Conflict in the Middle East

Coverage on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Middle East has reported civilian casualties, which include brutal attacks on women, children, and elderly in Libya. Amidst the violence, reports have also hinted at how schools and education are often collateral damage in the wake of conflict. For example, a Washington Post article noted how gunmen overtook a school in order to carry out further civilian attacks on the neighborhood.

As the international community attempts to protect civilians and provide humanitarian aid through the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1973 and 1970, it is important to contextualize the 2011 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, which serves as a call to action for protection of children in conflict and their right to education.

The report asserts that the provision of humanitarian aid has historically attached insufficient weight to education, whereas “Humanitarian law establishes the ground rules for protecting civilians during wars with specific provisions for the right to education.” Therefore, in order to guarantee the right to education and achieve Education for All, protecting children from violence is an underlying condition.

For the extensive body of humanitarian aid and human rights law, rules, and norms aimed at protecting children and civilians caught up in conflict with specific provisions for children’s right to education, reference within the 2011 EFA report Text Box 4.1: The human rights armory for protecting children and civilians.