On 28 June 2019 a meeting took place in Berlin between Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Professor Pierre Thielbörger, Executive Director of the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV), and CHA Director Ralf Südhoff.
The discussion mainly revolved around the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus approach. In this context, the Commissioner emphasized the vital role of education in crisis settings and referred to the annually increasing contributions of the European Commission to the Education in Emergencies (EiE) projects (see also his tweet below):
Children don’t need guns – they need pencils! #Education during crises is a shield of protection and an investment in peace! […]
Christos Stylianides on Twitter
In addition to the Nexus, the meeting participants discussed the importance of upholding International Humanitarian Law as well as Europe’s major role in defending the shrinking humanitarian space.
Many thanks for a frank @cha_germany meeting today with EU Commissioner @StylianidesEU on growing #humanitarian needs, development & humanitarian Nexus issues and Europe’s key role to defend the Shrinking Humanitarian Space by coherent policies @NOHANetwork @eu_echo @maecenata pic.twitter.com/UhcH8awGh8
— Ralf Suedhoff (@RalfSuedhoff) 28. Juni 2019