18 September 2024, Joint Statement Delivered by Plan International

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Thank you, Mr. President. This statement is delivered on behalf of Plan International, The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) and Save the Children.

Today the panel has advanced the recognition that attacks on students, teachers, schools and universities and the military use of educational facilities undermine the achievement of peace and security.

According to latest research of GCPEA, attacks on education and military use of schools and universities have increased by 20% in 2022-2023, with attacks on schools constituting the most prevalent form of attack and systematic patterns reported in 28 countries in conflict. Gaza and Sudan serve as stark examples, where mass destruction and targeted attacks on schools have had devastating impacts on education infrastructure and access to learning.

Attacks are used by parties to conflicts to promote intolerance and exclusion, to further gender discrimination and prevent the education of girls, to perpetuate conflict and to restrict cultural diversity. They have devastating effects on the entire community, particularly on teachers, learners, and girls and women.

These attacks disrupt – and sometimes end – education, create fear, and often involve horrific abuses, such as recruitment into armed groups, abductions, and sexual violence, including rape.

The documentation, investigation and reporting of attacks on schools is necessary towards holding perpetrators of such violations into account.  Accountability is crucial to acknowledge the serious wrongs done to children and the education personnel, to break cycle of violence, and to restore rule of law. Empowering children and teachers about their right to seek justice and reparations for such violations can help survivors rebuild their lives with dignity and help foster a culture where justice prevails and future violence is prevented.

To date, 120 States have endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration thereby committing to adopt ‘conflict-sensitive’ approaches to education at the national level and within international humanitarian and development programmes, to support conflict resolution and peacebuilding and to ensure the full realisation of Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In light of this, we encourage the OHCHR to gather information and assess progress on implementation of such commitment in its upcoming comprehensive report on Ensuring education for peace and tolerance for every child. We also recommend integration of the Safe Schools Declaration into the implementation of the Plan of action for the fifth phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education.

Finally, we urge States to endorse and implement the Safe Schools Declaration in a gender-responsive and child-rights based manner, as this will accelerate achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the New Agenda for Peace.  

Thank you.