Though not widely reported in mainstream North American media, representatives from over 60 countries recently met in Norway to attend the “Oslo Conference on Safe Schools.” The high-level meeting sought to achieve international consensus on a growing global problem: the protection of students and educational facilities from attacks.
News Archive
June 14, 2015
Jamaica has endorsed an international declaration that seeks to safeguard education facilities from being used in wars or armed conflicts. Sergeant Coleridge Minto, director of Safety and Security in School at the Ministry of Education expressed Jamaica’s support for the declaration during an international Safe School Conference held recently in Oslo, Norway.
June 13, 2015
In Pakistan, attacks on schools and students have appeared in the headlines regularly in recent years. A recent UN Human Rights Council report notes that more than 3,600 attacks have taken place against educational institutions, teachers, and students in recent years.
June 12, 2015
Is it any wonder that we now call this "the year of fear" for millions of children across the world? The cries of a starving or distressed child are a harrowing enough sound. The screams of a child caught up in violent conflict are an altogether different matter.
June 12, 2015
States Should Endorse ‘Safe Schools Declaration’ at UN Security Council Debate
Governments should endorse the new Safe Schools Declaration at the United Nations Security Council debate on children and armed conflict on June 18, 2015, Human Rights Watch said today.
June 11, 2015
This year has already become the worst year since 1945 for children who have been displaced and forced to flee as refugees, and for children who had their schools attacked and destroyed.
June 11, 2015
The deliberate targeting of schools has become a flashpoint in the war between Yemen's rebels and a Saudi-led coalition.
Hisham Yahya, 13, is an eager student. As we sat in the large, empty yard of his school in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, with weapons debris scattered about, he said he missed going to class. “I just sit at home, it is so boring, and we have no electricity, nothing,” he said. “I want to go back to school so I can start learning again.”
June 11, 2015
Last December, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, called 2014 one of the worst years on record for children. A new UN report issued today on children and armed conflict – how many were killed, abducted, or subject to other grave violations – bolsters that terrible finding.
June 10, 2015
Pakistan, which is one of the top three countries in the number of attacks specifically directed at the education infrastructure, did not sign the declaration. Ironically, just as the Oslo meeting was wrapping up, it was reported that, contrary to the general belief, Pakistan had exonerated most of the men accused of shooting and injuring schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai.
June 10, 2015
Almost 100 schools in Kenya have been closed and 500 more may be shut down after mainly Christian teachers refused to work because they fear terrorist attacks. At least 95 public schools in the northeast of the country closed their doors to students last month and remain shut indefinitely.
