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“Beyond the need to place the issue of the impact of insecurity on education at the center of political and not just humanitarian concerns, the aim of this initiative was – among other things – to contribute to accelerating the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2601(2021) and the Safe Schools Declaration, and to provide concrete recommendations to protect children’s access to education.

The key message delivered by the participants at the end of two days’ discussion confirms the urgency and importance that we must – all together – attach to this issue. “Today’s children are tomorrow’s decision-makers, and education cannot wait,” they declared.

Education Cannot Wait, a global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, lobbied at COP28 for a $150 million appeal to support school-aged children facing climate shocks, such as the devastating drought in Somalia and Ethiopia, and floods in Pakistan where many of the 26,000 schools hit in 2022 remain closed.

As we set out in the government’s international women and girls strategy, the UK is standing up for the right of every girl everywhere to secure the knowledge and skills she needs to reach her full potential. This includes the right of every girl to receive 12 years of quality education, including in wars and other crises.

The UK is the second largest donor to Education Cannot Wait, a global fund dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises, because we refuse to give up on the 224 million children and teenagers affected by the horrors of war, natural disasters and displacement. After all, one of the children we educate through this action may be the person who discovers a cure for cancer or invents the essential technologies of the future.

Diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government, let alone fully normalised relations, is certainly out of the question as long as religious edicts deprive girls and women of their basic human rights. But that does not preclude the international community from taking steps to promote gender equality.

One such step would be developing new channels of communication—possibly though Qatar or the United Arab Emirates—with Taliban officials who understand that Afghanistan needs to educate all young people. The internal divisions within the regime have opened a window, albeit a small one. We must seize this chance to help give the world’s most oppressed girls and women the opportunity to realise their potential.

Allí los acogimos gracias al programa Education can’t wait (La educación no puede esperar) que llevamos a cabo en el centro de Mali para apoyar los esfuerzos del gobierno maliense en hacer frente a la creciente demanda de ayuda humanitaria. El programa quiere mejorar el acceso de niñas, niños y adolescentes vulnerables de entre 3 y 18 años a una educación de calidad que cumpla las normas de seguridad, sanidad, organización y enseñanza en las zonas (círculos) de Mopti, Bandiagara, Douentza, Bankass y Koro. 
 

Después de que expertos de las Naciones Unidas visitaran Afganistán a comienzos de este año, la Oficina del Alto Comisionado para los Derechos Humanos (ACNUDH) concluyó en un informe que las políticas discriminatorias y misóginas de los talibanes y los métodos estrictos de cumplimiento constituyen “una persecución de género y un marco institucionalizado de apartheid de género”. Richard Bennett, el reportero especial sobre Derechos Humanos en Afganistán del ACNUDH, lo describió como “un crimen contra la humanidad”.

El reconocimiento diplomático del gobierno talibán y, por supuesto, las relaciones totalmente normalizadas ciertamente son impensables, en tanto los edictos religiosos priven a las mujeres y a las niñas de sus derechos humanos básicos. Pero eso no impide que la comunidad internacional tome medidas para promover la igualdad de género.

Japan's contribution to "Education Cannot Wait," a global fund that provides education to those affected by emergencies and crises, will be allocated to support children in Ukraine, which has been under invasion by Russia since February 2022, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

"Japan is helping refugees and displaced persons become independent through education and vocational training. We strongly encourage them to develop their abilities so they can contribute to peace and reconstruction at home," Kamikawa said in her speech.

The second gathering of the international forum for refugees comes amid the intensifying war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas since October and the conflict in Ukraine, which have fueled concerns about a surge in the number of refugees globally.

It has now been over two years since the United States military ended its decades-long war in Afghanistan, and the world’s attention has predictably shifted to the horrific conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. But the mess left behind by the chaotic US withdrawal has not been cleaned up – far from it. Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the country’s economic and humanitarian crises have deepened and sharpened.

Ultimately, refugee inclusion is not only an opportunity to strengthen national education systems for refugees and host community children and adolescents. It is an opportunity to ignite change through empowering those whose extraordinary resilience will help all of us to advance human evolution in science, technology, medicine and the arts, just to mention a few. The greatest minds and souls are to be found in refugees and those who have offered them refuge.

Since operations commenced in 2017, almost one-third of the children Education Cannot Wait has reached are refugees. We will not stop.

“Peperangan kejam di Sudan perlu berhenti. Kanak-kanak sedang mati, kanak-kanak lelaki dan perempuan dinafikan hak asasi manusia dan maruah manusia mereka. Kita perlu bertindak sekarang sebagai komuniti global untuk menangani krisis kemanusiaan kompleks ini dengan memastikan kanak-kanak dan remaja mempunyai akses kepada persekitaran pembelajaran yang selamat dan melindungi, perkhidmatan kesihatan mental dan sokongan psikososial, dan peluang pendidikan yang menyeluruh yang lain. Kami menyeru pemimpin dunia untuk meningkatkan pembiayaan untuk pendidikan secara mendadak bagi menangani krisis memusnahkan ini,” kata Yasmine Sherif, Ketua Eksekutif Education Cannot Wait, dana global untuk kecemasan pendidikan dan krisis berpanjangan.

Hỗ trợ mới sẽ được thực hiện bởi Cơ quan Tị nạn Liên Hợp Quốc (UNHCR), hỗ trợ hơn 20.000 trẻ em với giáo dục chất lượng. Quỹ Giáo dục Không thể Chờ đợi kêu gọi các nhà tài trợ tăng cường tài trợ cho phản ứng khủng hoảng người tị nạn khu vực Sudan.

Là một phần trong phản ứng khu vực đối với cuộc khủng hoảng người tị nạn Sudan, Quỹ Giáo dục Không thể Chờ đợi (ECW) hôm nay công bố hỗ trợ mới trị giá 2 triệu USD tại Ai Cập. Hỗ trợ trong 12 tháng sẽ được thực hiện bởi UNHCR, cung cấp tiếp cận giáo dục cứu mạng cho trẻ em trốn chạy cuộc chiến ở Sudan.

"We cannot significantly improve the situation by merely providing food, water, and shelter to vulnerable people. We must adopt a more future-oriented, medium- to long-term approach," Kamikawa said at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.

Japan's contribution to "Education Cannot Wait," a global fund that provides education to those affected by emergencies and crises, will be allocated to support children in Ukraine, which has been under invasion by Russia since February 2022, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.