INTERNATIONAL DAY TO PROTECT EDUCATION FROM ATTACK 2023
Protecting education from attack during armed conflict
Attacks on and military use of education facilities frequently occur during armed conflict, disrupting and destroying education and the opportunities that it brings. When affected populations lose access to education, they lose the protection it offers to children and young people. Protecting and ensuring access to education during conflict is enshrined in international humanitarian law (IHL) and is thus a core part of the humanitarian mission.
In this episode of Humanity in War, podcast host Elizabeth Rushing speaks with Michel Anglade, Director of Save the Children and representative of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), and Mark Chapple, ICRC Head of Education, on the life-saving and protective value of education and focuses on the legal and policy influence on protecting access to education during armed conflict.
While you read the blog, also listen to this episode by tuning in to SoundCloud, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts!
💡 How does IHL protect education?
The 9th of September marks the International Day to Protect Education from Attack and symbolizes the commitment of states as well as humanitarian and development actors to ensure safe, enabling learning environments in humanitarian emergencies.
The ICRC has built its engagement on education on its specific added value; namely its humanitarian access and relationship with weapon bearers as well as its expertise in operating in contexts heavily affected by conflict and violence.
💬 Did you know? Under the IHL rules governing the conduct of hostilities, students and educational personnel are protected from attack, unless they directly participate in hostilities. Similarly, schools and other educational facilities as civilian objects are protected against attack, unless they are turned into military objectives. IHL also contains rules that specifically require parties to conflict to facilitate access to education. (Article 50 of the GC IV, Article 52(3) of AP I, and Article 4(3) of AP II).
IHL, Islamic Law and Protecting Education How can the convergence and divergence of two legal systems protect children in armed conflict? Read this comparative analysis of the two, exploring their impact on the wartime experience of children.
In 2012, the UN and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army signed an agreement to stop child recruitment; in 2015 the South Sudan Democratic Army handed over children to UNICEF as part of the deal between the group and the State, heralded as “one of the largest ever demobilisations of children".
In 2011, Chad signed a UN Action Plan to combat child soldier recruitment. It passed laws against such recruitment, screened its armed forces for child soldiers, and successfully completed it in 2014, leading to Chad's delisting from the UN Secretary-General's Report on Children and Armed Conflict.
🌎 The Case of Brazil | Safer Access Framework
In Brazil, urban violence has heavily affected communities' access to essential public services, such as education, healthcare, and social welfare.
For this, the delegation developed the Safer Access to Essential Services Programme, a methodology to reduce, mitigate, and respond to the consequences of exposure to armed violence settings. The methodology proposes mechanisms for context and risk analysis, risk treatment as well as crisis and stress management. Read more.
🔖 Missed any of these?
Refer tothis handbook for armed groups with recommendations for reducing civilian harm, including on how to better protect students, teachers, and schools as civilians and civilian objects.
Take a lookat this concise set of IHL rules that armed groups can integrate into their operational guidance as a minimum standard, including on how to protect civilians and civilian objects.
💻 Watch this video on how fighters can reduce civilian harm in urban warfare.
🔎 Explore this mapping of measurement frameworks and tools to assess school-based security interventions.
