Handwashing facilities – “Access to water, sanitation and hygiene services is essential for effective infection prevention and control in all settings, including schools”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General.

“It must be a major focus of government strategies for the safe reopening and operation of schools during the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.”

Historic disruption to education

COVID-19 has created the largest disruption to education ever recorded, affecting nearly 1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries, according to UN data.

The study found that last year, 43 per cent of schools globally lacked access to basic handwashing with soap and water: a key condition for schools to be able to operate safely in the midst of the pandemic.

Of the roughly 818 million children worldwide who lack basic handwashing facilities at school, more than one third are in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the 60 countries at highest risk of health and humanitarian crises due to the virus, three-quarters of children lacked the basic ability to wash their hands at school at the start of the outbreak, while half lacked basic water service.

Balancing act for governments

The report stressed that governments seeking to control coronavirus spread must balance the need for implementing public health measures against the social and economic impacts of lockdown measures.

The partners said evidence of the negative impacts of prolonged school closures on children has been well documented.

“Global school closures since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have presented an unprecedented challenge to children’s education and wellbeing”, said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “We must prioritize children’s learning. This means making sure that schools are safe to reopen – including with access to hand hygiene, clean drinking water and safe sanitation.”

Solutions for safe return

The report identifies resources for COVID-19 prevention and control in schools, including 10 immediate actions and safety checklists.

It builds on guidelines on the safe reopening of schools issued in April by UNICEF and partners, geared towards national and local authorities.

The guidelines include several protocols on hygiene measures, use of personal protective equipment, cleaning and disinfection, as well as providing access to clean water, handwashing stations with soap, and safe toilets.

UNICEF and WHO underlined their commitment to achieving equitable access to adequate water, sanitation and hygience services worldwide, including through the Hand Hygiene for All initiative that supports vulnerable communities.

“The concept of sustaining peace is essentially about positive peace as opposed to simply ending wars. In other words, it is the idea that the international community accompanies a country well beyond the point of simply putting down guns, to the point where people feel protected and represented”, Secretary-General António Guterres told the meeting. 

Against the backdrop of growing questions over the effectiveness of health systems and trust in institutions and governance across the globe, he said: “All of this means that our commitment to sustaining peace is more urgent than ever”.  

Key dangers

The UN chief maintained that coherent, conflict-sensitive approaches to health and humanitarian crises will help deliver sustainable peace. 

However, he highlighted three challenges, beginning with the erosion of public trust, which Mr. Guterres said can lead to widespread disillusionment in authority at all levels.  

Secondly, he raised concern over a destabilized global economic order, which, fueled by the unprecedented global economic crisis, adds to heightened socio-economic vulnerabilities.  

He thirdly highlighted the weakening of the social fabric.  

“We have seen many peaceful protests, and in a number of countries, COVID-19 has been an excuse for harsh crackdowns and a spike in state repression”, flagged Mr. Guterres, also noting that “at least 23 countries have postponed national elections or referenda, and almost twice as many have postponed subnational votes”.  

Opportunities out of a crisis

However, the pandemic has also created opportunities for peace, including the UN chief’s global ceasefire appeal earlier in the year.  

And Security Council resolution 2532, which demanded a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations, “is a step in the right direction”, Mr. Guterres said.

“But much more is needed to translate early gains into concrete action on the ground”.
Investing in prevention

The Secretary-General spelled out that pandemic responses must be conflict-sensitive, “starting with a multidimensional analysis on how the pandemic affects underlying risks that drive conflict”.  

He underscored that inclusion is “critical” in humanitarian and development responses, especially with communities and marginalized groups, to “help rebuild trust and enhance social cohesion”.    

Moreover, sustaining peace requires an integrated and coherent approach across humanitarian, development and peace actors, according to the UN chief. 

“The Council’s ongoing collaboration with the Peacebuilding Commission is critical” to help improve collective response. The UN chief also maintained the need for flexible and tailored approaches to peacebuilding in the context of the pandemic.  

“COVID-19 is a human tragedy – but we can mitigate the impacts by the choices we make”, upheld the top UN official.    

Castigating the Council

Speaking on behalf of the Elders, independent global leaders working together for peace and human rights, Mr. Guterres’s predecessor, Ban Ki-moon, welcomed resolution 2532, but noted that within the Security Council, “valuable months were wasted in arguments over the details of the text”.

He argued that their delay had “weakened the message” that the 15-member body must send a message to all warring parties that “now is the time to confront our common enemy”.

The stalemate “further aggravated the current volatile global security situations in the midst of the global fight against COVID-19”, underscored Mr. Ban, pointing to that ramifications of the pandemic in conflict-affected settings on health and humanitarian endeavours, but also in social cohesion, governance and the rule of law.

Moving forward

Notwithstanding his concerns, Mr. Ban called the debate “a timely opportunity” to explore ways to respond to the crisis while bolstering international efforts to sustain peace in the post-COVID-19 era.

“The experience of this crisis should also spur us to change our priorities and our understandings of what threats and values really matter”, he pinpointed, citing the societal inequalities and protection gaps of marginalized communities.

“I believe the UN and its Member States have a generational opportunity to use this concept to help build back better, further catalyze greater inclusivity, and steer humanity and our planet towards a more peaceful and sustainable and future”, concluded the Elder.

UN ‘can no longer work in silos’

Chairing the session, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, whose country holds the presidency for August, spoke of using a holistic approach to join the dots between the health crisis, social and economic implications, and peace and security.

“Sustaining peace requires synergy between the work of all UN systems”, she said, adding that the Organization “can no longer work in silos” but instead in “a coherent manner”, that harvests the “strengths of its different organs”.

Ms. Marsudi laid out UN responsibilities, beginning with the Council to ensure the “full implementation” of resolution 2532 to enable a timely delivery of aid and COVID-19 treatment to civilians in conflict; UN peacekeepers, who monitor conflict risks during the pandemic, serve as an “early-warning system”; and UN funds, agencies and programmes provide technical capacities to address conflict drivers during the crisis. 

Equality and action 

Also addressing the virtual chamber, Sarah Cliffe, Director of New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, shone a light on unequal access to coronavirus medicines and equipment so far during the pandemic, and inequalities over accessing COVID-19 vaccine programmes underway, which “exacerbates threats to peace and stability”.

She also cited opinion polls “in all regions”, relaying that there was an “unprecedented demand for more international collective action”.

Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended young peoples’ lives and aspirations and heightened their vulnerabilities, UN Secretary-General António Guterres praised the younger generation’s resilience, resourcefulness and engagement.

“They are the young people who have risen up to demand climate action. They are mobilizing for racial justice and gender equality and are the champions of a more sustainable world”, he said in a message marking International Youth Day.

“Many are young women who have been on the frontlines in mobilizing for justice and climate action — while also serving on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response.”

The Secretary-General also underscored that realizing the promise of the young generation requires investing far more in their inclusion, participation, organizations and initiatives.

“I call on leaders and adults everywhere to do everything possible to enable the world’s youth to enjoy lives of safety, dignity and opportunity and contribute to the fullest of their great potential,” he added.

The theme of this year’s International Youth Day, “Youth Engagement for Global Action”, highlights the ways in which the engagement of young people at the local, national and global levels is strengthening national and multilateral institutions and processes, as well as draw lessons on how their representation and engagement in formal institutional politics can be enhanced.

Also this year, through the #31DaysOfYOUth social media campaign, UN celebrates young people throughout the month of August, leading up and following International Day, to help spread the word and strike up a conversation surrounding youth engagement for global action.

‘Young people are the trail-blazers of progress’ – UN General Assembly President

Echoing the Secretary-General’s call, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the President of the UN General Assembly, also underlined a “global responsibility” to ensure that young people everywhere have access to just and equitable opportunities to fulfil their rights and aspirations.

“The potential for humanity to create a peaceful, prosperous future will not be reached as long as inequities and discrimination against youth remain commonplace, and young people lack opportunities to have their voices heard,” he said in a separate message on the International Day.

The Assembly President applauded young people for their “amazing contributions” towards a better future. Their movements in their communities and countries, he said, are already improving societies and raising global ambitions, every day.

“In the era of COVID-19 and the long-lasting social and economic negative effects it has on youth – and with only 10 years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – [their] vision and commitment are paramount to creating a more sustainable and inclusive world,” he added.

“With your innovation and ambition, and guided by the Sustainable Development Goals, I am sure that your generation will effectively transform the world into a more sustainable, inclusive and just place for all,” Mr. Muhammad-Bande urged all young people, inviting them to take part in the virtual UN75 Youth Plenary, to be held in September to add their voice to shaping the United Nations for decades ahead.