Schools, academics in the gun sights
Thalif DEEN
A “dramatic increase” in targeted violence against schools and
educational institutions, mostly in conflict zones, is having a
devastating effect on students, teachers, trade unionists,
administrators and education officials, according to a new U.N. study
released here.
In 2006, militants killed 85 students and teachers, and destroyed 187
schools in battle-scarred Afghanistan. On average, 42 teachers are
murdered every year in Colombia. A total of 310 teachers were killed
between 2000 and 2006 in that strife-torn Latin American country.
Conflict affects education |
Since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq in April 2003,
280 academics, including 180 university professors, have been killed in
the occupied nation. In Sierra Leone, an estimated 1,200 schools were
destroyed in targeted attacks during the country’s civil war which ended
in 2001.
The grim statistics come from the 38-page study commissioned by the
Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), which was released Thursday.
“The common threat is that these are incidents involving the
deliberate use of force in ways that disrupt and deter the provision of,
and access to, education,” says the study titled “Education Under
Attack”, authored by Brendan O’ Malley.
A veteran journalist and an independent consultant with UNESCO,
O’Malley told reporters the global study was the first of its kind on
the subject of education and violence.
LTTE child soldiers |
He said the rising violence includes bombings, assassinations,
abductions, illegal detention, torture, as well as the burning of
educational buildings and closure of institutions by force.
“Parts of the world are becoming deadly to be a student, teacher or
education official,” he added. And attacks on education “often escape
international attention amid the general fighting in conflict-affected
countries.”
Over the past five years, O’Malley said countries worst-affected
include Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Nepal, the Israeli-occupied
Palestinian territories, Thailand and Zimbabwe.
In a number of countries, he pointed out, the bombing of universities
and education offices and targeted killing of teachers and academics
have become the favoured tactics of fighting groups.
Since September 2000, 43 schools have been occupied by Israeli troops
and turned into military bases, according to the Palestinian Ministry of
Education and Higher Education. The Ministry of Education in Thailand
has reported that some 71 teachers were killed and 130 schools burned
down during the three year period 2003-2006.
The study also details the forced recruitment of child soldiers, the
voluntary recruitment of child soldiers under the age of 15, and rape,
where it is part of a political, military and/or sectarian attack. In
Sri Lanka, the Tigers recruited over 3,500 children between February
2002 and November 2004.
O’Malley said that some of the worst abuses took place in Burma
(Myanmar), which he described as “child soldier capital of the world”.
He said child soldiering is now legally recognized as a war crime, and
the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is dealing with the
first of such crimes.
Globally, responses to attacks on education are generally focused on
military force and political dialogue. A third response is the use of an
increasing array of legal instruments, according to the study.
The Thai government has provided armed escorts for teachers to and
from schools, while they are also given weapons training so that they
can fight back. Asked about the conclusions of the study, O’Malley said
a serious challenge in conflict-affected countries is to move towards a
position where schools, colleges and universities be accepted as “safe
sanctuaries” and shielded from military and political violence— as in
the case of churches and religious institutions.
Perhaps, they should also carry a symbol, like the Red Cross
insignia, to protect them from attacks, he added. The study’s
recommendations include a call to U.N. member states to eradicate
impunity in the case of attacks on education staff, students, trade
unionists, officials and institutions.
Secondly, there should be greater resources to the ICC to bring more
cases to trial to widen its deterrent effect.
Thirdly, governments should use every opportunity to set conditions
of adherence to human rights norms — with particular reference to the
rights of children, the right to education and protection of both
educational institutions and the process of education — when entering
trade or aid agreements with parties to a conflict.
The study also calls on the Security Council to offer support for
strategies to remove education as a factor in conflicts.
Inter Press Service |