Caught in the crossfire: The right to education in eastern Ukraine
In eastern Ukraine, education is under attack. Since the armed conflict started in February 2014, more than 750 schools have been damaged or destroyed, dozens of children and teachers have been attacked, and there have been at least 37 cases of military use of schools. All of which have had profound effects on the right to education of the 670,000 children living in the areas most affected by fighting.
The armed conflict, now in its sixth year, and the resulting humanitarian crisis receives little media attention. Yet, the conflict has resulted in 13,000 deaths and 1.5 million internally displaced persons. The impact on human rights has been devastating. Violence and fragility have ravaged public and social services, including education. And the daily fighting means hundreds of thousands of children go to school in unstable, scary, and violent environments.