A drive to bring the half of the world's 15 million refugee children missing from schools back into the classroom was one of the flagship pledges made at the Global Refugee Forum on Thursday.
The pledge committed countries to opening their national education systems to refugees – with 32 states promising funding or national policy changes. The promoters noted Egypt's role in integrating Syrian refugee children into its schools. The initiative is sponsored by Canada, Germany, UK and the World Bank.
Another major pledge addressed migrant crossings the Mediterranean. The commitment to protect refugees crossing by sea is led by the International Organisation for Migration and other major international agencies.
“Protection at sea can be fostered in different ways, including by building capacities to provide and co-ordinate rescue,” said Yusra Mardini, an Olympic swimmer and Syrian refugee who presented the pledge.
Egypt, which is co-leading a big multistakeholder pledge on peace-building and conflict prevention with the governments of Colombia and Norway, announced two new commitments towards this on Wednesday.
The first of these addresses the impact of climate change on displaced people on the African continent, and builds on the Cop28 flagship initiative on sustaining peace.
Presenting the pledges, Dr Ahmed Ihab Gamaleldin, Egypt’s ambassador to Switzerland, referred to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. “There a deliberate plan to render entire territory uninhabitable and force displacement of people whether inside or outside Gaza in clear violation of international law,” he said.
This was an example of the “stark consequences of seeking to manage crises” rather than approach their “root causes”.
However, these new commitments are mired by dire funding shortfalls, highlighted at the forum on Wednesday.
King Abdullah of Jordan said the country had received only 20 per cent of required pledges this year, the lowest on record, in his opening address, while the UN refugee agency said it was still missing $400 million in funding.
Mark Angel, Vice-President of the European Parliament, acknowledged these shortages to The National. “It is important, especially in Europe, [that] we should not forget funding the UNHCR and UN and all the civil society organisations that are very much involved in refugees,” he said.
These should be distributed to organisations supporting refugees within Europe, as well as host countries outside the EU. “In our countries a lot of NGOs are helping to integrate refugees in our societies and they also need funding from governments,” he said.
As part of its pledge, the European Parliament will aim to discuss displacement, asylum and protection with other host countries, he explained.
It will also work with the UNHCR to help parliaments draft legislation and exchange good practice. Not all pledges made in the last gathering were met, and many refugee advocates at the forum highlighted their wish to see words transformed into action.
Sasha Chanoff, chief executive of Refuge Point, highlighted this. “There were so many commitments in the last global refugee forum that I'm not sure there was a mechanism to really follow through on all of those as adequately as needed,” he told The National.
He was hopeful that this year’s pledges would be different. “I think there's more efforts this time to create multi-stakeholder pledges, and to also think about how to follow through on those so that the actors that are making those pledges can actually actualise them,” he said.
The approach to supporting refugees had changed, he added. “The old paradigm of providing aid and support until people go home doesn't really work any more. So we need to find new pathways for people to build self-reliant lives,” he said.
Educating refugees should go beyond schools, and into higher education, some have stressed.
Refugees often struggle to obtain the paperwork required to register for higher education, and funding is also an issue, said Liliana Lyra Jubilut, co-chair of the Global Academic Interdisciplinary Programme, a network which seeks to support higher education for refugees in their host countries.
Among the network’s commitments are 25 scholarships for women pursuing a masters programme in science (STEM) subjects which will take place as a pilot project in Jordan, in partnership with the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World.
Formed during the last forum, the network aims to create “localised” initiatives that address the challenges on a country-by-country basis. “There is this idea of trying to have a more localised construction of knowledge so that we can have better fitted responses to refugee situations,” said Prof Jubilut.
Abdel Moumen, a journalist and Syrian refugee who was born and lives in Jordan, said his needs go beyond schooling.
As a refugee in Jordan, he is unable to work legally, and struggles with the same issue in other Arab countries. “We are educated and qualified, but we do not have the opportunity to work legally as foreigners,” he said.
The only solution, he insisted, was the naturalisation of refugees – a controversial issue in the Arab world. “We need opportunities for citizenship,” he said.
Overall standings
1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky) 68hr 18min 36sec,
2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.
3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.
4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.
5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Honeymoonish
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Company%C2%A0profile
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In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
BLACKBERRY
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