UNESCO warns of global spike in attacks on education
PARIS, France (AFP) — Attacks worldwide against students and educational facilities rose by 20 per cent in 2022 and 2023 over the two previous years, especially in war-torn countries, the United Nations (UN) said Monday.
The UN’s cultural agency United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) cited a study by the Global Coalition for Protecting Education from Attack, of which it is a member.
It said “6,000 attacks against students, professionals and educational institutions, including 1,000 cases of military use of these institutions, were recorded worldwide in 2022-2023 — an average of eight per day”.
“This represents a 20 per cent increase on the previous two years.”
These attacks were “much more frequent in countries currently experiencing armed conflict, foremost among them Myanmar, the Middle East and Gaza in particular, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen,” it added.
