Tunisia

Outreach ahead of WHS (NY Ambassador, May 10 – Bede and Diya). First briefing, non-committal. Follow-up letter ahead of CAAC open debate August 2016.

January 2017: Petter met with Doha embassy. Mr. Rachid Saidani, Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy of Tunisia to Qatar. The aim of the meeting was to introduce the Safe Schools Declaration and the Guidelines and to encourage Tunisian government to join the initiative. Explained the key messages and our advocacy towards the Second Conference on Safe Schools in Argentina in March. Mr. Saidani promised to bring the message back to his capital. He was particularly interested in whether the governments of States which have not endorsed the Declaration yet are invited. I advised him to follow up with his colleagues in Geneva on this. Mr. Saidani also suggested that we might want to use the occasion of the International Francophonie Day (20 March, only a week before the Argentina conference) for spreading our messages and, possibly, reaching out to French speaking countries. While discussing GCPEA public campaign targeting new Canada administration, Mr. Saidani emphasized that Canada engagement (even though not signatory yet) would be of enormous help due to the level of respect within Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). Offered readiness to meet with the representatives of Tunisia MFA or other government agency attending the Doha conference in case they want to discuss the Safe Schools initiative in more detail. Mr. Saidani showed his genuine interest in this topic and might be a good interlocutor in the future.

February 2017: Meeting with GVA mission. Was clearly not up to speed on the issue, and wanted to defer to another expert in the mission. Thought that Tunisia had attended Oslo (we have no record) but didn’t know why they hadn’t joined yet. Said this was the kind of issue that the Minister of Education would appreciate. Given how helpful Tunisia would be, and our lack of understanding why they’re not clicking on this, has me wondering: is it worth a briefing in capital?

April 2017: Meeting with the ambassador in Geneva. Very pleasant meeting and he was positive about the initiative.

June 2017: Wrote to ambassador to request assistance with capital visit. No response yet.

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

October 2018: UN WPS open debate advocacy in New York: Gisela met with the First Secretary. She advised that Tunisia plans to run for the UN Security Council as the African Union candidate in the 2020 elections. She was very positive and open to the initiative. She felt that the only reason Tunisia hadn’t signed yet was because they had been so busy pursuing their reform agenda, and signing and ratifying other international documents. child protection and empowerment of women and girls are key issues for them. She would make a recommendation to capital, and she would refer to the issue in the draft of the statement for the open debate that they send to capital.
Follow-up: Letter for Foreign Minister and gender recommendations sent by email.

July 2019: Human Rights Watch made a submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in which they encourage Tunisia to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration now that Tunisia has been elected as one of the newest members on the UN Security Council.

May 2020: Save the Children shared GCPEA’s advocacy letter with the New York mission and secured a commitment for a meeting with Tunisia. No meeting was held.

October 2021: co-sponsored UNSC resolution 2601 (2021), the first thematic resolution on the protection of education in armed conflict and to mention the SSD (preamble).

December 2021: positive statement at arria formula meeting on the protection of education during armed conflict citing the SSD. “We acknowledge the important role of all actors in this field, states and civil society … we also welcome all ongoing efforts and international initiatives to protect children in armed conflict. We commend the Paris Principles …, the Safe Schools Declaration, and the UN Proclamation Day of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack … All these initiatives aim to send a central message on the importance of schools as safe heavens and the need to keep education at the top of the public agenda”

January 2022: Apolline and Michel, Save the Children’s Director in Geneva, met with H.E. Mr. Sabri BACHTOBJI, Ambassador in Geneva. The Ambassador was particularly interested in the peacekeeping angle, as Tunisia is a troop contributing country, as well as support within the AU and North-Africa region. He was very supportive and requested a briefing that he could then transmit to capital recommending endorsement. He also recommended that our coalition members follow up with the government in Tunis directly to encourage endorsement. Follow-up: GCPEA submitted the briefing with an official letter signed by the Director recommending endorsement.

January 2022: Norway invited the Tunisia Ambassador to a lunch, together with Australia and Japan, to discuss the SSD.

February 2022: Lunches in Geneva: GCPEA supported the Norwegian Permanent Mission in Geneva in organising two PR level lunches to discuss endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration with countries that have recently co-sponsored the UNSC resolution 2601. GCPEA prepared talking points and analysis of the countries’ positions (concerns and opportunities to endorsement). The first lunch took place on 09 February with the Ambassadors of Norway, Nigeria, Tunisia and Japan, as well as Michel Anglade, Save the Children Director representing GCPEA. Shortly after the lunch, the Norwegian mission received Tunisia’s letter of endorsement. During the discussions, Japan shared three main concerns about the Safe School Declaration: 1) Linkages between IHL and the Guidelines. 2) concern that endorsing the Safe School Declaration may lead to restrictions of the use of schools in time of disasters by military forces. 3) The defence agreement between Japan and the US could be an obstacle to endorse.

February 2022: shorthly after the lunch, Norway PM in Geneva received the letter of endorsement for Tunisia from the Geneva Ambassador, becoming the 114 endorsing state.

May 2022: On 04/05, GCPEA met with the Ambassador in Geneva and the First Secretary, at the request of the Ambassador, to discuss Tunisia joining the Core Group on SSD. We explained how Tunisia could be engaged on this issue at the Geneva level, most notably through support at the HRC and peer-to-peer advocacy. The Ambassador agreed to try and approach his counterpart from Gabon on endorsement. GCPEA briefed the Ambassador on the Geneva workshop’s outcomes, and highlighted upcoming events and opportunities to engage, including the Spain-led training and the launch of EuA2022.

March 2023: ID SRSG CAAC (52 HRC) national statement: – Concerned about schools being targeted by attacks
– Tunisia has endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration