Denmark

Europe

Endorsements

Endorsed in 2017

Endorsed

Endorsed

Endorsed

Relevant UN Resolutions
GCPEA Education Under Attack

Has not been profiled

Other GCPEA Publications

None
Other Important Information
Memberships in International Regional Organizations
Peacekeeping

Is a peacekeeping contributing country

Key Information

Key information about the country.

Advocacy Engagements

Engagements with this state or any other relevant information that can support advocacy.

Highlights

Details

2015: Attended the state consultations on the SSD in Geneva – led by Norway.

June 2018: Zema amet with Ambassador Loreen Bannis-Roberts, who was unfamiliar with the Declaration, but was very receptive and recognized need to protect education. Dominica will not make statements at CAAC Open Debate on 9th July. Endorsement template to the Ministry of Education will be sent with the idea that the country could endorse the Declaration in the following week.

July 2018: Joined Argentina’s joint statement to the UN SC during the open debate on children and armed conflict. Denmark co-sponsored resolution 2427 (2018) and also joined the statement of Canada on behalf of the GoF which mentioned the Safe Schools Declaration.

March 2019: attended GCPEA side-event on “Better Protecting Women and Girls from Attacks on Education” in Geneva.

March 2019: Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the SRSG CAAC Virginia Gamba, HRC Geneva: joined Norway’s joint statement on the Safe Schools Declaration.

September 2019: Human Rights Watch made a submission to the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which calls on the Committee to congratulate Denmark for endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration, and for incorporating explicit protections for schools from military use into their new military manual.

October 2021: cosponsored UNSRC2601.

July 2022: At the UNSC CAAC debate :
– Deeply concerned about increase in abductions and attacks on schools.
– Highlighted importance of access to safe, quality and conflict sensitive education, in particular for girls as it reduces risk of early marriage and pregnancy. Schools closure also lead to children recruitment.
– Education is crucial for breaking the cycle of conflict. This is why we call on all states to endorse and implement the Safe Schools Declaration and the UNSC resolution 2601.

September 2022: Endorsed the Call to Action on Education in crisis situations (refers to EuA22 data) at the Transforming Education Summit

November 2022: Endorsed the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA) on 18 November during an International Conference hosted by Ireland, the leader and penholder behind the Declaration.

UN Standards

Good Practice

What, if anything, the country has done to protect education and/or implement any of the 8 commitments outlined in the Declaration.

Commitment 1

The military manual on the law of the armed forces explicitly protects educational institutions: “Protection of children entails some respect for children’s right to education etc., including in conflict affected areas… [R]estraint should be exercised with respect to use of schools and other education institutions in support of Danish military operations. This particular focus on schools is due to the grave consequences of military use, not only in terms of immediate risk to the lives of children and young people, who may be in or in the neighborhood of such schools, but also more long-term consequences for school aged children.”- Military Manual on the Law of the Danish Armed Forces in International Military Operations, September 2016, pp. 45, 115, & 154.

Denmark updated its military manual in 2016 including explicit protections for schools from military use – before they endorsed the SSD.

Nonetheless, in 2019 they released an English translation of the manual, after Denmark’s endorsement in 2017, which contained footnotes referencing the Declaration as a source of this proposition

Commitment 2

None

 

Commitment 3

None

Commitment 4

None

Commitment 5

None

Commitment 6

None

Commitment 7

None

Commitment 8

None

Other

None

National Action Plan or Technical Committee on the SSD

Not established

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):
gvamis@um.dk

Other Contacts:

Olivia Bebe, Senior Policy Advisor, Human Rights: OLIBEB@UM.DK

ASTRID AGERHOLM RUGE, MINISTER COUNSELLOR, HUMAN RIGHTS: astrug@um.dk

lerasm@um.dk

ainasg@um.dk

New York Missions

General Email(s):
nycmis@um.dk

Other Contacts:
None

State-led Implementation Network

None

Additional

None