Education Above All (EAA) is pleased to announce the release of the following publication: Protecting Education in Insecurity and Armed Conflict: An International Law Handbook. 

Armed conflict affords education no mercy. Schools and colleges are looted, destroyed and abandoned, teachers assassinated, scholars threatened, and students recruited as child soldiers. It is at such times that the protection of education is most critical and it is at such times that our potentially powerful body of relevant international law demands maximum attention, focus, accessibility and implementation.

Commissioned by EAA, authored by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and referred to by former International Court of Justice President Dame Rosalyn Higgins DBE, QC as “unusual and important … [offering] depth and conceptual clarity”, the Handbook examines the intersection of international human rights, humanitarian, and criminal law as it relates to violations of the right to education and associated rights during insecurity and armed conflict. It focuses on the international legal protection of students, education staff and education facilities and offers recommendations as to how this protection can, and should, be strengthened. In so doing, the Handbook also introduces international and regional legal mechanisms that can be used to obtain relevant and appropriate reparation.

The Handbook includes extensive appendices containing compilations of, with links to, relevant international and regional law, cases and other resources. It is accompanied by a separate, concise summary written specifically for non-legal audiences.   

Education Above All (EAA) is a Qatar-based policy research, and advocacy organization concerned with protecting the right to education in insecurity and conflict.

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) is one of the leading independent research centres for international and comparative law in the world, and is the only organization of its type in the UK.

The Handbook and its Summary are accessible online and in PDF at www.educationaboveall.org/legalresources. EAA welcomes your feedback on the Handbook (please send questions or comments to contact@educationaboveall.org).