Global Rise in Attacks on Education Raises Alarm Over Child Safety

Human Rights Research Center
2 minutes ago
3 min read

June 18, 2026

HRRC expresses concern over the increasing global pattern of attacks on education and the resulting erosion of the protection of schools under international humanitarian law, with serious consequences for children’s right to safe and uninterrupted learning.

Attacks on education are increasing globally and are becoming a repeated feature of modern conflict rather than being categorized as isolated incidents. Between 2024 and 2025, global monitoring recorded at least 8,500 attacks on schools, students, and education staff worldwide. These statistics incorporated direct attacks on school buildings, the use of schools by military personnel for various purposes, and any disruptions caused by political instability and/or regional conflicts.

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) reports that these incidents occurred in at least 80 countries during the period under review, which indicates how educational access is being hindered across a wide range of conflict and crisis settings rather than solely in isolated war zones.

In countries such as Ukraine, Palestine, Ethiopia, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), schools have been damaged or destroyed through airstrikes, shelling, or other violence occurring in populated areas. For example, in eastern DRC, armed groups increased their attacks on schools between March 2025 and February 2026, targeting at least 587 schools and disrupting the education of more than 285,500 children.

United Nations (UN) agencies have raised similar concerns. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that, in 2025, around 234 million children in crisis-affected areas were missing school because facilities were unsafe, closed, or destroyed. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also notes that education systems in conflict zones are under sustained pressure, with school closures becoming longer and harder to reverse.

Human rights organisations also track how schools are affected through acts of violence, occupation, and political insecurity, which prevent normal education from continuing.

The impact on children is severe and often permanent. When schools are occupied, damaged, or closed, children lose access to education for indefinite periods of time, and many do not return. UNICEF reports that children affected by conflict-related school disruption face higher risks of dropping out permanently. In Yemen, for instance, around 3.2 million school-aged children are currently out of school. Educational disruptions have affected about 1.5 million internally displaced children, increasing the likelihood that many of them may never return to the classroom.

Female students are often affected in more specific ways, as they frequently face greater barriers to education due to targeted gender-based restrictions and/or pressure to stay at home during crises because of safety risks. This disproportionate disadvantage can deepen existing gender inequalities and widen gaps in school participation that can extend after conflicts or occupations end.

These trends in attacks on educational institutions are linked to changes in modern conflict. Many conflicts today involve multiple armed actors operating in populated areas, which drastically increases the likelihood that schools are caught in the crossfire of instability and violence. The use of explosive weapons in cities and towns also contributes to widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, which includes educational facilities.

Although international humanitarian law protects schools as civilian objects and limits their use for military purposes, enforcement remains inconsistent. The Safe Schools Declaration is an international commitment aimed at strengthening this protection, but implementation varies widely between states and is often not fully integrated into military practice.

Glossary

Child labour - Work that deprives children (any person under 18) of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and/or mental development.
Civilian infrastructure - Physical and organizational structures and facilities that support the daily life of a civilian population and are critical for a functioning society.
Crisis setting – Any environment, situation or context involving an acute, disruptive or dangerous event that requires, immediate, targeted intervention.
Displacement – Situation in which people are forced to leave the place where they normally live.
Disruption – The action of preventing something, especially a system, process or event from continuing as usual or as expected.
Gender inequality - Legal, social and cultural situation in which sex and/or gender determine different rights and dignity for women and men, which are reflected in their unequal access to or enjoyment of rights, as well as the assumption of stereotyped social and cultural roles.
International humanitarian law- Set of rules which seek for humanitarian reasons to limit the effects of armed conflict.
Modern conflict - A combination of conventional combat and unconventional conflict.
Shelling - The act of firing shells, which are containers full of explosives, at something.
Sustained – Maintained at length without interruption or weakening.

References

HRRC accepts NO funding from governments for our research or campaigns. At every step of the way, our impact is made possible because of people like YOU. Make your contribution now!

Global Rise in Attacks on Education Raises Alarm Over Child Safety

Recent Posts