Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  There are three things, I think. As we plan for 2024 around the world, in all UNICEF country offices right now, we are having the conversation about what can be done immediately in this country. There's an input part to this. What different inputs can be provided? There's training teachers, providing specific materials such as digital, accessible textbooks, etc.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  We talk about reaching the whole child and it's not easy. I worked in the education system. I'm passionate about the education sector. I'm all about learning, but I increasingly am recognizing that we can only get so far if we're just looking at the school. The child has to bridge themselves into the classroom.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  It's not a balance actually, it's a win-win. It's how we intervene. When kids are coming across into Jordan from Syria—I was responding as the head of UNICEF there—the way we intervene and enable children to continue their learning can be inclusive, and that's a win for all children.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  UNICEF allocates about 60% of its education resources to children living in humanitarian settings, in a humanitarian context. That's come up in the four years I've been in this job. It's mainly because there are increasing humanitarian situations, unfortunately. We're now at about 60% of our global education resources.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I thought I was off the hook for a second, but I appreciate the question. Thank you so much. I really appreciate the committee's interest in reaching the most marginalized, your commitment to reaching children with disabilities and also recognizing that children with disabilities in humanitarian settings are particularly marginalized.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Mike, thanks for your continued leadership on this and thanks for continuing to engage so directly with UNICEF and advocating with us. The bottom line is that we need to leverage our existing 144 offices. We spend about $1.6 billion or so in education a year. We need to leverage that to maximize its impact on inclusive education, and that comes back to our earlier discussions around ensuring that all of UNICEF's programs adhere to that standard.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'll be brief. I really appreciate the emphasis on children living in humanitarian settings and through conflicts. First of all, education needs to be seen as a life-saving intervention. It needs to be at the heart of humanitarian assistance. That continues to be a debate that we are losing.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much for the question. It's great. There are some very clear metrics we can use that we can engage on with best practices of development actors and development assistance to ensure they meet the minimum standards. Ideally, Canada would of course aspire to being greater than that, but on the minimum standards on ensuring their assistance, Canada's government assistance overseas is leveraged to the extent possible to promote inclusive education.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thanks for the question. I can speak to the importance of national education systems offering younger children, in particular, instruction in their mother tongue. The evidence is very clear. Children learn better and more effectively in their mother tongue. They can transition over time in later years.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Where UNICEF works in 135 program countries, as they're called, or low- or middle-income countries, we do invest in strengthening the capacity of teachers and in hiring local teachers from the area to provide learning materials in a variety of languages, depending on the location, to enable children to learn in their mother tongue and then transition over time.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. My comments will build on those of my fellow witnesses. I want to thank you, Chair, the committee members and my fellow witnesses, but I also want to thank Canadians. Being a Canadian myself and having served in the United Nations for 30 years....