Saudi Arabia

August 2016: CAAC Open Debate: Mentions attacks on schools in Israel and Syria. “When we talk about civilian victims in Yemen we must also recall that the Houthi militia has committed many crimes, including using hospitals and schools as barracks. They are responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians, including children. This militia has also committed attacks against my country at its borders, causing almost 500 civilian deaths, the displacement of thousands of our citizens and the destruction of buildings and infrastructure — 1,700 houses and 75 Government buildings destroyed, including hospitals and other medical facilities. Those attacks led to the closure of schools, disrupting the education of thousands of children.”

March 2017: Attended Buenos Aires Conference on Safe Schools. Indicated that endorsement was imminent.

August 2017: No further contact from the expert in the Mission in Geneva.

September 2017: HRW issued a report on the actions of Saudi Arabia security forces in Yemen, highiliting the issue of military use of schools and calling on the security forces to refrain from this practice. Save the Children and Watchlist issued a joint briefing note making the case for listing the Saudi Arabia-led coalition for grave violations, in which they referred to the issues of attacks on schools. The Mission of Saudi Arabia in Geneva has been in contact with the Mission of Norway and GCPEA seeking information of the Declaration. Save the Children and Watchlist issued a joint briefing note making the case for listing the Saudi Arabia-led coalition for grave violations, in which they referred to the issues of attacks on schools. They also presented a petition with 37,000 signatures to the Secretary-General.The Mission of Saudi Arabia in Geneva has been in contact with the Mission of Norway and GCPEA seeking information on the Declaration.

October 2018: UN WPS open debate advocacy in New York: GCPEA first meeting with Saudi Arabia. Gisela met with the First Secretary who is the Security Council Advisor. He suggested that Saudi Arabia had not yet endorsed because they were not approached on the topic, a matter of protocol. He reassured that the ‘Global Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen’ has a child protection unit and is working closely with O/SRSG, as well as NATO, NGOs, and humanitarian agencies. The Coalition’s rules of engagement are updated periodically to revise the rules concerning military targets, and that their rules are to avoid schools, school buses, and anywhere that children might be congregated. The Coalition has been rescuing children and sending them to Saudi Arabia to be rehabilitated. Yemeni children are being granted free access to schools in Saudi Arabia. They are also funding schools within Yemen. His government thinks there should be more female peacekeepers in order to improve child protection. He said he 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.

February 2019: GCPEA and Save the Children Geneva met with the Head of the Humanitarian Affairs Section and his Assistant.
It was a long and detailed conversation, mainly focused on the relationship between IHL and the Declaration. The experts did not share any specific concerns but wanted to gather as much information as possible to be ready to answer questions from capital. They referred to measures they take to avoid attacking schools, such as: the establishment of a child protection unit in the Joint Command of the Coalition on Yemen; a no-strike list of 65,000 locations, 50% of which are related to education; the relocation of Yemeni children to study outside of Yemen; and incidents when they have called off a strike at short notice because they identified children in the area. They also highlighted their cooperation with SRSG Gamba, SG Guterres, ICRC, and OHCHR. They were interested to know why the United States had not endorsed, although they stated clearly that this was not an impediment to their endorsement. also interested by the decision-making processes of Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and why Japan and Republic of Korea have still not endorsed. Follow-up: GCPEA followed up in writing, sharing a letter for the Foreign Minister. Save the Children Geneva also followed up in writing, sharing resources. On advice from Save the Children Yemen, GCPEA shared the briefing paper on Yemen.

March 2019: attended GCPEA side-event on “Better Protecting Women and Girls from Attacks on Education” in Geneva. Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the SRSG Ms. Virginia Gamba, HRC Geneva:referred to the right to education and access to education during armed conflict.

April 2019: GCPEA met with the First Secretary who is the Security Council Advisor. He said that Saudi Arabia supports the principles of the initiative and has not yet endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration due to administrative process. He was curious about implementation in countries involved in armed conflict and those that are not. In particular, he was interested in examples of implementation in Yemen. GCPEA mentioned Save the Children workshop with representatives of the Ministry of Education in Aden during which was recommended the integration of safe schools’ concept into school curricula. He immediately reacted how important is this particular measure in light of “Houthi-imposed school’s curriculum which spreads extremism”. The Third International conference in May is a week before one of their major holidays so it is unlikely anyone from the capital attends. He said it is possible that someone from the embassy in Madrid attends. He was positive about GCPEA key messages on sexual violence in educational settings which he could possibly include in their statement during the upcoming UNSC open debate.

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

March 2022: On 10/03, GCPEA met with Sarah working on disarmament issues at the permanent mission of Saudi Arabia in Geneva. GCPEA briefed the representative on the Coalition, the declaration, and recent endorsements and implementation measures, particularly in the region (with 12 Arab League members having endorsed and 1 GCC member). The representative was interested about the US’ position, the state-led implementation network and “next steps” now that we have reached 114 endorsements, and the Guidelines. She explained that Saudi Arabia respects and is committed to IHL, including the protection of civilian objects such as schools, stressing that a country does not need to sign the Declaration to respect its spirit.