A/HRC/8/10
page 8
21. The Special Rapporteur restates his view that security in schools, meaning not only
physical, psychological and emotional safety but also an uninterrupted education in conditions
conducive to knowledge acquisition and character development, forms part of the right to
education.8 This means that States have a responsibility to punish perpetrators and devise
effective methods of protection.
22. Statistics on conflict-related emergencies remain disturbingly vague, as most are based on
estimates, which vary dramatically. In 2003 the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
stated that 121 million children were affected by armed conflict,9 yet in 2000 the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had put the figure at 104 million.10
A comprehensive review in 200411 estimated the number of children and adolescents affected by
armed conflict and without access to formal education to be at least 27 million, most being
internally displaced persons (90 per cent).
23. The number of refugee and displaced children receiving no education outside the camps of
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) remains unknown,
like the number of illiterate young people, adolescents and adults who have no educational
opportunities.
24. Clearly there is a lack of precise data on the affected populations, but equally clearly the
impact of emergencies has been enormous.12
25. Emergencies impact particularly severely on people with disabilities. In her report “Impact
of armed conflict on children”, Graça Machel noted that, for every child killed, three are
seriously injured or permanently disabled. According to Ms. Machel, armed conflict and political
violence are the leading causes of injury and physical disability and primarily responsible for the
conditions of over 4 million children who currently live with disabilities and for the lack of basic
services or minimum support.13
8
E/CN.4/2005/50, párr. 119.
9
UNICEF, Estado Mundial de la Infancia: Las niñas, la educación y el desarrollo,
Nueva York, 2004.
10
UNESCO, Informe de seguimiento de la EPT en el mundo 2003/2004, París.
11
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, Global Survey on Education in
Emergencies, 2004, Nueva York.
12
Sommers, M., Youth: Care & Protection of Children in Emergencies: A Field Guide.
Washington, D.C. Unidad de niños en crisis de Alianza Internacional Save the Children
(Estados Unidos de América).
13
Informe de la experta del Secretario General, Graça Machel, sobre las repercusiones de los
conflictos armados sobre los niños (A/51/306).
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