Rewrite the future – education for children in conflict-affected countries

Summary

Education is recognised as a basic human right for every child, whatever their circumstances. At the current rate of progress, however, even if promises are kept, the goal of universal primary education by 2015 will not be met. This is because conflict issues, or proposed solutions for educating children affected by conflict, are largely absent from educational planning documents, international conferences on education, and debates about education for all. Urgent and effective action must be taken if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education and the ‘education for all’ targets adopted by the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000 are to be met.

Unless children affected by conflict are protected and educated, their futures, and the future of their nations, are seriously imperilled. Yet the world would be a better place for all of us if every child had an education and every child had a fair chance in life. That is why 28 International Save the Children Alliance organisations across the world have joined forces to rewrite the future for the millions of children who are being denied an education because their countries are in conflict, and because the international community is failing them.

We will be working with children and their communities to meet our commitment to get three million out-of-school children into school by 2010, and to improve the quality of education for a total of eight million. We are also calling on the international community and national governments to ensure that the 43 million children in conflict-affected countries get the quality education to which they are entitled.