The Safe Schools Declaration began in 2015, and was a joint initiative by the Norwegian and Argentinian governments, sanctifying a commitment to protecting schools and schoolchildren from violence. It has eight main components, and specific recommendations on how to achieve all of the goals implied by those components. For example, for “Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use” there are several recommendations for each relevant stakeholder. One for the government is: “Include protection of education from military use in military doctrine, codes of conduct, rules of engagement.”

Why did our organisation choose the Safe Schools Declaration to advocate for? The following quote about violence in schools from the declaration itself is illuminating:

“Such actions expose students and education personnel to harm, deny large numbers of children and students their right to education and so deprive communities of the foundations on which to build their future. In many countries, armed conflict continues to destroy not just school infrastructure, but the hopes and ambitions of a whole generation of children.”

The healing we are seeking is intrinsically intertwined with the "hopes and ambitions" that the SSD talks about. We believe that healing cannot take place and hope cannot be generated if learning is occurring in an atmosphere of perpetual violence. There are three key components of this quote that illustrate our belief in the SSD: the occurrence of harm, the denial of the right to education, and the loss of a future.

Our organisation is dedicated to protecting children from harm. This can be physical harm (like the violence illustrated in the first slide), but also emotional and mental trauma caused by the perpetuation of violence in a space of learning.

Secondly, we argue that violence deprives children of the right to education. We believe that unsafe schools not only explicitly deter children from going to school and thereby reduce accessibility (in direct violation of Article 28, sections (d) and (e) of the Safe Schools Declaration), but also destroy the education being given. Even if the children are physically present and are, to all appearances, being taught, the threat of violence even in the absence of it generates a spirit antithetical to the wonder, curiosity, and joy that characterise learning. True learning cannot take place if the mind is suffering from the burden of fear and trauma, past and present.

Thirdly, education functions as the key building block for a safe and secure future. Without the degrees and the progressive levels of learning afforded by a stable educational experience, a child can have no hope that the future will be any different from the despair pervading their present reality. Violence against education, at the very minimum, generates instability that destroys children's future.