Syria Conference: a 国产视频淕ross Failure of Political Leadership”

A coalition of global children国产视频檚 charities has today accused world leaders of displaying a 国产视频済ross failure of political leadership国产视频� after they failed to prioritise education at a major conference on the future of Syria.

The coalition – led by 国产视频 – said it was disappointed that world leaders were unable to renew their commitment to the education of Syrian refugee children at today国产视频檚 Brussels IV Conference – Supporting the future of Syria and the region.

They fell short of committing the $10 billion which was requested by the United Nations to help build Syria. Instead, they pledged just听 $7.7 billion over the next two years, with many major donor countries, including the UK, making no firm commitments to education in their final pledges

This was despite an impassioned plea by Mark Lowcock, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the conference co-chair, to increase funding for the education of young Syrian refugees.听

In his opening remarks, he said: “One of the most tragic consequences of the horror story of the last decade has been the robbing of millions of children of their right to a decent education. This will have major long-term consequences – by which I mean we will see the results for more than fifty years.国产视频�

In 2016 global leaders promised that every Syrian refugee would be given a place in school in neighbouring countries within a year. At current rates of progress, that would take another 17 years.

Today, almost听 750,000 Syrian refugee children – 39% of all young Syrian refugees – remain out of school. This is in addition to the two million children inside Syria who are not receiving any education.

Justin van Fleet, President of 国产视频, said:听

国产视频淲e are heartbroken that global leaders have broken a promise they made to hundreds of thousands of children, many of whom have never set foot into a classroom.听

国产视频淭his failure to address education, the most basic right for any child, is a gross failure of political leadership. At the current rate, it will be 17 years before this refugee education crisis is solved – far too late for the 750,000 children who are out of education now.听

国产视频淭he responsibility for these children lies with those who made a promise and broke it this week, making only听 vague commitments to support education for millions of children.听 These governments and leaders have let us and these children down.

国产视频淓ducation is not only an investment in humanity. Education also reduces the risk of child marriage, teenage pregnancy, child labour and exploitation. Importantly, it offers hope to children that they have not been forgotten.国产视频�

More than 20 leading children国产视频檚 charities, including 国产视频, Save the Children, World Vision and Plan International, joined forces ahead of the conference to put pressure on the international community to renew their commitment to the education of Syrian refugees.听

In an听 open letter听 published ahead of the conference, they urged leaders not to give up on the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugee children who remain out of school.听

To coincide with the conference, 国产视频 also published a new report – Keeping Our Promise to Syria国产视频檚 refugees – Education and the No Lost Generation, and a 听惫颈诲别辞 on Syrian refugee education. The report called for the following:听听

1. Close the Funding Gap. Funding for refugee education in Syria and the region has declined since 2018 and there is a gap of $556 million between the funding available for education and the assessed education needs. None of the five main refugee hosting countries have received enough funding to meet their full education needs.听

2. Develop new, multi-year response plans to address the persistent barriers to education and the new realities of Covid-19.听

3. Commit to improving performance and results – including better data sharing to track progress against commitments made).

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

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Nicole Martin

Head of Partnerships and Media

nicole@theirworld.org听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

+447768695087