Introduction
Education Under Attack 2014, a global study that examines attacks on education and military use of schools, found that education had been attacked in 70 countries throughout the world from 2009-2013, with a pattern of such attacks occurring in 30 countries.1 Students of all ages, teachers, academics, teachers’ unions, and education institutions were the targets of intentional attacks for political, military, ideological, sectarian, ethnic, or religious reasons. Additionally, schools and universities were used by parties to armed conflict as barracks, weapons storage facilities, command centers, detention and interrogation sites, firing and observations posts, and for other military purposes in 24 of the 30 countries. A more recent report, Lessons in War 2015, found that schools and universities had been used for military purposes in 26 countries from 2005 to 2015, the majority of countries in which there had been conflicts in the last decade. Recommendations from Education Under Attack 2014 were incorporated into the Safe Schools Declaration,2 developed in 2015 in a state-led process headed by Norway and Argentina and supported by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA). By endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration, states make a political commitment to adopt a comprehensive approach to protecting education from attack. Commitments in the Declaration include: collecting data on attacks on education and military use of schools; investigating allegations of attacks; duly prosecuting perpetrators and providing support for victims; developing conflict-sensitive education;3 seeking to ensure continuation of education during conflict and the rebuilding of schools following attacks; and endorsing and utilizing the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict (Guidelines).4 To examine how to better safeguard education in conflict, including by implementing the different commitments within the Safe Schools Declaration, GCPEA convened a Workshop on Promising Practices for Protecting Education from Attack and Schools from Military Use (Workshop). The Workshop was held in Istanbul, Turkey, from October 5 to 7, 2015.
The Workshop brought together more than 75 field practitioners, program managers, and Ministry of Education (MoE) officials who comprised country teams from 11 different countries: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia, and South Sudan. Additionally, practitioners from Nepal and Sudan, as well as resource persons representing international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and UN agencies that work within and across several countries, participated in the Workshop. The purpose of the Workshop was to:
Collect and share information about promising measures that countries are currently implementing to protect education from attack and schools from military use;
Identify opportunities and challenges in implementing protective measures and their suitability for adaptation to other contexts; and
Develop action plans within each country team to implement a promising protective measure as well as an advocacy strategy for endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration and implementing the Guidelines.
During the Workshop, participants presented and discussed topics under the following three themes:
1) Protection measures at all levels of implementation
2) Policies that protect education from attack
3) Action planning
This report summarizes what, according to Workshop participants, are promising practices in protecting education from attack and highlights emergent considerations and challenges in implementing different protective measures.