UNHCR's Ambassador Affey hails Djibouti's hosting of IGAD Regional Conference on refugee education

NAIROBI, Kenya — UNHCR’s Special Envoy on the Somali Refugee Situation has hailed Djibouti’s undertaking to host the upcoming Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Regional Conference on refugee education.

Last week in Djibouti, Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Affey discussed preparations for the Regional Conference with senior Government officials, including Mr. Moustapha Mohamed Mahamoudi, Minister for Education, and Mr. Hassan Omar Mohamed, Minister for Interior who was accompanied by the Executive Secretary of ONARS (government refugee agency). They thanked the Special Envoy for UNHCR’s continuing support, and most especially in the preparation for the Regional Conference.

"Djibouti took the lead to address the challenges of education for refugee and host community children within the framework of the New York Declaration and its Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework," said Ambassador Affey in Nairobi. He added that IGAD member states committed to improve the education and skills of refugees in the Nairobi Declaration on Durable Solutions for Somali Refugees and Reintegration of Returnees in Somalia, agreed on 25 March 2017.

The Special Envoy noted that some three million refugees currently live in the IGAD region as a result of conflicts in their home countries.  Many have been refugees for up to three decades, and the majority have vulnerabilities that stem from their poor socioeconomic and livelihood situations. In these unfavourable conditions, refugees are mostly consigned to levels of participation in education that are far below global targets for universal access.

"This critical state of affairs presents an imperative of urgent international action and responsibility-sharing, in the spirit of the New York Declaration, to ensure that refugee children and youth develop the skills to live productive, harmonious and independent lives, by reducing the risk of poverty, and helping them to contribute to the communities in which they live," said Ambassador Affey. 

The Special Envoy explained that as such the IGAD Regional Conference will contribute to global efforts to improve access to quality education for refugee children and youth in the entire spectrum of formal schooling (pre-school, primary, secondary and higher education). It will bring together regional and sub-regional policy and decision-makers, academics, educationists, bilateral partners and civil society members from IGAD member states to look at ways of improving education services for refugees through inclusion in national systems. The meeting will assess good practices in education service delivery in the region and make recommendations on strengthening sustainable access to quality education for the benefit of both refugee and host community children and young people. 

"My hope is that the Regional Conference will result in proactive affirmative action — active  efforts to improve employment and educational opportunities — for refugees including through scholarships and vocational training, as well as recognition of certification across countries in the sub-region and beyond," said Ambassador Affey.

A recent UNHCR education report entitled Left Behind: Refugee Education in Crisis states that only 61% of refugee children have access to primary education compared with the 91% global average. The situation is much worse at secondary level, where just 23% of refugees are enrolled, compared with 84% globally. Refugee children are five times more likely to be out of the school than the global average.

For more information, please contact:

Cynthia Nosim Lemayian, [email protected], tel: (+254) (20)  422 2215