Turkish First Lady Signs Joint Declaration to Safeguard Education Rights of Gaza’s Children
Doha, The Gulf Observer: Turkish First Lady Emine Erdoğan has signed a joint declaration aimed at preventing children in Gaza from being deprived of their fundamental right to education amid the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Palestinian enclave.
Emine Erdoğan accompanied President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the Extraordinary Joint Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League, held in Doha, Qatar, where she also met with Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, mother of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Following the summit, the Education Above All Foundation, established by Sheikha Moza, issued a joint statement entitled “A Grave Year for the Education of Children Living in Conflict Zones.” The declaration called for urgent international action to halt violations against children and education systems in crisis areas, with particular emphasis on Gaza.
The statement strongly condemned Israel’s actions, stressing: “In addition to committing genocide in Gaza, Israel is simultaneously carrying out an ‘educational massacre,’ marked by the deliberate destruction of schools, libraries, universities, and the broader Palestinian education system.”
It further underlined that these acts constitute a deliberate strategy to erase Gaza’s intellectual, cultural, and social life. “Today, we join the movement to end this genocide and pledge to continue our work to provide educational opportunities and help children recover,” the declaration affirmed.
The declaration was co-signed by several prominent figures, including UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors and the First Lady of Malaysia, signaling a unified global call to protect children’s education rights in conflict zones.
