Children’s right to education infringed in over 70 countries
Children in more than 70 countries are unable to attend schools due to ongoing wars and conflicts around the world, Save the Children Fund said in a press release, according to Sputnik.
"Children's right to education is under attack in more than 70 countries, causing millions of children to lose out on school because of war and conflict," the leading international children organization's press release published Wednesday stated.
Attacks at schools and schoolchildren "gravely go against every child's right to an education and are in direct violation of international humanitarian law," Save the Children President and CEO Carolyn Miles is quoted as saying in the release. Miles stressed that every child has a right to education.
"War and conflict are preventing 28.5 million children from going to school: the biggest single reason 57.8 million children are out of school worldwide," the release says.
The proposed Safe School declaration, aimed at minimizing the negative impact of armed conflict on students' safety and education, will be discussed on December 16 in Geneva.
Between 2009 and 2013, the number of reported attacks at schools amounted to 9,500, according to the latest Education under Attack Report, released by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.