Tag: Culture and education

Day highlighting journalists under fire focuses on protection during elections — Global Issues

Between January 2019 and June 2022, the agency documented 759 individual attacks against journalists, including five killings, during 89 elections in 70 countries.

Most of these attacks – which included beating and arbitrary arrest – were committed by police and security forces.

Attacked from all around

The findings come in a report published in tandem with the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, observed annually on 2 November.

It examines the role of law enforcement agents, in ensuring the safety of journalists during public demonstrations and elections.

From January 2015 to August 2021, UNESCO registered incidents in at least 101 countries where journalists were attacked while covering protests, public demonstrations and riots. At least 13 were killed in such contexts.

Journalists were injured by police firing non-lethal ammunition, such as rubber bullets or pepper balls. Many others were arrested, beaten and in a few cases humiliated.

“At the same time, a significant number of physical and verbal attacks were perpetrated by demonstrators and people attending the protests,” the report said.

Keeping truth alive

In his message for the Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underlined the risks journalists face in fulfilling their vital role in both upholding and enabling democracy and holding power to account.

“Today and every day, we are grateful to the journalists and all media professionals who risk their health and lives to keep us informed, and to keep the truth alive,” he said.

Citing UNESCO, he said at least 88 journalists were killed in the line of duty in 2022, marking a sharp increase over preceding years.

“The current conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory is taking a horrific toll on journalists,” he added.

Better safeguards needed

Furthermore, he noted that the majority of journalists killed are not war reporters. In fact, they are working in countries that are at peace, investigating issues such as corruption, trafficking, human rights violations, and environmental issues.

“I am deeply alarmed by these figures, and by the rise in threats of all kinds against journalists,” he said.

“Detention of journalists is at an all-time high. Online harassment of journalists, particularly women, is being used as a tool to silence them. We need better safeguards to defend the journalists who are keeping us informed.”

The Secretary-General called on all States to prevent violence against journalists, to provide a safe environment for them to do their jobs, to bring to justice those who commit crimes against them, and to ensure support for victims and survivors.

Protests and polls

UNESCO has long been advocating for the safety and protection of journalists and all who work in media, and the report contains a number of recommendations for law enforcement agents/agencies (LEAs) and media outlets covering public assemblies.

For example, the sides are encouraged to cultivate “a good and professional relationship” beforehand so that they have clear understanding about their respective roles, responsibilities, potential issues and response.

LEAs are urged to facilitate the work of journalists, such as identifying a press area or “defined media perimeter” that provides a safe vantage point for them, though understanding that journalists are not obliged to remain there.

Particular attention should also be given to the specific threats and risks women journalists face, “and it is important to take a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, especially online.”

“Regular training for senior LEA management in working with media organisations, notably during elections periods, and for officers working on the ground during public assemblies, notably in facilitating safe media coverage, should be regularly conducted,” the report said.

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Banksy highlights cultural revival amid rubble strewn Kyiv suburb — Global Issues

The artwork – a ballerina balancing precariously on the rubble – solidified the town’s reputation as a beacon of resilience. Despite Borodianka’s sudden fame, the efforts of its local artists musicians and librarians to revive their beloved hometown remain largely unknown outside Ukraine.

Now, cultural activities, one supported by the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), are drawing hundreds of fans, choirs are singing again, and art is being made and taught by inspirational local artists.

IOM/Alisa Kyrpychova

Despite the war, Natalia is determined to help her community in Ukraine preserve and revive its cultural identity.

Revival and resilience

Natalia Vyshynska is committed to reviving cultural life in the town. She and her colleagues have organized several public events since last year.

“We don’t use the word ‘concert’,” she explained. “We say ‘a public gathering with musical performances.’ Concerts will be after our victory.”

Taking part in this revival and resilience, Ms. Vyshynska has led Borodianka’s culture department for nearly two decades. She works out of the local cultural centre, still scarred from shelling and standing next to homes destroyed in the devastating March 2022 bombings.

Despite the dangers of war, she has remained dedicated to her colleagues and the important work they carry out. She even returned to the office two days after the invasion to ensure staff would get their salaries.

Since April 2022, she and colleagues worked in the offices for the following year, with broken windows covered with plastic film.

A town in ruins

Ms. Vyshynska, along with her husband, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters, took refuge in a cellar, where they survived weeks of heavy fighting. Eventually, the family was able to escape and briefly relocated to western Ukraine.

IOM

This depiction of a dancer in Borodianka was the first of a series Banksy spray painted in Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

When they returned home, they found their town in ruins. Of its 26 cultural establishments, 18 were damaged or destroyed, losing 95 per cent of their facilities and assets, among them a local art school.

“Every musical instrument, including a grand piano, was ruined,” she said. “We had a violin from 1826 stored in a protective box, but it was consumed by fire. Only a scorched metal violin clef was found amidst the rubble.”

Life before war

Prior to Russia’s invasion, Ms. Vyshynska and her colleagues were working to modernize the cultural institutions in Borodianka, a town with a pre-war population of roughly 13,000.

Applying her background in psychology to transform a local sewing class into a fashion theatre, students were able to walk onto a stage, showcasing their creations, gaining confidence, and overcoming fears of sharing their art with a live audience.

Before the war, town librarians helped senior citizens develop digital literacy skills.

Coming home

While many young people have left to find safety and jobs elsewhere, a steady stream is returning since the Government of Ukraine regained control over Borodianka and the northern areas of the country.

Many displaced people make the decision to return, even as the war continues. Most of those returning are in their forties and fifties, Ms. Vyshynska said.

‘They are singing now’

Acknowledging that some people still might find public events inappropriate, she said for the hundreds of attendees and for those who organize them, it all has meaning.

“Many of our singers lost their relatives; many lost their homes,” she said. “They could not sing for some time. Some needed two months, some needed three. They managed. They are singing now.”

However, coping with death and losses is a reality in the town.

“We go to the cemetery; we cry and remember our dead,” she said. “I think, they would like life in Borodianka to go on.”

IOM/Alisa Kyrpychova

The monument of renowned Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko, was damaged in the conflict.

Healing power of art

Ms. Vyshynska and her team continue to engage psychologists in their efforts, particularly with children.

“Children are afraid of death, injury, and losing their parents and homes,” she said. “By using drawing, music and games, they can express their fears and traumatizing experiences, and we help them process these difficult emotions and continue with their lives.”

Members of her community give her strength and make her proud. She can point to many examples.

There is local history expert Valentyn Moiseenko. He miraculously survived the bombing of Borodianka and escaped with his wife, who has a mobility impairment. They spent weeks sheltering in a basement. Recalling those times, he wrote a book about the days when the town was under Russian military control and at the centre of heavy fighting.

Another inspirational town resident is Svitlana Vyskochy, a local artist who creates decorated Easter eggs called pysankas. She conducts master classes for hospital patients every week, including people with amputations.

IOM/Alisa Kyrpychova

Pins adorned with “Borodianka’s culture is alive” alongside the famous maiolica rooster were created by Natalia’s team.

‘Borodianka’s culture is alive’

Ms. Vyshynska’s team have produced pins, adorned with the famous maiolica rooster and the words “Borodianka’s culture is alive”.

The town cultural centre relies on grants from businesses and international organizations.

One project supported by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), with funding from the Republic of Korea and Canada, is helping to refurbish a local museum. It is also creating a space for young families, purchasing equipment for a local library, and providing a huge tent that will allow Ms. Vyshynska’s team to bring services to people in war-affected communities around Borodianka.

With support from IOM, she and other community members took part in inclusive dialogue sessions, where they could collectively shape the future of their community through projects for social change.

Together with volunteers from across Ukraine, they applied these skills to transform their cultural centre, so that Borodianka can continue to celebrate its unique culture for generations to come.

IOM/Alisa Kyrpychova

The “Girl under the Sun” sculpture represents the victory of life over destruction.

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Stocktake of water resources needed as global hydrological cycle is in distress — Global Issues

Destructive droughts and heavy rains are causing harm, while melting snow and glaciers heighten flood risks and endanger long-term water security.

The UN weather agency’s State of Global Water Resources 2022 report emphasizes the need to better understand freshwater resources and urges a fundamental policy shift. It calls for enhanced monitoring, data sharing, cross-border cooperation, and increased investments to manage water extremes effectively.

“This WMO report offers a comprehensive, and consistent overview of water resources worldwide, highlighting the influence of climate, environmental, and societal changes,” said Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General.

Substantiated by field observations, satellite-based remote sensing, and numerical modelling to evaluate global water resources, the WMO State of Global Water Resources 2022 report contains in-depth data on key hydrological factors like groundwater, evaporation, streamflow, terrestrial water storage, soil moisture, cryosphere (frozen water), reservoir inflows, and hydrological disasters.

Disrupted water cycle

Glaciers and ice cover are retreating before our eyes. Rising temperatures have accelerated – and also disrupted – the water cycle. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture causing much heavier precipitation episodes and flooding. And at the opposite extreme, more evaporation, dry soils and more intense droughts, explained the WMO chief.

According to UN Water, currently, 3.6 billion people lack access to sufficient water at least a month per year and this is expected to increase to more than five billion by 2050.

© UNFPA / Shehzad Noorani

Villagers in Pakistan’s Khairpur Mirs District in Sindh province cross flooded land to get to their homes.

Stocktake

Though further research is needed, and more information from regions like Africa, the Middle East and Asia is required, the conclusions made based on data from 273 stations around the globe are straightforward, the Report authors believe.

In the realm of river discharge and reservoir inflow, over 50 per cent of global catchment areas and reservoirs displayed deviations from normal conditions, of which a majority were drier than usual.

There were anomalies in soil moisture and evapotranspiration (transfer of land water into the atmosphere, either by evaporation or through plants) registered throughout 2022.

For instance, Europe experienced increased evapotranspiration and decreased soil moisture during summer. Moreover, droughts on the continent posed challenges in rivers like the Danube and Rhine and even disrupted nuclear electricity production in France due to the lack of cooling water.

Severe droughts impacted also vast regions including the United States, Horn of Africa, Middle East and La Plata Basin in South America.

In Asia, the Yangtze river basin in China faced a severe drought, while Pakistan’s Indus river basin witnessed extreme floods. The disaster resulted in at least 1,700 fatalities, with 33 million people affected and nearly eight million displaced.

Africa’s hydrological situations are contrasting too. While the Horn of Africa dealt with a severe drought affecting 21 million people’s food security, areas such as the Niger basin and coastal South Africa saw above-average discharge and major floods.

On thin ice

In 2022, the snow cover in the Alps remained significantly below the 30-year average, affecting discharge of the major European rivers. The Andes saw declining winter snow, with the lowest amount in 2021 and some recovery in 2022, impacting water supplies in Chile and Argentina. Observations of Georgia’s glaciers revealed a doubling of melting rates over recent years.

© UNICEF/Srikanth Kolari

A mountain glacier that is shrinking due to rising temperatures and less snowfall at the Kargil District, India.

Significant glacial melting was observed in the Asian Water Tower, along with changing river run-offs in the Indus, Amu Darya, Yangtze and Yellow River basins, highlighting the deepening influence of climate change on regional water
resources.

“This report is a call to action for more data sharing to enable meaningful early warnings and for more coordinated and integrated water management policies that are an integral part of climate action,” urged Mr. Taalas.

The report combines input from dozens of experts and complements WMO’s flagship State of the Global Climate report.

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The UN’s quirkiest contest — Global Issues

Bursting with translation anticipation, a quirky UN contest has had translators, interpreters, students, and lovers of a good multilingual idiom challenge submitting entries from around the world to the 2023 St. Jerome Translation Contest.

On hiatus for three years, the contest is back and participants from across the world were limbering up for a new bout of linguistic gymnastics.

AI beware

A panel of expert judges have combed through entries for each language, looking for accuracy in conveying not only the meaning of a frustrating household task, artificial intelligence (AI), and a traditional Spanish dish, but also the nuances of the source text, as well as style, submitted by students to seasoned translators.

The goal as always is to make sure nothing is lost in translation.

“In spite of the rise of Google and AI, which are threatening the very existence of our profession, there is continuing interest in translation,” said one of the judges, a senior text revisor in the Russian section of the UN Office at Vienna.

“We were very pleased with the liveliness of the language of many translations; it seemed like most of the contestants had had the same kind of problem loading dishwashers, and some of them seem to have PTSD when recalling those feats,” he told the audience in Vienna at the official award ceremony on Wednesday.

“At a time of tweets, likes, and reposts, live language literature – given the biting and ironic nature and humour of the original [texts] – is something we found in the work we read,” he said. “This was a breath of fresh air.”

Patron saint of translators

This year’s glottologists [check that one before translation!] united in their love for philology were current and former UN staff and interns, UN-accredited diplomatic mission staff, and students at partner universities.

The English Translation Service at UN Headquarters kicked off the annual contest in 2005 for International Translation Day, commemorated on 30 September, a landmark date for translators worldwide.

That’s the day to celebrate the feast of St. Jerome, considered by many as the patron saint of translators. The northern Italian priest translated the Bible into Latin from Greek manuscripts and parts of the Hebrew Gospel into Greek. The multilinguist of Illyrian ancestry died near Bethlehem on 30 September 420.

More than a millennium and a half later, the UN’s eponymous translation contest has gone global. German translators even have their own edition.

And the winners are….

Prizes were awarded on Wednesday for translations of the English text into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, or German and of the Spanish text into English. The UN’s six official languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, and Russian. Winners came from all regions of the world.

They included Hanine Jaafar, a student at Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Kaiss Jarkass, an Arabic translator at UN Headquarters, and Mustafa Daraghma, an Arabic reviser at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

For details on all prize winners and their titillating translations, visit the contest’s website here.

In case you missed it, watch the official award ceremony courtesy of UN WebTV here.

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UNESCO chief calls for ‘intensification’ of investment in girls’ education — Global Issues

Audrey Azoulay was speaking on Friday in Beijing, China, where she co-chaired the award ceremony for the 2023 UNESCO Prize for the Education of Women and Girls, alongside the agency’s Special Envoy, Professor Peng Liyuan.

She appealed for an “intensification of global investments in favour of girls and women’s access to education”.

Striving towards equality

Ms. Azoulay said “significant progress” has been made in education since the international community adopted the UN Declaration and Programme of Action for Women’s Rights in 1995.

Today, 90 per cent of girls worldwide have completed primary education, and more than 40 per cent have access to higher education.

“This dynamic must continue because gender equality in education is not yet a reality. Currently, two-thirds of illiterate adults in the world are women,” she said.

Honouring outstanding initiatives

The UNESCO Prize honours outstanding and innovative contributions made by individuals, institutions, and organizations to advance girls’ and women’s education.

The award, which is presented annually, was established in 2015 and is supported by China. Two projects in Pakistan and China are this year’s recipients.

A better future for girls

The Star Schools programme in Pakistan ensures girls’ education in emergency situations. More than 540,000 minority girls benefit, including Afghan and Rohingya refugees, and victims of natural disasters such as the deadly and devastating floods last year.

UNESCO spoke to Fajer Pasha, Executive Director of the Pakistan Alliance for Girls Education (PAGE), which runs the project.

“When girls have been through a Star School, we want them to come out not just literate but confident and above all aware of their rights so that they believe a future exists for them,” he said.

Putting girls first

The Spring Bud project in China supports access to quality education for four million adolescent girls from 56 ethnic groups, spread across 31 provinces.

The initiative by the China Children and Teenagers’ Fund (CCTF) was created at a time when nine years of compulsory education was not yet fully established across the country, and families still had to pay fees and textbook costs.

“Some rural families were too poor to send their girls to school. Some parents in remote areas, influenced by old cultural biases, would choose boys, not girls when they could only afford to send some of their children to school,” CCTF Secretary-General Zhang Yanhong told UNESCO.

Cultural heritage visit

While in China, Ms. Azoulay also met with President Xi Jinping, who reaffirmed the country’s commitment to supporting UNESCO’s mandate and working together with all Member States of the organization.

She travelled to two World Heritage sites: the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Beijing Man site in Zhoukoudian, where remains of prehistoric human societies were found.

World Heritage sites are natural and cultural places that are of outstanding universal value to humanity, and there are more than 1,000 across the planet.

These locations are protected under the World Heritage Convention, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

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Ban smoking and vaping in schools worldwide urges WHO — Global Issues

According to the UN health agency, the tobacco industry’s approach has resulted in increased use of e-cigarettes, with nine out of 10 smokers starting before the age of 18 – and some as early as 11.

“Considering that children spend nearly one-third of their waking hours in school, and much of the peer pressure they encounter occurs within these educational environments, schools play a pivotal role,” WHO said.

Schools are in “a uniquely powerful position to play a major role in reducing the serious problem of smoking and other tobacco and nicotine use by kids”.

The appeal of e-cigarettes

Although smoking has continued to decline among European teens, WHO reported that there has been a rise in novel and emerging tobacco and nicotine products – including electronic cigarettes.

The UN agency pointed out these products have been made more affordable for young people owing to the sale of single-use cigarettes and e-cigarettes, which also typically lack health warnings.

“If we don’t take urgent action now, we risk seeing the next generation of tobacco and nicotine users recruited through tobacco industries’ unethical practices,” said Dr Hans Henri Kluge, Regional Director for WHO European Region.

© Unsplash

Vaping involves heating a liquid and inhaling the aerosol into the lungs.

New guidance

The alert comes as the WHO released two new publications to coincide with the return to school of children in many countries of the global north: “Freedom from tobacco and nicotine: guide for schools,” and the “Nicotine and Tobacco-Free Schools Toolkit”.

The launch also coincided with a warning last month by regulators in the United States that companies must stop selling illegal e-cigarettes that appeal to youth by resembling school supplies, cartoon characters, and even teddy bears.

“Whether sitting in class, playing games outside or waiting at the school bus stop, we must protect young people from deadly second-hand smoke and toxic e-cigarette emissions as well as ads promoting these products,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, WHO Director of Health Promotion.

“It is deeply concerning that the tobacco industry is still targeting young people and makes vast profits, harming their health”, he continued.

Schools must be safe spaces for young people, where they are free from exposure to, or pressure to use nicotine products. Creating a smoke- and nicotine-free environment in school settings is fundamental to helping prevent young people from starting smoking”.

The WHO guides also highlight countries that have successfully implemented policies in support of tobacco and nicotine-free campuses. They include India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine.

‘Whole-of-school’ approach

WHO emphasized a “whole-of-school” approach to creating nicotine and tobacco-free campuses. Input is needed from teachers, staff, students and parents, WHO maintained.

The UN health agency’s documents include information on how to support students wanting to quit, education campaigns, implementing policies and how to enforce them.

Advice to educators and policymakers includes:

  • Banning nicotine and tobacco products on school campuses
  • Prohibiting the sale of products near schools
  • Banning direct and indirect ads and promotion of nicotine and tobacco products near classrooms
  • Refusing sponsorship or engagement with tobacco and nicotine industries, for instance for school projects.

Dangers of tobacco smoke

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, WHO medical officer Dr Kerstin Schotte warned that tobacco kills “eight million people every year, or one person every four seconds”.

Meanwhile, 1.3 million people who die from tobacco smoke don’t even use the product themselves but breathe in second-hand smoke.

Dr Schotte noted that “half of the world’s children breathe tobacco polluted air and as a consequence, 51,000 children die every year due to exposure to tobacco smoke”.

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250 million children now out of school — Global Issues

The increase is partly due to the mass exclusion of women and girls from education in Afghanistan but can also be attributed to broader stagnation in education provision worldwide.

The findings undermine UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, which sets the goal of quality education for all by 2030.

Way off track

If countries were on track with their national SDG 4 targets, six million more children would be in pre-school, 58 million more children and adolescents would be in school, and at least 1.7 million more primary school teachers would have been trained, according to the report.

“Education is in a state of emergency,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

“While considerable efforts were made over the past decades to ensure quality education for all, UNESCO data demonstrates that the number of children out of school is now rising.

“States must urgently remobilize if they do not want to sell out the future of millions of children.”

Future ‘in your hands’

One year ago, 141 countries committed at the UN Transforming Education Summit to accelerate progress towards SDG 4.

Four out of five countries aimed to advance teacher training and professional development, seven out of 10 committed to increasing or improving their investment in education, and one in four committed to increase financial support and school meal provision.

For countries to achieve their SDG 4 targets, however, millions more children must be enrolled in early childhood education every year until 2030, and the progress in primary completion rates needs to almost triple.

“These commitments must now be reflected in acts. There is no more time to lose. To achieve SDG 4, a new child needs to be enrolled in school every 2 seconds between now and 2030,” said the Director-General.

“The future of millions of children is in your hands”, she emphasised to Member States.

Insufficient growth

The report highlights that, since 2015, the number of children completing primary education has increased by less than three percentage points to 87 per cent.

The number completing secondary education, meanwhile, has increased by less than five per cent to just 58 per cent.

In the 31 low and lower-middle-income countries that measure learning progress at the end of primary school, Viet Nam is the only country where the majority of its children are achieving minimum proficiency in both reading and mathematics.

Global framework

The Education 2030 Framework for Action calls on countries to set intermediate benchmarks for SDG 4 indicators. In an inclusive approach, countries were assisted in setting benchmarks to achieve by 2025 and 2030 for seven SDG 4 benchmarks on pre-primary education, school attendance, completion and learning, gender equity, learning proficiency, trained teachers, and public expenditure.

© UNESCO/Navid Rahi

Students attending UNESCO’s community-based literacy classes are experiencing schooling for the first time in their lives.

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UN marks International Day to Protect Education with call to action — Global Issues

Growing concern over safety and security prompted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to address the global phenomenon on Wednesday – during his remarks at an event commemorating the International Day to Protect Education from Attack.

“Children’s education is being snatched away by threats, violence and attacks.” Mr. Guterres said, during his remarks to a group of world leaders and education advocates.

Under fire

According to a new report from the non-profit Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, there were more than 3,000 reported attacks on education in 2022 – a 17 per cent increase from the previous year.

The report found more than 6,700 students and educators were killed, injured, abducted or arrested – a 20 per cent increase.

Echoing some of the facts outlined in the report, The Secretary General noted the attacks on education span “from direct assaults on places of learning to schools and universities being used for military purposes – to students and educators abducted, arbitrarily arrested, injured, killed – and even recruited to the fighting.”

Many students attend school under dire circumstances, especially in countries like Ukraine; still suffering through Russia’s full-scale invasion.

According to news reports some children in war-torn Ukraine began the new school year attending class underground for security reasons.

“We cannot always stop conflicts. But we can ensure that the children and young people living through these crises receive the educational support they need,” Mr. Guterres said.

The UN has laid out ways countries around the world can work together to protect education.

Safe schools

“That begins with all countries endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration which details concrete measures and practices to ensure that places of learning – and the people inside them – are protected at all times during armed conflict”, the UN chief noted.

Attacks on the education system are not the only factor keeping children out of school.

Others are out of class because of social, economic or cultural challenges.

According to UN education, science and culture agency UNESCO, an estimated 244 million young people do not attend school.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most children and youths out of school – an astonishing 98 million.

In second place with the second highest population is Central and Southern Asia, with 85 million, UNESCO added.

We must do more

The UN reiterated the importance of education in creating a pathway to a brighter future for every person and promotes a peaceful world for all. Mr. Guterres urged world leaders to take immediate action for quality education.

“We can – and must – protect education from attack,” he concluded.

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Repel intensifying attacks on schools, urges Guterres — Global Issues

Marking the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it was important to defend “havens of education”.

“Education is not only a fundamental human right, but a pathway to a better future for every person, and a more peaceful, understanding world,” he underscored.

He voiced a startling truth: around the globe 224 million children and young people are in urgent need of educational support – including 72 million who are out-of-school altogether – because of crises such as armed conflict.

Attacks double

According to a comprehensive report on children and armed conflicts published by the UN chief earlier this year, from January to December 2022, there was a 112 per cent rise in attacks targeting schools and hospitals, with hotspots identified in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Israel, Palestine, Myanmar and Mali.

In Afghanistan, for example, the UN verified a total of 95 attacks on civilian targets, including 72 on schools.

The report attributed 50 per cent of grave violations to non-State armed groups. The other half involved government forces, who were primarily responsible for the gravest offenses, including the killing and maiming of children, relentless assaults on schools and hospitals, and obstructing humanitarian access.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday that by the end of 2022, the total number of school-aged refugees globally jumped nearly 50 per cent from 10 million in 2021 to 14.8 million, driven mostly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Disrupted learning

As put by Mr. Guterres, “attacks on students, teachers, educational personnel and schools are becoming all too common, cruelly disrupting young learners’ education and inflicting untold psychological and physical damage that can last a lifetime.”

One of the clear signs of the education deficit is the startling statistic that 763 million people around the world – adults and youngsters – lack even basic literacy skills.

‘Havens of safety and learning’

The Secretary-General urged all countries to ensure the protection of schools, children and teachers at all times, through measures such as the Safe Schools Declaration and the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

Through joint efforts, Mr. Guterres believes, schools can become “havens of safety and learning for every child, no matter where they live”.

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more than 7 million refugee children out of school — Global Issues

“With the displaced population rising every year, there is a significant and increasing proportion of the world’s children who are missing out on their education,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday that by the end of 2022, the total number of school-aged refugees globally jumped nearly 50 per cent from 10 million in 2021 to 14.8 million, driven mostly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine factor

In a new Education Policy Brief – Education on Hold – UNHCR reported that only around half of Ukrainian refugee children were enrolled in schools in host countries, for the 2022-2023 academic year.

The factors contributing to low enrolment rates include administrative, legal and language barriers and a lack of information on available education options.

According to UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler, many parents are hesitant to enroll their children in host countries as they hope to return home soon to Ukraine or “there is an uncertainty about eventual reintegration into the Ukrainian education system.”

Furthermore, many countries of asylum often lack the physical space or number of teachers to take on more pupils, particularly lower income States.

“With the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine, major efforts are required to avoid long-term damage to children’s learning, potential and prospects,” said Mr. Spindler.

“Unless urgent action is taken, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugee children will continue to miss out on education this year.”

Global Trends

On a global scale, more than three quarters of refugees live in low to middle-income countries, meaning that the cost of educating refugee populations falls on some of the world’s poorest nations.

The 2023 UNHCR Refugee Education Report, which draws on data from more than 70 refugee-hosting countries noted that refugee enrolment in education varies dramatically by level as a full 65 per cent of children complete primary school but only six per cent go to university.

‘Left behind’

“The higher up the educational ladder you go, the steeper the drop-off in numbers, because opportunities to study at secondary and tertiary level are limited,” said Filippo Grandi.

He added that unless access to education is given a boost, refugees children will be “left behind.”

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