Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack is a unique inter-agency coalition formed in 2010 to address the problem of targeted attacks on education during armed conflict.

Antigua and Barbuda is the 104th State to Endorse the Safe Schools Declaration

In Oslo on May 29, 2015, 37 states joined the Safe Schools Declaration, committing to take concrete action to protect education from attack, including by endorsing and using the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use. The number of endorsing states has been growing ever since. (photo credit: R.Fjeld, UD/Malala Fund).

Read the Press Release >>
Iraqi children in a classroom in a village south of Mosul, retaken from 'IS' fighters by Iraqi forces on February 15, 2017. Many children had been kept out of school for more than two years. © 2017 AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images

PUBLICATION

Practical Impact of the Safe Schools Declaration

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) released a fact sheet highlighting implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration since it was opened for endorsement in May 2015.

Read the Fact Sheet >>
“Tshiela,” aged 10, sits in what was once her school in Mulombela village, Kasai region. The school was attacked by government forces in 2017 and five students were killed. © UNICEF/Tremeau, 201

PRESS RELEASE

Democratic Republic of Congo: Girls’ Lives Shattered by Attacks on Schools

Armed groups attacked hundreds of schools in the Kasai region of central Democratic Republic of Congo during the 2016-17 conflict, said GCPEA in a report released today. The violence affected all children, but girls were particularly harmed.

Read the Press Release >>
Publication

Questions and Answers on the Safe Schools Declaration

What is the Safe Schools Declaration? What do countries who endorse the Declaration agree to do? GCPEA provides answers to these and other frequently asked questions about the Safe Schools Declaration.

Learn More >>
Students who were abducted in February 2018 from their school in Dapchi, Nigeria, and spent a month in captivity. © Timothy Yohanna Ali, March 2018

PUBLICATION

Guidance on Protecting Women and Girls

Women and girls often experience different forms of attacks on education, with different long-term impacts, from those experienced by boys and men. GCPEA offers guidance on how to better protect female students and educators from attacks on education.

Read the Guidance >>
Girl abducted by Kamuina Nsapu militia during an attack on her secondary school in Dimbelenge in November 2016. She was later assaulted at the “tshiota” (initiation fire), and harassed by soldiers until she abandoned her school and fled the area. © Holly Cartner, 2018.

PRESS RELEASE

Girls Targeted When Schools Attacked, Impacting Lives, Education

In conflicts around the world, female students and educators suffer horrific acts of violence within their schools and universities, including rape, forced marriage, and sexual slavery, said the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) said today.

Read the Press Release >>

Education under Attack 2018

An interactive website highlighting the findings of the latest edition of GCPEA's flagship report, Education under Attack 2018.

Learn more »

Latest news

May 29, 2020

United Nations General Assembly proclaims 9 September as the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, mobilizing action to safeguard education in armed conflict

GCPEA PRESS RELEASE

April 03, 2020

Estonia Endorses the Safe Schools Declaration

24 European Union States Have Now Committed to Protect Education

(New York, April 4, 2020) – The Government of Estonia has endorsed the Safe Schools D