Schools, war and the rights of children

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (2025), as of July 2022, 196 countries had signed onto the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, legally binding those signatories to guaranteeing certain rights for children, regardless of their race, ability, religion, gender or country of origin. These rights, outlined in 54 articles, include the right to education and to learn.

Specifically, article 28 states that signatories must commit to making primary and secondary education free and accessible, encourage children to attend school and work to reduce dropout rates, maintain safe and caring spaces that preserve the child’s dignity, and collaborate with other countries to eliminate ignorance and illiteracy. Article 29 outlines the goal of education as helping young people fully nurture their gifts and talents and preparing them to live independently as contributing members of society. Where war and armed conflict occur, these rights, along with the right to life, survival and development (article 6), are threatened.

The United Nations Children’s Fund estimates that, at the end of 2023, 31.3 million children were displaced within their own countries, “the vast majority of them (28.1 million) because of conflict and violence, which is more than twice the number of children displaced across borders as refugees” (8). As the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (2011) states, “Schools and hospitals must be zones of peace, where children are granted protection even in times of conflict. Yet, there is an increasing trend of schools and hospitals being attacked with detrimental effects on children.”

The office (2013) identified six grave violations, derived from international law, that represent the most serious offences committed during periods of armed conflict. One of the violations is attacks on schools and hospitals. Prohibiting such attacks recognizes the foundational roles schools and hospitals play in functioning societies and reinforces the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This past summer, at the 10th World Congress of Education International, teacher organizations, including representatives of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA), called for the protection of children and systems of education during wartime. The congress passed two resolutions: The Effect of War on Education and Children, and Education and Wellbeing of Children During Periods of Military Conflict.

The Effect on War on Education and Children recognizes that “the world is currently experiencing a rise in armed conflict, with some states choosing to ignore international laws that protect education institutions, education, and civilians especially children” (Education International 2024b). The resolution notes that aggressors who target education during war are doing so to destroy the nation, pointing to education as a key feature for sustaining peace and democracy.

When children are affected by war, they are less likely to complete primary education, and this has generational effects, including poverty, inequality and poor health outcomes. Considering these impacts, the resolution urges member organizations to use education to build critical thinking in students to “challenge oppression, tyranny, and inequality” (Education International 2024b) and to condemn war and countries complicit in war.

Finally, the resolution calls on the Education International executive board and member organizations to advocate for and support international guidelines that identify the protection of schools and universities during wartime and affirms that schools and hospitals should be safe havens during wartime.

The Education and Wellbeing of Children During Periods of Military Conflict resolution recognizes that many students and teachers are affected by crises such as war, identifying in particular that “two thirds of children in Ukraine are either learning online or through a mix of online and in-person” and that “many children and young people in Palestine are unable to access even a basic entitlement to education, with schools closed and teachers struggling to provide virtual learning” (Education International 2024a).

During armed conflict, teachers are often in unsafe areas, not able to access resources and compensation and, when they are refugees in other countries, unable to have their credentials fully recognized. This resolution condemns the increasing attacks on education infrastructure, students and educators, which can include banning girls and women from participating in education or attacking and kidnapping girls who attend school.

The resolution calls on governments, especially in the global north, to fulfill their international obligations to hold nations violating international laws accountable, and provide resources and support to students and teachers impacted by armed conflict. The resolution also  calls for collaboration with nongovernmental organizations to support those impacted by war. Teachers’ unions are also called on to establish a global fund to pay teachers’ salaries in emergencies, amplify the views of educators working in areas of conflict, and raise awareness of the issues faced by students and teachers in those areas.

ATA representatives were well equipped to support the resolutions put forward at the Congress with the passage of the following resolution, now policy 24.4.0.4:

Be it resolved that the Association urge the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, through Education International, to advocate with responsible international bodies to designate schools and educational institutions as sanctuary spaces, making their occupation, conversion to military purposes or destruction by military forces (including irregular military forces) a crime under international humanitarian law.

As teacher organizations provincially, federally and internationally, we must help to build a brighter future for everyone affected by armed conflict.