Delivered by Counsellor Kjetil Elsebutangen
Thank you, co-chair.
Under this agenda item, we would again highlight education, as this is a top priority in Norway’s development and humanitarian assistance.
I would be remiss if I did not recognize the efforts of many host countries in providing education for refugee children. They need increased support from the international community, donor states and relevant stakeholders.
Norway therefore strongly welcomes a call for more financial resources and expertise to support better access to and quality of education for refugee children as well as for children in the host communities.
In the educational field, we need to mobilize new and additional financial resources and bridge the divide between humanitarian response and longer-term approaches.
Education greatly improves the prospect of refugees being able to return in dignity after conflict, and in the meantime, to contribute productively to the local economy.
Under the health section, we would prefer to see a reference to sexual and reproductive health-care services, since we know that the lack of access to these can be critical and therefore should be part of an appropriate response to displaced women and girls.
Finally, we welcome the new section on children, underlining their specific vulnerabilities. We would like to ask UNHCR for some further clarification on the use of the word “impartial” in the third bullet point of paragraph 79.
Thank you.