· The UN General Assembly proclaimed 9 September the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. Building on the momentum, Education Above All Foundation, Qatar Mission, UNICEF, UNESCO, Qatar Fund for Development and Save Our Future Now campaign are convening a virtual seminar on 9 September 2020.
 
· The event will bring together a range of high-level actors, including Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Education Above All; HE Prof Tijjani Muhammad Bande, President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly; HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; David Beckham; UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Founder of the 7 Fund for UNICEF; Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director UNICEF; Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General UNESCO.
 
· The high-level speakers will take stock of effective practices and lessons learned; opportunities for strengthening monitoring and reporting of attacks; and the next steps for action, research and increased accountability. Topics include the importance of the protection of the right to quality education for all, especially in times of conflict and insecurity, and global efforts raise awareness and end the impunity for education-related violations of international law.
 
· Education spaces must be protected from violence and use of force. They should be considered neutral ground at all times. However, according to recent data released by GCPEA, between 2015 and 2019, there were more than 11,000 reported attacks, harming more than 22,000 students and educators in at least 93 countries.
 
· Attacks on education are a violation of multiple human rights, humanitarian law and of local/national law. Attacks on education perpetrated by state and non-state actors alike, involve the use of force in ways that disrupt and deter educational provision and should be stigmatized, criminalized, and prosecuted as such.
 
· ​Reducing the incidence of education-related attacks and ending the culture of impunity are critical to the safety and development of individuals and communities affected by conflict and insecurity.
 

Dear Ambassador Dho,
 
Greetings from Dhaka!
 
I hope you are safe and well during these uncertain times.
 
I write to you with new updates regarding our appeal to declare the COVID-19 Vaccines as a Global Common Good. The appeal was published worldwide on June 28,2020. The purpose of this appeal is to make COVID 19 Vaccine as Global Common Good. In the light of recent developments in Vaccine production, the plan to make it a Common Good has to be formulated on priority basis.
 
We have these signatories who already signed on for the statement among many others: Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Laureate, Máiread Maguire, 1976 Nobel Peace Laureate, Professor Adolfo Perez Esquivel, 1980 Nobel Peace Laureate, HE President Lech Wałęsa, Former President of Poland and 1983 Nobel Peace Laureate, Edmond Henri Fischer, 1992 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Rigoberta Menchu, 1992 Nobel Peace laureate, Sir Richard J. Roberts, 1993 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, José Ramos-Horta, 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate, Jody Williams,1997 Nobel Peace Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, Elizabeth Blackburn, 2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, UN SDG Advocate Alumni, Tawakkol Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, Nadia Murad Basee Taha, 2018 Nobel Peace Laureate, Shabana Azmi, Actor and Activist, Andrea Bocelli, Singer-Songwriter, Bono, Singer, Activist, George Clooney, Actor, Sharon Stone, Actress, Human Rights Activist, Guilherme Leal, B team, Paul Polman, Co-founder & Chair , IMAGINE, Mo Ibrahim, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, Richard Curtis, UN SDG Advocate, Founder, Project Everyone. We currently have 150 Notable Signatories along with 40,000+ (and counting) others.
 
We have drafted a UN resolution on declaring Covid 19 vaccines as a global common good at the forthcoming UNGA meeting, which is based on the Appeal that was launched by Yunus Centre on June 28, 2020. I am attaching the draft UN Resolution for your perusal together with a copy of our Appeal which has 150 global signatories.
 
This is the reason I am writing to you to seek your strong support to help us pass this resolution at the UNGA . We also take this opportunity to invite you to sign the Appeal yourself. We would be very glad to have you join the Appeal, together with a quote/ line about why you consider this important.

Several of our friends in the network have taken this to high level government representatives in their countries to see their interest in sponsoring such a resolution at the UNGA. There are quite a few countries and blocs of countries that are being worked on now. You may wish to use this pack to approach policy makers in Korea and other UN SDG leaders, to talk to people about the campaign, and also create some media interest. I would be very happy to talk to you about this initiative at a time that is convenient to you.
 
For the same reason I would like to connect with the top leaders from Korea who can be a major influencer for this appeal and any amount of help shall be greatly appreciated. You may reach out to your friends/connections in the Korean government, to urge them to sponsor the resolution and present it through their Permanent Representatives at the UN. If you wish us to follow-up on your letter to anyone please let us know. We would be happy to do that.
 
I hope to hear from you soon.
 
Sincerely,
 
Muhammad Yunus



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