Flag

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Asia

Endorsements

Safe Schools Declaration

Not Endorsed

Paris Principles

Not Endorsed

Vancouver Principles

Not Endorsed

EWIPA Declaration

Not Endorsed

No current endorsements

Relevant UN Resolutions

No current sponsorships
GCPEA Education Under Attack

Profiled in GCPEA Education Under Attack

Profiled in: 2020

Other Important Information
Memberships in International Regional Organizations

Peacekeeping

Is a peacekeeping contributing country

Key Information

Key information about the country.

Advocacy Meetings

Chronological recap of the engagement with this state or any other relevant information that can support advocacy.

August 2016: CAAC Open Debate: Mentions attacks on schools in Gaza in 2014. “In the face of children killed and their homes, schools and hospitals destroyed, it is disappointing that undue pressure and lobbying were exerted that could change the course of events. Last year, Israel was not blacklisted despite flagrantly targeting children in Gaza. This year in Yemen, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition was first blacklisted, based on United Nations findings that it was directly responsible for 60 per cent of child casualties, including the deaths of 785 children due to bombing campaigns. But surprisingly, its name was finally removed from the list. Finally, have the ongoing airstrikes in Yemen, which have already led to the deaths of hundreds of Yemeni children, had any result other than strengthening Da’esh and Al-Qaida? While the world seems mostly unconscious of and indifferent to the killing and suffering of Yemeni children, can the international community be protected against the growing strategic threat of terrorism and violent extremism?”

April 2017: Attended post-conference briefing for missions in New York.

October 2018: UN WPS open debate advocacy in New York: GCPEA first meeting with Iran. Gisela met with the Second Counsellor. He said that empowerment of women and girls is a priority issue for his government, as is access to education. They have highlighted attacks on schools in Gaza and Yemen in previous statements. He highlighted high enrolment rates for girls and women in education. He recognised the relevance of the issue for Iran, noting the unpredictable situation of conflict in the region. He welcomed our approach and invited us to continue dialogue. Follow-up: Letter for Foreign Minister and gender recommendations sent by email.

March 2019: Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the SRSG Ms. Virginia Gamba, HRC Geneva:referred to the issue of attacks on/or and military use of schools.

March 2020: During the consultions on the GA Res on International Day to Protect Education for Attack: Recognizing the importance of ensuring inclusive and 12 years of equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all (PP6) Russia wanted this PP to be revised, supported by Algeria, India, Iran to not include reference to 12 years of education, through stating that there is no basis for that it should be 12 years. The Safe School Declaration (SSD) PP7 Egypt, Iran, Algeria, Russia and Indonesia opposed including reference to the SSD. The argument was that the SSD is not a UN negotiated process, and should hence go. The US stated that while it is not a signatory to the SSD, it should stay since it does not impose any action on member states, it is only a factual para.

July 2022: At the UNSC CAAC debate : – “In Afghanistan, the United Nations confirmed 2,577 grave violations against 2,430 children in 2021, including killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction, recruitment, attacks on schools, particularly girls’ schools, and the intimidation of school personnel. The Taliban should allow all Afghan children, including girls, to attend school.”
March 2017: Attended Buenos Aires Conference on Safe Schools and provided a speaker – third secretary from Geneva mission.

March 2017: UNAMA organized a workshop in Mazar, Afghanistan, aimed at finding ways to prevent the recruitment of children by armed groups. The workshop included sessions outlining international legal instruments including the SSD, which Afghanistan endorsed in 2015.

May 2017: Human Rights Watch issued a letter to all NATO member states about civilian protection in Afghanistan, asking them to help Afghanistan to stop using schools in light of their shared commitments under the Declaration.

September 2017 UNSC: GCPEA sent a letter to the Ambassador of Afghanistan in New York asking to raise issue of attacks and military use and to draw attention to the Declaration and Guidelines during the Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict.

October 2017: Human Rights Watch issued a report on barriers to access to education for girls in Afghanistan, together with a new animation video, highlighting many of these barriers, including attacks on students and military use of schools.

March 2018: During the Annual Day on the Rights of the Child, 5 March: Afghanistan highlighted their support for the Declaration in their national statement.

May 2018: In its monthly update for May, Watchlist called on Afghanistan to implementation the Declaration.

July 2018: Co-sponsored resolution 2427 (2018).

August 2018: Norwegian Refugee Council issued a report, Educational Sites in Afghanistan are Changing from Bastions of Hope and Safety into Spaces of Fear, Armed Conflict and Politics. According to the report, schools in Afghanistan are increasingly becoming military, ideological, and political battlegrounds. “28 per cent of surveyed children and parents stated that schools in their places of origin had been closed due to the conflict. NRC found that the majority of surveyed children do not feel safe at school, with many boys and girls terrified that their school would be attacked. 12 per cent had experienced attacks on their school and 15 per cent experienced shooting very near to their school building. Many had missed exams or periods of school, either because of threats from armed actors, or because they or their parents believed that the school would be targeted. 36 per cent of the children were frightened about risks of kidnap or attack en route to school.” The report also refers to NRC Afghanistan’s new 2018-2020 Protection Strategy which will focus partly on protecting education and operationalizing the Safe Schools Declaration.

November 2018: GCPEA has been working with Save the Children to prepare a briefing paper on attacks on education in Afghanistan that will be released on November 26, ahead of the Geneva Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan that will take place in Geneva on November 27-28.

November 2018: GCPEA released Attacks on Education in Afghanistan briefing paper to coincide with the Geneva Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan, where the Afghan Government and the international community will gather to discuss strategies for achieving peace and development in the country.

March 2019: mentioned their endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration during the Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the SRSG CAAC Virginia Gamba, HRC Geneva. Joined Norway’s joint statement on the Safe Schools Declaration.

May 2019: Participated in the Third International Conference in Palma.

December 2019: HRW made a submission to CEDAW: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/12/23/submission-committee-elimination-discrimination-against-women-review-afghanistan.

April 2020: the Safe Schools Declaration was referenced by the Working Group in connection with the examination of the fourth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan (document S/2019/727).

March 2020: the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has now made its first reference to the Guidelines for Protecting Schools from Military Used during Armed Conflict, in its concluding observations regarding Afghanistan

Oct 2020: GCPEA Director attended a joint virtual meeting which brought together the Group of Friends of Afghanistan in New York, Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict in New York, and the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict in Kabul, Afghanistan. In her intervention, Diya highlighted that attacks against students and education personnel accelerated dramatically during 2017-2019 and gave concrete recommendations to strengthen implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration.

Relevant Contacts

Contact information of the representatives of Permanent Missions, national Ministries, and focal points for the State-led Implementation Network.

Geneva Missions

General Email(s):
missionofiran@gmail.com | iranunog@mfa.gov.ir

Other Contacts:
None

New York Missions

General Email(s):
Iran@un.int

Other Contacts:
None

State-led Implementation Network

None