Education Under Attack: UNESCO launches new report
The number of politically and ideologically motivated attacks on teachers, students and school buildings is rising, says the UNESCO report Education Under Attack 2010. These attacks are perpetrated by non-state armed groups and state actors alike. The report’s author, Brendan O' Malley, is a longstanding member of the UK National Commission for UNESCO Education Committee and its Education for All (EFA) Working Group.
Education under Attack 2010 is the second report on the subject. The first, also by Brendan O' Malley, was published in 2007.
Read excerpts from the Education under Attack 2010 report here.
This report is launched together with a partner UNESCO publication entitled Protecting Education from Attack: A State-of-the-Art Review, in which several experts assess current knowledge and practice on preventing and responding to such attacks. The review also shares the recommendations generated by a seminar on the subject held at UNESCO headquarters in 2009.
Together the two reports offer both an assessment of the current situation and a call to action in the face of violence that appears to be rising dramatically, following a more general pattern of increased attacks on civilians and aid workers in recent years.
Read an interview with the report’s author, Brendan O' Malley here.
Three years ago, when UNESCO commissioned the first Education under Attack study, the problem was little known. Education under Attack 2010 notes growing awareness within United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and public opinion of the recurring nature of these attacks, which are not exceptional or isolated incidents. Above all, the report demonstrates that the destruction of schools and the murder of students and teachers are not limited to acts by the Taliban in Afghanistan or Pakistan in opposition to the education of girls and women.
Education was attacked in at least 32 countries between January 2007 and July 2009.
In his recommendations, author Brendan O’Malley advocates the creation of a global observatory on the subject. The United Nations currently lacks reliable data for an accurate assessment of the problem. More in-depth research is needed, he says, to enable better analysis and understanding of the causes, means and impacts of attacks on education.
So far, he notes, very little research has been carried out into why particular armed groups regard schools or even schoolchildren as legitimate targets or why so many governments persecute academics in their own universities. Almost no research has been carried out on the impact of repeated attacks on education systems.
The report also covers the issue of child soldiers – the number of which is currently estimated at 250,000 worldwide. Abductions are frequently carried out for the purpose of forced recruitment or sexual violence against girls. The report expresses particular concern about the systematic nature of crimes committed and sinister tactics used in several countries against teachers, pupils and unionized education workers.
Written: 18/02/2010 , last modified: 24/02/2010
