War.
Not a novel concept, nor is it something that will be leaving our society any time soon. As of 2017, forty nine armed conflicts were reported (Dupuy, Rustad). The severity of warfare continues to be on the rise, as millions of innocents are affected by the brutal bloodshed.
2 billion people. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, two billion people are affected by “fragility, conflict or violence” as of 2017. The article goes on to state that half of these two billion people will be living in extreme poverty by 2030. That’s only nine years from today. The author continues to state that there are 6 concerns the world has to watch out for: (1) Wars are lasting a lot longer than they used to. (2) Wars are now being fought in urban areas that are highly populated, where explosives are being used. This has been leading to a devastatingly large numbers of death, injury, losing infrastructure, and lack of access to jobs, water, and electricity. (3) The underlying cause of violence, brutality, and conflict is increasingly becoming unknown. This leads to the defiance of International Humanitarian Law as well as anti-terrorism legislation, leading to challenges in legal frameworks. (4) The number of those who are armed continues to be on the rise as they become increasingly radical, “less political”, as well as “less structured.” (5) Wars often entails allies, advancing to an uncontrolled flow of deadly weapons. (6) With greater industrialization, weapons are becoming increasingly deadly. This means that the impact of global warfare continues to be more devastating than the last. And it will only continue to get worse.
75 million children. To put this into perspective, that’s about 23% of the United State’s population. That’s about 67% of all Instagram users. That’s about the number of children (ages 3-18) that are denied an education because of war as of 2019 (War Child).
Although there may not be a long-lasting solution to warfare, there is, however, a way to minimize the adverse impacts of armed conflict on innocent children. How? Through IHL.
International Humanitarian Law, or IHL, is a set of rules put in place that aim to “limit the effects of armed conflict” (ICRC). It seeks to protect those who are not participating in hostilities by restricting the methods and means of war. Since this is a part of international law, it is implemented in the United Nations Charter. IHL only pertains to warfare -- not international tensions or single acts of violence. Specifically, IHL covers two areas: the protection of those who have not participated or are no longer participating in hostilities, and restrictions on the methods of armed conflict.
Now, let’s talk about how school-aged minors play a role in IHL. Children do not, and should not, participate in warfare, which means they are protected under the first provision of IHL. In addition, numerous fundamental rules of International Humanitarian Law state that both parties in a conflict must respect civilian objects, which includes schools; they should not be intentionally or directly attacked (Weizmann). Tying these together, children and their education should not be harmed during armed conflict.
The effect of a lack of education on children is not limited to a lack of vocabulary, geography, math, history, or literacy skills. When they don’t have an education, children are more likely to experience “forced labor, sex and slavery traficking, early marriage, hunger and malnutrition, and recruitment by militas” (McCarthy). By placing children in schools, it protects them from unnecessary violence. However, those were only the short-term impacts. In the long run, adults who didn’t have access to an education due to war are more likely to “live in poverty, die early, and contract disease” (McCarthy).Not having an education can actually “slow the progress of women’s rights” on a global scale, “weaken economies, and destabilize countries”. In addition, being denied an education harms young girls more than boys.
Malala Yousafzai. The first name that appears when we think about education inequality. The youngest Nobel Prize winner in all of history. The young woman who risked her life for her education. The woman who refused to bow to terrorist commands. Armed conflict by the Taliban was meant to halt her efforts to equalize education.
Young girls that are refugees of war are “half as likely” to be receiving an education when compared to refugee boys. The beneficial impact of education on females is astronomical: if girls located in areas with emergencies finished elementary school, the rate of child marriages -- which is much higher in war-stricken countries -- would fall by 14%. If they complete middle school, it would plunge by 64%! This proves that it is imperative for children to be in schools, as it is the bridge between our current society and a society of equality.
Not everything is one sided. There is another side to this story, as there is to any narrative. So, how do we solve the issue of children being denied an education?
First, let’s put the crisis into perspective: 75 million young people and youth don’t have access to education and need urgent educational support. One fourth of all school aged children live in areas that are affected by a catastrophic crisis. Seventy seven percent of all refugee adolescents and youth are not enrolled in and are not attending middle school. Finally, 99% of the world’s refugee youth are not attending university (War Child). Hence, the resources needed to have an impact are immense.
Funding is one of the most influential aspects of solving the issue. Organizations, such as Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), are attempting to increase funding for “emergency education”. Their goal is to raise $11.7 billion annually to allow every single child in an emergency situation to receive a formal education. Currently, there is a deficit of $8.5 billion (McCarthy). Only 2% of the total humanitarian aid is allocated to education; if that number was brought up to 4%, the deficit would be eliminated by half. Therefore, the first step to bridge the gap is to convince nations that funding for education should be a priority of humanitarian aid. The value of schools should not be ignored or neglected.
No one should be in constant fear for their life. Two billion people currently are.
Protecting a child’s right to education has a drastic impact on how the rest of their lives are laid out. With their livelihoods on the line, the world must step up and use the rules placed out by International Humanitarian Law to do everything they can to save schools and provide a safe path to a formal education. Civilians are under attack. Children are under attack. Education is under attack. The future is under attack.
Works Consulted
Weizmann, Nathalie. “When War Comes to School.” Just Security, 29 May 2019,
Dupuy, Kendra, and Siri Aas Rustad. Trends in Armed Conflict, 1946–2017. May 2018,
“Education.” War Child, 16 July 2019, www.warchild.org.uk/what-we-do/education.
“Global Trends of War and Their Humanitarian Impacts.” International Committee of the Red Cross,
McCarthy, Joe. “Globally, Millions of Children in Crises Are Denied an Education.” Global Citizen,
“Millions of Children Deprived of Education in War-Torn Iraq, Says UNICEF | | UN News.” United
Nations, United Nations, 30 Oct. 2015, news.un.org/en/story/2015/10/514202-millions-children-deprived-education-war-torn-iraq-says-unicef.
What Is International Humanitarian Law.
Vishwasri Aleti is the co-founder and current president of the Marquette High School Red Cross Club. The inequality of education was her inspiration for this research essay, where she explains the hurdles that war places on children’s access to education -- or lack thereof. On a brighter note, her hobbies include watching FRIENDS and movies, eating, cooking, and playing card games. Vishwasri strongly believes in the Red Cross message of volunteerism, which allowed her to center her high school career around this organization. She knows she will be leaving the club in amazing hands for the coming years.
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