Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Education Above All and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Silatech, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, yesterday witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Education Above All (EAA), Silatech and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the UN Office in Geneva.

Fahad Al Sulaiti, Chief Executive Officer of EAA, Sabah Al Haidoos, Chief Executive Officer of Silatech, and Eldon Pearce, Chief of Finance and Budget Section, UN Human Rights, initialed the agreement.

HH Sheikha #MozabintNasser & @UNHumanRights High COMM’R @mbachelet,witnessed an MoU signing between @EAA_Foundation, #Silatech & #OHCHR aiming to promote & protect #youth human rights,support their economic & social #empowerment,& share expertise on the #humanrights to #education pic.twitter.com/JffYTF6qC3

— Silatech (@Silatech) October 1, 2019

Under the MoU, the three entities will work together to promote and protect the human rights of young people.

The emphasis of the agreement is to support young people's economic and social empowerment; strengthen coordination and share expertise on the human rights to education, and explore possibilities of cooperation in areas of mutual interest between the organizations.

Earlier on Tuesday, HH Sheikha Moza, who is also a UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate, delivered a keynote address at the annual Social Forum of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The Social Forum 2019 convened UN Member States' representatives, non-profit organizations, civil society actors, and high-level figures, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, to discuss "the promotion and protection of the rights of children and youth through education."

In her speech, HH Sheikha Moza made an impassioned case for the devastating consequences of prolonged armed conflict.

She shined a spotlight on the personal stories of the children who are living in conflict with little to no access to education.

“Every one of you has power to enact positive changes in your countries. Let’s harness all of our strengths and ensure that every child gets the opportunity to attend school and receive a #QualityEducation. It can be done.” -HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser

— Education Above All Foundation (@EAA_Foundation) October 1, 2019

"For education, what has been lost will be impossible to restore. Where there is no education, there will be no nation. If we do not turn the tide, we will continue to pay a high price," she stated.

HH Sheikha Moza called upon the international community to take true accountability of the long-term, global effect of not ensuring every child has access to quality education.

Furthermore, she proposed setting an annual international day for the protection of education during conflict to recognize and measure progress on protection, as well as help identify missing gaps every year. The day aims to keep the protection of education at the top of the public agenda.

At present, the right to education remains more of a statement of principle rather than a reality for 264 million primary and secondary age children and youth that are out of school.

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Cover, Inline Image Credit, and Source: QNA