Oman

November 2017: Sent an email to the mission in Geneva requesting for a meeting.

June 2018: Gisela met with Mr. Hamoud Al-Towaiya, Charge d’Affaires. It was a brief meeting but he showed interest. He had reviewed the documents upon receipt of the meeting request and was already minded to recommend endorsement to his capital. He asked about the endorsement procedure and said he would work on securing the endorsement. He recognised the importance of the issue and said it was in line with Oman’s positions. He noted Belgium and Sweden’s leadership on the CAAC agenda and highlighted the situation in Yemen concerning attacks on schools as demonstrating that this is an urgent issue. Gisela followed up in writing, sharing a letter for the Foreign Minister and received a friendly reply. I also advised him of Norway’s 6 July deadline for endorsement but he replied that this was too quick, and that he was still awaiting a response to his report from capital.

July 2018: Gisela wrote to Oman to let them know about the opportunity to announce endorsement of SSd during the July UNSC Open Debate CAAC in case there is any possibility that Oman would be in a position to endorse the Declaration.Hamood al-towaiya, First Secretary, responded that they would not be able to endorse the declaration in such short notice and we are still waiting to hear back from the capital.

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

August 2018: The Permanent Mission in New York asked in an email the following questions:
1. Is there any financial obligation for joining the declaration?
2. What are the benefits of joining the declaration and what would be the benefits for Oman in particular?
3. What are you expecting from the countries that sign the declaration?
Nevena responded to the query and let them know about the upcoming events to announce endorsement.

August 2018: Sent an email to the mission in Geneva requesting for a meeting. No response.

September 2018: Ahead of the UN WPS open debate, GCPEA a letter addressed to Foreign Minister sent to the Mission in New York. The letter encourages the government to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration and advocate for continued access to quality, conflict-sensitive education for women and girls.

September 2019: GCPEA met with the Ambassador, who will be finishing his mission in Geneva at the beginning of November. He was interested in discussing the situation in Yemen and in our findings regarding attacks on and military use of schools. We shared GCPEA’s briefing paper on Yemen, highlighting that this is an urgent issue, and that Oman, as a peacemaker in the Middle East, should play a leadership role on this important issue in the region. We also highlighted that endorsement by Oman would ignite the interest of other Arab countries to prioritise the issue and follow their example.

January 2022: Nevena and Apolline met with the NY Mission’s DPR, Mr. Ahmed Al Zadjali. We provided an overview of the Coalition, the Declaration and the Guidelines, as well as regional (GCC and Arab League members) and international support. We highlighted the scope of attacks (Yemen) and positive impacts of the Declaration, and provided an overview of recent developments including the Abuja Conference, and the UNSCR 2601. They don’t have any concerns. The representative asked about our process to gather data and was interested in which countries in the region had already endorsed. He requested that we send him an official letter with information on the Declaration, including a regional focus, that he will submit to his capital in order to revive the conversations on their position. Follow-up: We submitted a letter addressed to their Foreign Minister, encouraging them to endorse.

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

March 2023: Argentina received an email from the Permanent Mission of Oman in Geneva, sent on behalf of GCC members, requesting to be added as co-sponsors of the joint statement on the SSD for the ID with the SRSG CAAC during the 52nd HRC session. Argentina couldn’t accommodate this request as the statement can only be supported by endorsing states, but we encouraged the champions to send a joint letter to these countries asking them to endorse following this expressed support for the Declaration.