By turning inward, we are turning away from the millions of children and adolescents who need our urgent support and protection in accessing life-saving quality education. By turning away, we are forgetting the remarkable impact education can have in building stronger, safer, more resilient societies. Because ethics, values, human rights, justice and peace are virtues and standards that are imparted on a child during their most formative years as part of their education.

However, today’s world is on fire. I have seen it firsthand during my recent visits to meet with girls and boys impacted by the devastation of ferocious armed conflicts, forced displacement and climate change in places like the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and Nigeria.   

On my recent mission to Egypt – where approximately 9,000 children are arriving every month as they flee the brutal conflict in Sudan – I had the honor of meeting with refugee children impacted by one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises. It is our responsibility to speak for these children, to stand up for their human rights, and to activate our global strategic partners to shoulder our nearly universal commitment to RP2 or the responsibility to protect.

Each of their individual tragedies – which count in the hundreds of millions – are not isolated; they impact all of us. International law is being put to the test, and the great global society we have all worked together so hard to build since 1945 is greatly at risk.

Now, more than ever, we are called on by the conscience of humanity and the demands of international law to strengthen our resolve to implement the Responsibility to Protect (R2P): “ … an international norm that seeks to ensure that the international community never again fails to halt the mass atrocity crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.”

To do this, the first pillar of the R2P calls on each State to act to protect its populations from these atrocities. As we look to ensure increased inclusivity of the Global South and to activate local talents, we must fully embrace the power of local action and education on behalf of our global humanity.

This month’s compelling ECW high-level interview with Raïssa Malu, Minister of State, Minister of National Education and New Citizenship for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, highlights the power and potential of national action to deliver on the promise of education for all and the other Sustainable Development Goals.

As we lead into this year’s United Nations General Assembly and Summit of the Future, we must remember these commitments – and the other universal values built from the ashes of World War II – as we work together to deliver on the promises of a safer, more equal world that provides justice, peace and security – for ALL.

As a global community, it is our responsibility to say no to the immoral targeting of innocent girls, boys and their families. It is our responsibility to say no to inexcusable attacks on schools, teachers and education. It is our responsibility to say no to flagrant human rights abuses. It is our responsibility to take action that makes a difference.

It is our responsibility, as stewards of our planet, to rise against the tides of injustice, discrimination, and personal or profitable biases. It is our responsibility to #ShareTheirVoices, for crisis-affected children and adolescents like Aisha and Ali, who desperately need the safety, hope and opportunity that only quality education in a safe learning environment can provide.

Authentic leadership instinctively and fearlessly provides protection to the weakest and most marginalized, their rights and safety. If we cannot protect innocent and helpless school children and safeguard their rights, are we authentic and responsible leaders?

Just a question posed by over 224 million children currently suffering the destruction of their education, their teachers and their entire lives.