Standing in Solidarity with Refugees

World Refugee Day Statement by Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Yasmine Sherif

On this World Refugee Day, we stand in solidarity with refugees everywhere – especially the girls and boys who have been forced from their homes as a result of armed conflicts, climate-induced disasters and other protracted crises.

Solidarity with refugees means we will ensure their access to basic human services and safeguard their human rights. Chief among these is the right to a quality education.

Nearly half of the world’s school-aged refugees are out of school, according to UNHCR. That’s about 7.2 million girls and boys denied their right to access even basic learning. The challenge is much bigger than that. With forced displacement on the rise, even more children and adolescents are being pushed from their homes. The ones most at risk are also the most marginalized – girls, children with disabilities and other impacted groups.

At the World Refugee Forum, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) joined other strategic partners to make a pledge to provide refugee children across the globe with the life-saving protection that only a quality education can provide.

As we race to deliver on the commitments outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Pact for the Future, we must align resources, know-how and political will to make good on our promises of universal education.

With an education, refugee children can become productive members of society. They can integrate into their new societies, or serve as the arbiters of peace and development when they return to their homelands. With an education, we can break endless cycles of war, poverty and forced displacement. With an education, we can build resilient societies. Our investment in the education of refugee children today is an investment in a better future for all of humanity.

As we stand in solidarity with refugee children in places like Bangladesh, Chad, Colombia, Ethiopia, Syria, Uganda and beyond, we must unite as one people, one movement, to ensure they are able to access their inherent right to an inclusive, quality education. It’s our investment to end wars, poverty and forced displacement. It’s our investment to forge sustainable development pathways based on the resilience and vast human potential of future generations.