Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy to (a) support the Safe Schools Declaration which arose from the Oslo conference on safe schools in May 2015 and (b) implement the Guidelines on Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict, published by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

The intention of the Safe Schools Declaration is for countries to endorse the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military use during Armed Conflict. While we support the spirit of the initiative, we have concerns that the Guidelines do not mirror the exact language of International Humanitarian Law. We consider that the full implementation of International Humanitarian Law provides the best protection for civilians in all situations of armed conflict. The UK, along with other countries such as Australia, Canada and France, were therefore not able to sign the Safe Schools Declaration in Oslo in May.