Dominican Republic

October 2016: Zama met with UNICEF deputy rep (on a stretch in NY but headed back next week). She would not commit to raise with the government but if we send her copies of any letters and ask for follow-up, we might get it. She had personal experience with attacks on schools in DRC.

February 2017: Bede and Gisela met with GVA mission rep. New to issue, but was glad that we met with her to raise the issue. Would make positive recommendation to capital.

April 2017: Attended post-conference briefing for missions in New York. Asked a question about terrorist groups recruiting students – is this a form of attack that is contemplated by the SSD and Guidelines and is there data collected on this issue? ICRC responded that this would not constitute an attack under IHL.

September 2017: GCPEA met with the expert in Geneva who was open and supportive, but unsure that capital would see the relevance of the issue. GCPEA issued follow-up letters to the Ministers of Education and Foreign Affairs, and shared the Open Debate letter with the expert in Geneva.

October 2017: Expert in the Mission contacted GCPEA to say that endorsement should happen soon.

December 2017: endorsement is confirmed.

January 2018: GCPEA issued letters of appreciation to the Ministers of Defence, Education, and Foreign Affairs, congratulating the Dominican Republic on endorsing the Declaration and sharing tools to guide implementation.

February 2018: In advance of the End Violence Solutions Summit in Stockholm on 14-15 February, GCPEA issued letter to Dominican Republic, calling on them to highlight the Declaration during the summit.

July 2018: Joined Argentina’s joint statement to the UN SC during the open debate on children and armed conflict. Co-sponsored resolution 2427 (2018).

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

October 2019: Nevena met with the experts covering CAAC and Human Rights to discuss how we can work together to highlight endorsement and implementation of the Safe School Declaration in statements and negotiations. The Human Rights Advisor was interested in the situation in Northeast Syria, so I shared information about the two schools that had reportedly been taken over for military use. I encouraged them to call on parties to the conflict in Syria to take additional protective measures to ensure attacks on education stop immediately to allow children to return to education, and that the parties commit to avoid using schools. As the Ambassador was travelling on a visiting mission to Mali by Security Council members, I suggested key points that could be useful for his talking points, including: to encourage Malian government to initiate the drafting of a law to protect school from attacks during armed conflict, as per the agreed Action Plan 2019 on implementation, and to incorporate the Guidelines in military orders to improve protection of education. I also shared the findings from the Nigeria and the DRC reports, and our key messages related to data collection and accountability for the WPS debate. She said that the materials were very useful for drafting the intervention, and promised to include some of the messages in their statement to the Council. I shared a list of Caribbean countries that we had recently met with to advocate for endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration, and encouraged them to reinforce our efforts.
Follow-up: Letter for Foreign Minister, gender recommendations, the factsheet on the implementation of the Declaration, UNICEF’s press release on Northeast Syria, and a list of priority countries for peer advocacy.

April 2020: GCPEA wrote to the Mission of the Dominican Republic ahead of the virtual debate on Youth, Peace, and Security under their Presidency and encouraged them to shine a spotlight on the critical issue of education under attack. In particular, GCPEA encouraged them to include a reference to the Safe Schools Declaration and the protection of education from attack and military use as a prerequisite for ensuring youth empowerment as peacebuilders.

September 2020: statement during Niger’s CAAC briefing on attacks on schools: Encourage Member States that have not done so to support the Safe Schools Declaration in order make that agenda universal and foster increased action in that regard. While responding to the coronavirus disease pandemic, States must ensure that the reopening of schools is in line with the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict. The Safe Schools Declaration is a political initiative by a small group of countries and does not yet enjoy universal support. Unfortunately, the presidential statement does not reflect one of the most relevant aspects of the agenda on children, that is, their repatriation from conflict zones.

Oct 2020: DR CAAC expert asked GCPEA for inputs ahead of an Arria-formula meeting on access to education in conflict: the role of digital technology and connectivity. GCPEA shared some good practices and recommendations that are included in our recent report on supporting safe education in the Sahel.

October 2021: cosponsored UNSRC2601.

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.