Gordon Brown: ‘we need a New Deal to protect world’s children from conflict and suffering’

Millions of children around the world need a 国产视频済lobal New Deal国产视频� in 2017 to keep them safe and guarantee their right to an education.

Such an agreement聽would help to protect聽30 million children displaced by 40聽wars, United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown said today.

At a summit on education in emergencies in Belgium, he added: 国产视频�2016 will go down as the year in post-war history when it has never been more unsafe to be a child.

国产视频淣ow it is time to put centre stage the civil rights struggle for children 国产视频撀爁or an end to the casual and routine violation of children国产视频檚 rights; for the right of boys and girls not to be in the front line of war; for schools not be used as instruments of war; for children国产视频檚 rights to education to be upheld at all times, irrespective of borders;聽and for us to end exploitation in child labour, child marriage and child trafficking聽in favour of education.国产视频�

Brown called on the UN, World Bank and other international institutions to sign up to a 国产视频淣ew Deal国产视频� for the world国产视频檚 children in 2017 that would mean:

• All schools are protected as safe places
• Children are not used as weapons of war 国产视频� particularly聽not as child soldiers
• Every refugee child国产视频檚 right to education is upheld
• Every war crime and crime against humanity committed against children should be fully investigated

The Education in Emergencies Forum today in Brussels聽is hosted聽by the European Commission国产视频檚 humanitarian aid and civil protection department.聽

It has brought together聽decision-makers, humanitarian experts and others to discuss how to聽support quality education for crisis-affected children.

Addressing the forum,聽Brown called for聽the International Criminal Court to act when children are the victims of attacks.

He said 500,000 children were under siege in Syria and Iraq 国产视频� and evidence was mounting of a war crime against schoolchildren in Iblid, Syria, where more than 20 students were killed in an air strike.

The UN envoy聽said:聽国产视频淣o child in Syria国产视频檚 conflict zones is safe, not even in hospitals or the recently-opened underground classrooms.聽

国产视频淭he evidence grows of war crimes against girls trafficked out of Libya. In Nigeria, millions of girls live in fear of Boko Haram and will not go to school.聽

国产视频淲ith child marriage, child trafficking and child labour on the rise 国产视频撀燼nd with thousands of girls having vanished on the routes from the Middle East to Europe 国产视频撀爄t can now be more dangerous to be a girl or a boy out on the streets than a soldier in the trenches.

国产视频淚nternational law is being routinely and casually violated with schools 国产视频撀爓hich should be safe havens 国产视频� becoming theatres of war and children, who should be in those safe havens, forced into the front-line of so many of the world国产视频檚 civil conflicts.国产视频�

On the potential New Deal for children, Brown said it was time to stop 国产视频減assing the begging bowl国产视频� to raise funds during crises.

He added:聽国产视频淚t is surely time to urgently find a funding formula that will allow guaranteed support for refugees 国产视频� and a chance for them not simply to have food and shelter but schooling too.

国产视频淭his is all the more necessary because recent appeals for funds for education in emergencies have yielded so little return 聽less than 10% in Nigeria, DRC and Iraq and less than 1%聽in Burkina Faso, Chad and the Central African Republic.

国产视频淭he answer must now lie in World Bank President Jim Kim国产视频檚 laudable ambition to make his organisation the bank for the international system.聽

国产视频淚 believe we can secure a new deal between the UN agencies and the World Bank to release the funds necessary for the safety and education of 30 million displaced children and 10 million refugee boys and girls.