Within “One Billion Voicesâ€‌ Campaign ACEA launches “Debts Cancellation for Educationâ€‌ Campaign in the Arab Region

The Arab Campaign for Education for All -ACEA and its partner's organizations has closely monitored the severe impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on education sector in the Arab region. ACEA carried out series of different interventions at regional and national levels to ensure the right to education during this crisis but the impact of the crisis is excessive and needs interventions at the level of states, governments and international organizations. ACEA strongly believes that the only practical and realistic way to respond to the crisis is the debts cancellation for the least developed and low-income countries and transferring these debts for supporting several vital sectors especially education.

Accordingly, the Arab Campaign for Education for All -ACEA is launching a regional advocacy campaign to enable the urgent demand of debts cancellation for the Arab countries and the most affected countries from wars and conflicts. It also aims at raising the voice of citizens and civil society organizations and convey their demands, aspiration and concerns to the governments and to the International financial institutions to protect the future of more than 1.5 million children around the world. The campaign aims to urge governments, donors, international organisations to address the lack of education financing, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also worsen the progress of the entire Sustainable Development Agenda and specifically SDG4.

The campaign entitled “Debts Cancellation for Future of Education in the Arab Region" includes several events and activities at short- and medium-term interventions (1-3) years in order to ensure debts cancellation for education and to secure an increase in public financing for education. This campaign is being implemented within “One Billion Voices “Campaign led by the Global Campaign for Education-GCE which aims to provide a way to urgently address the global education crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and secure improved and increased public financing for education.

The campaign was launched on Saturday 30 January 2021 through an open media broadcast, the launching of the campaign brought together; decision makers and government representatives, human rights activists, academics, educators, media persons, and representatives of international organizations.  In addition to ACEA board of directors and the Arab Educational Coalitions from 10 Arab Countries.

The open media broadcast carried a multi-dimensional discourse at the international, regional and national levels with opening speeches from Ms. Camilla Croso, Director of the Education Program at Open Society Foundation, Mr. David Archer Head of Participation and Public Services at Action Aid, Ms. Dalila EL Barhmi, Regional Coordinator for Arab Countries at Education International, Mr. Rene Raya representing Asia Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE), Mr. Grant Kasowanjete the Global Coordinator of the Global Campaign for Education and Mr. Zahi Azar the president of ACEA.

The speakers presented important remarks on; foreign debts impact on education in the least developing and poor countries, teachers’ associations' role and contribution in debts cancellation campaign, policy recommendations for developing countries to confront foreign debts crisis and ACEA strategies for debts cancellation for Poor Arab countries.

During this session the speakers emphasized that human rights should be at the center of debts restructuring process and any debts cancellation should be free from conditionality. Moreover; they stated that debts cancellation should be connected with tax justice and domestic financial mobilization to better invest in education and education components such as teachers' salaries and teachers' training.

The second session was dedicated for the Arab educational coalitions (Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and Palestine); the broadcast was an opportunity for the national education coalitions to present the reality of external debts in the Arab countries and its impact on education.

Moreover, experts and regional networks representatives were hosted in a special session, where they discussed the issues of debts crisis in the Arab region and its socio-economic implications. The speakers insisted on the importance of civil society efforts in advocating for debts cancellation in the Arab world to tackle the Covid-19 health and economic crisis.

At the end of the open media broadcast ACEA and its partners organizations and coalitions concluded that they are urgently calling for:

1- All lenders (including the World Bank and multilateral development banks, as well as creditors from the private sector, and participants in the DSSI Debt Service Suspension Initiative) must unconditionally cancel external debts from poor Arab countries, especially those countries whose citizens suffer from low incomes, and crises, for a period of at least 5 years as an urgent step in solving external debt crisis. This should be done within a clear and agreed road map in order to reach a permanent and unconditional cancellation of the outstanding debts, and not only with the G20 debt relief initiative, which postponed debt service payments to mid-2021. The suspension of debt payments is considered as a right of borrowing countries, and these countries should not be subjected to any form of sanctions.

2- The lending countries and global financial institutions should start developing a new framework for the country lending process quickly. In addition to open a global dialogue to develop new long-term mechanisms for lending and debt repayment that are more fair, equitable and transparent, and compatible with the ability of poor countries to bear the burden of debt, and not inconsistent with the rights of people to development. They should as well ensure that societies get their basic rights to education, health, work and well-being.

3- Ensure the transfer of all amounts of debts released from lenders to meet the emergency needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic to support education, health and social protection. As well as, ensure the provision of the necessary assistance to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the most vulnerable groups and regions. Also focusing on ensuring everyone gets the right to education during and after the pandemic.

4- Governments in the Arab region should open a national, internal, democratic, multilateral dialogue in order to review all legislation, laws, policies, procedures and conditions related to external debts and the mechanisms for obtaining them. Moreover to ensure that citizens' representatives conduct social audits (community accountability) accurately about the nature, purpose, terms and conditions of actual use of loans, and the effects of these loans in the medium and long term on the education sector. Yet, to ensure that debt does not accumulate and be able to repay it.

5- Lending countries and international financial organizations should increase their contribution to protect education in the Arab region, and efforts to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the educational process (especially in Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Lebanon), by increasing the value of donations, grants and non-refundable and unconditional grants to governments, civil society organizations, UN and international organizations operating in the Arab region.

6- We call on governments in the Arab region, civil society organizations, trade unions, to join the efforts of (the Debt Cancellation for the Future of Education in the Arab Region) led by the Arab Campaign for Education and its partners and Arab educational coalitions, and to raise the level of coordination, cooperation and exchange of information between all parties.

For More Information:

https://fb.watch/3qI2Ezod9c/

https://www.facebook.com/ACEAorg/posts/2087289088074330

https://fb.watch/3qI7BUCfvp/

https://www.facebook.com/ACEAorg/posts/2087325818070657

https://www.facebook.com/ACEAorg/posts/2087344544735451

https://www.facebook.com/ACEAorg/posts/2087402411396331