Education Under Attack - UNESCO Islamabad

Foreword to the SeriesIn situations of armed conflict and insecurity, deliberate attacks on and threatsagainst learners, academics, teachers and education facilities are both a barrierto the right to education and a serious protection issue. These violent incidentsinvolve the use of force in ways that disrupt and deter educational provision, puttingeducators and learners at risk in environments that should be safe, secure andprotective.The international community has made a commitment to achieving the Educationfor All (EFA) goals by 2015; wherever they occur, attacks on education threaten therealization of those goals. UNESCO, tasked with the global coordination of EFA, hasa mandate to promote full and equal opportunities for education for all, and thisincludes those whose access to education is threatened or prevented by targetedviolence.In order to protect and promote the right to education whenever learners, educationpersonnel and educational facilities come under violent attack, greater knowledge anddeeper understanding are required. Precise and detailed information about the extentof attacks, both current and over time, is needed but by itself is insufficient. Moreresearch must be conducted in order to generate better analysis and understandingof the causes, means and impacts of attacks on education. Moreover, there is aneed for more investigation not only of possible mechanisms to undertake rigorousmonitoring and reporting in this area but also of prevention and response strategiesand their effectiveness.In view of the gaps in knowledge and information about attacks on education andabout how education can be protected from attack, UNESCO has commissioned apublications series to research and analyse these issues. Its aim is to enhance globalunderstanding of the nature, scope, motives and impact of attacks on educationand of the work that is being done by communities, organizations and governmentsto prevent and respond to such violence. When appropriate, the publications also