The War in Ukraine and Children's Right to Education

What is it about?

This article discusses how the violation of the right to education during armed conflict can be redressed. It uses the Russia-Ukraine war (2022) as a case study. It provides empirical data on how this right is jeopardized during armed conflicts and offers recommendations regarding how to secure this right as far as possible during as well as directly after armed conflict. It suggests a mechanism that would involve states parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its supervising committee and the establishment of a trust fund to compensate states that have suffered an armed conflict, and to use the compensation to redress the right to education. States parties subjected to armed conflicts would be permitted to use the trust funds primarily if they proved they were compliant with their treaty obligations to secure the right to education according to the Concluding Observations of the CRC Committee. There could also be exceptions.

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Photo by Yurii Khomitskyi on Unsplash

Photo by Yurii Khomitskyi on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The war in Ukraine has posited different challenges for the international community. One of the most important challenges is the way that the war affects children and their human rights. In a broader sense, the war raises a discussion about the relevance of human rights instruments and the capacity of international human rights mechanisms to fulfill their mission in securing human rights during war and peace times. This article uses the case study of the war in Ukraine to shed light on the difficulties in enforcing an international human rights regime and suggests practical ways to face these challenges.

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