Norway urges global endorsement of declaration on school protection in war

Norway has underscored the need for increased protection of students, schools and universities during armed conflict.

That is amid Israel’s barbaric campaign of death, destruction and genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip.

At a UN Security Council discussion on Tuesday, Norway’s ambassador said that in 2021, the Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2601, which condemned attacks and threats of attack against schools, educational facilities and civilians connected with schools.

“The Safe School Declaration is endorsed by 120 states,” Norway said, urging all states to endorse it.

The declaration is an intergovernmental political commitment that allows states to support protecting students, teachers, schools, and universities from attack during times of armed conflict.

In 2015, the governments of Norway and Argentina led a process among UN member states to develop the Safe Schools Declaration.

The declaration outlines a set of commitments to strengthen the protection of education from attack and restrict use of schools and universities for military purposes.

It was opened for countries to endorse at the First International Conference on Safe Schools in Oslo, Norway, in May 2015.

Latest figures show about 10,000 Palestinian students along with 400 teachers have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education has said Israel’s targeting of schools in Gaza has “eroded the foundation for sustained societal growth.”

The United Nations also reported that more than 76 percent of schools in Gaza require “full reconstruction or major rehabilitation” to be functional.

Two-thirds of schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza have been hit, some were bombed out, many severely damaged, since October.

Gaza onslaught blocks exams, crushes Palestinian students' dreams

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza dashes hopes of Palestinian students who want to pursue higher education.

UNRWA says over 625,000 children in Gaza have not attended school for more than eight months.

The UN agency said there were 300,000 UNRWA students before the war.

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