United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for an end to attacks on schools on the occasion of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack.
"The global community needs to speak with one voice: attacks on schools must stop. Schools must be places of learning, safety and peace," he told a high-level event to mark this International Day, which falls on Sept. 9.
Between 2015 and 2020, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack collected more than 13,000 reports of strikes on or the military use of educational facilities worldwide.
This threat is not lessening, as the horrifying events in Afghanistan are demonstrating so starkly, Guterres said.
These are not numbers on a page; these are thousands of individual lives and individual futures, and the loss is incalculable, he said.
"That's why we call on all countries who have not already done so to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration. Endorsed by 111 states so far, the declaration outlines concrete steps that governments can take to protect schools and learning," he added.
He urged UN member states to go beyond their commitments under the international law and put in place national policies and laws which protect schools and learners and hold perpetrators accountable.
"In every country and jurisdiction, we need to make attacks on schools unacceptable and punished," Guterres said.
He further called for increased global support for the work of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the UN Children's Fund, which, he said, are working around the clock to protect education, students, teachers and schools in some of the most dangerous places around the world.
"While we've made great strides in recent years, we need to do more to protect the right to education for all," he said.
