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Rights experts warn against forced separation of Uyghur children in China

Classroom teaching at these institutions is almost exclusively in Mandarin, with little or no use of the Uyghur language, they said in a statement.

They warned that separating the children from their families “could lead to their forced assimilation into the majority Mandarin language and the adoption of Han cultural practices.”

‘Orphans’ with families

The experts said they have received information about large-scale removal of youngsters from their families, including very young children whose parents are in exile or “interned”/detained.

The children are treated as “orphans” by State authorities and placed in full-time boarding schools, pre-schools, or orphanages where Mandarin is almost exclusively used.

“Uyghur and other minority children in highly regulated and controlled boarding institutions may have little interaction with their parents, extended family or communities for much of their youth,” the experts said.

“This will inevitably lead to a loss of connection with their families and communities and undermine their ties to their cultural, religious and linguistic identities,” they added.

Local schools closed

They said the children reportedly have little or no access to education in their own Uyghur language and are under increasing pressure to speak and learn only Mandarin, compared to education aimed at bilingualism.

Teachers can also be sanctioned for using the Uyghur language outside specific language classes.

The UN experts said they were also informed of an exponential increase in the number of boarding schools for other Muslim and minority children in Xinjiang in recent years.

Conversely, many local schools providing education in Uyghur and other minority languages have been closed.

“The massive scale of the allegations raises extremely serious concerns of violations of basic human rights,” they said.

About UN experts

The statement was issued by Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues; Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, and Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education.

The experts receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and are independent from any government or organization.

They are not UN staff and are not paid for their work.

Ban smoking and vaping in schools worldwide urges WHO

According to the UN health agency, the tobacco industry’s approach has resulted in increased use of e-cigarettes, with nine out of 10 smokers starting before the age of 18 – and some as early as 11.

“Considering that children spend nearly one-third of their waking hours in school, and much of the peer pressure they encounter occurs within these educational environments, schools play a pivotal role,” WHO said.

Schools are in “a uniquely powerful position to play a major role in reducing the serious problem of smoking and other tobacco and nicotine use by kids”.

The appeal of e-cigarettes

Although smoking has continued to decline among European teens, WHO reported that there has been a rise in novel and emerging tobacco and nicotine products – including electronic cigarettes.

The UN agency pointed out these products have been made more affordable for young people owing to the sale of single-use cigarettes and e-cigarettes, which also typically lack health warnings.

“If we don’t take urgent action now, we risk seeing the next generation of tobacco and nicotine users recruited through tobacco industries’ unethical practices,” said Dr Hans Henri Kluge, Regional Director for WHO European Region.

Vaping involves heating a liquid and inhaling the aerosol into the lungs.

New guidance

The alert comes as the WHO released two new publications to coincide with the return to school of children in many countries of the global north: “Freedom from tobacco and nicotine: guide for schools,” and the “Nicotine and Tobacco-Free Schools Toolkit”.

The launch also coincided with a warning last month by regulators in the United States that companies must stop selling illegal e-cigarettes that appeal to youth by resembling school supplies, cartoon characters, and even teddy bears.

“Whether sitting in class, playing games outside or waiting at the school bus stop, we must protect young people from deadly second-hand smoke and toxic e-cigarette emissions as well as ads promoting these products,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, WHO Director of Health Promotion.

“It is deeply concerning that the tobacco industry is still targeting young people and makes vast profits, harming their health”, he continued.

WHO

Schools must be safe spaces for young people, where they are free from exposure to, or pressure to use nicotine products. Creating a smoke- and nicotine-free environment in school settings is fundamental to helping prevent young people from starting smoking”.

The WHO guides also highlight countries that have successfully implemented policies in support of tobacco and nicotine-free campuses. They include India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine.

‘Whole-of-school’ approach

WHO emphasized a “whole-of-school” approach to creating nicotine and tobacco-free campuses. Input is needed from teachers, staff, students and parents, WHO maintained.

The UN health agency’s documents include information on how to support students wanting to quit, education campaigns, implementing policies and how to enforce them.

Advice to educators and policymakers includes:

Banning nicotine and tobacco products on school campuses
Prohibiting the sale of products near schools
Banning direct and indirect ads and promotion of nicotine and tobacco products near classrooms
Refusing sponsorship or engagement with tobacco and nicotine industries, for instance for school projects.

Dangers of tobacco smoke

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, WHO medical officer Dr Kerstin Schotte warned that tobacco kills “eight million people every year, or one person every four seconds”.

Meanwhile, 1.3 million people who die from tobacco smoke don’t even use the product themselves but breathe in second-hand smoke.

Dr Schotte noted that “half of the world’s children breathe tobacco polluted air and as a consequence, 51,000 children die every year due to exposure to tobacco smoke”.

Taliban urged to uphold Afghan girls’ right to education

“Denying education to girls is a violation of universal human rights,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW).

“The de facto authorities can do the right thing for the long-suffering people of Afghanistan by ensuring that every girl in Afghanistan can access quality education and contribute to rebuilding their war-torn country,” she added.

2.5 million girls affected

Ms. Sherif reported that 80 per cent of school-age Afghan girls are currently not in the classroom.

“That’s 2.5 million girls denied their right to the safety, protection, opportunity of education – their inherent human right,” she said.

Uplifting #AfghanGirlsVoices

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has expressed solidarity with all girls in Afghanistan who are courageously speaking up for the right to education.

The fund recently launched a campaign, #AfghanGirlsVoices which will highlight the issue throughout the year.

“Together, we must ensure that, through education, every girl in Afghanistan can emerge from the shadows so they can contribute to a brighter future which every Afghan so deserves,” said Ms. Sherif.

Learning under pressure

ECW runs a multi-year resilience programme in Afghanistan that aims to support more than 250,000 children and young people across some of the most remote and underserved areas of the country.

It has appealed for urgent additional funding to fill a $30 million shortfall to fully implement the programme, and the $670 million required to fully finance a new strategic plan to reach 20 million crisis-affected children worldwide over the next three years.

Ukraine: UN adds historic Kyiv cathedral and monastery to danger list

The Ukrainian capital has suffered multiple Russian missile strikes during the war, prompting the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to highlight the threat of destruction facing the iconic St. Sophia’s Cathedral and Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves.

The agency also added the medieval centre of the western city of Lviv to its danger list.

The Committee cites the continue threat from Russia, in its announcement first made on Friday.

“Faced with the risk of direct attack, these sites are also vulnerable to the shockwaves caused by the bombing of the two cities”.

UNESCO

According to news reports, a Ukrainian government official has welcomed the move.

UNESCO said Ukrainians officials have taken considerable steps to preserve their cultural properties but inclusion on the danger list should remind Member States of their responsibility to contribute to their protection, and open the door to more financial aid and emergency protective measures.

The latest designations follow a decision this year to name the historic centre of the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa also “in danger”.

The list, which now includes more than 55 sites, is meant to mobilize international support for conservation efforts, but it does not have an enforcement mechanism.

Kyiv sites

St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv dates back to the 11th century, and was designed to

to rival the Hagia Sophia, today one of Istanbul’s most prized ancient buildings.

Monastic buildings built in the 17th and 18th centuries surround the gold-domed cathedral, which houses mosaics and frescos that are nearly 1,000 years old.

Also in the Ukrainian capital, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a sprawling complex that was built from the 11th to the 19th centuries and includes underground churches, some linked by a network of caves spanning nearly 2,000 feet.

The site, a centre of Orthodox Christianity, holds special significance for Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Christians.

The monastery has faced raids as the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine rages on.

With relics of saints buried in its catacombs, the monastery has for centuries been “one of the most important Christian pilgrimage centers in the world,” according to UNESCO.

UNESCO said on Friday that it has verified damage to nearly 290 sites during the war, including museums and libraries.

UN marks International Day to Protect Education with call to action

Growing concern over safety and security prompted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to address the global phenomenon on Wednesday – during his remarks at an event commemorating the International Day to Protect Education from Attack.

“Children’s education is being snatched away by threats, violence and attacks.” Mr. Guterres said, during his remarks to a group of world leaders and education advocates.

Under fire

According to a new report from the non-profit Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, there were more than 3,000 reported attacks on education in 2022 – a 17 per cent increase from the previous year.

The report found more than 6,700 students and educators were killed, injured, abducted or arrested – a 20 per cent increase.

Echoing some of the facts outlined in the report, The Secretary General noted the attacks on education span “from direct assaults on places of learning to schools and universities being used for military purposes – to students and educators abducted, arbitrarily arrested, injured, killed – and even recruited to the fighting.”

Many students attend school under dire circumstances, especially in countries like Ukraine; still suffering through Russia’s full-scale invasion.

According to news reports some children in war-torn Ukraine began the new school year attending class underground for security reasons.

“We cannot always stop conflicts. But we can ensure that the children and young people living through these crises receive the educational support they need,” Mr. Guterres said.

The UN has laid out ways countries around the world can work together to protect education.

Safe schools

“That begins with all countries endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration which details concrete measures and practices to ensure that places of learning – and the people inside them – are protected at all times during armed conflict”, the UN chief noted.

Attacks on the education system are not the only factor keeping children out of school.

Others are out of class because of social, economic or cultural challenges.

According to UN education, science and culture agency UNESCO, an estimated 244 million young people do not attend school.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most children and youths out of school – an astonishing 98 million.

In second place with the second highest population is Central and Southern Asia, with 85 million, UNESCO added.

We must do more

The UN reiterated the importance of education in creating a pathway to a brighter future for every person and promotes a peaceful world for all. Mr. Guterres urged world leaders to take immediate action for quality education.

“We can – and must – protect education from attack,” he concluded.

Repel intensifying attacks on schools, urges Guterres

Marking the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it was important to defend “havens of education”.

“Education is not only a fundamental human right, but a pathway to a better future for every person, and a more peaceful, understanding world,” he underscored.

He voiced a startling truth: around the globe 224 million children and young people are in urgent need of educational support – including 72 million who are out-of-school altogether – because of crises such as armed conflict.

Attacks double

According to a comprehensive report on children and armed conflicts published by the UN chief earlier this year, from January to December 2022, there was a 112 per cent rise in attacks targeting schools and hospitals, with hotspots identified in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Israel, Palestine, Myanmar and Mali.

In Afghanistan, for example, the UN verified a total of 95 attacks on civilian targets, including 72 on schools.

The report attributed 50 per cent of grave violations to non-State armed groups. The other half involved government forces, who were primarily responsible for the gravest offenses, including the killing and maiming of children, relentless assaults on schools and hospitals, and obstructing humanitarian access.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday that by the end of 2022, the total number of school-aged refugees globally jumped nearly 50 per cent from 10 million in 2021 to 14.8 million, driven mostly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Disrupted learning

As put by Mr. Guterres, “attacks on students, teachers, educational personnel and schools are becoming all too common, cruelly disrupting young learners’ education and inflicting untold psychological and physical damage that can last a lifetime.”

One of the clear signs of the education deficit is the startling statistic that 763 million people around the world – adults and youngsters – lack even basic literacy skills.

‘Havens of safety and learning’

The Secretary-General urged all countries to ensure the protection of schools, children and teachers at all times, through measures such as the Safe Schools Declaration and the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

Through joint efforts, Mr. Guterres believes, schools can become “havens of safety and learning for every child, no matter where they live”.

UNHCR: more than 7 million refugee children out of school

“With the displaced population rising every year, there is a significant and increasing proportion of the world’s children who are missing out on their education,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Ukraine factor

Refugees

In a new Education Policy Brief – Education on Hold – UNHCR reported that only around half of Ukrainian refugee children were enrolled in schools in host countries, for the 2022-2023 academic year.

The factors contributing to low enrolment rates include administrative, legal and language barriers and a lack of information on available education options.

According to UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler, many parents are hesitant to enroll their children in host countries as they hope to return home soon to Ukraine or “there is an uncertainty about eventual reintegration into the Ukrainian education system.”

Furthermore, many countries of asylum often lack the physical space or number of teachers to take on more pupils, particularly lower income States.

“With the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine, major efforts are required to avoid long-term damage to children’s learning, potential and prospects,” said Mr. Spindler.

“Unless urgent action is taken, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugee children will continue to miss out on education this year.”

Global Trends

On a global scale, more than three quarters of refugees live in low to middle-income countries, meaning that the cost of educating refugee populations falls on some of the world’s poorest nations.

The 2023 UNHCR Refugee Education Report, which draws on data from more than 70 refugee-hosting countries noted that refugee enrolment in education varies dramatically by level as a full 65 per cent of children complete primary school but only six per cent go to university.

‘Left behind’

“The higher up the educational ladder you go, the steeper the drop-off in numbers, because opportunities to study at secondary and tertiary level are limited,” said Filippo Grandi.

He added that unless access to education is given a boost, refugees children will be “left behind.”

From the Field: Literacy classes for Afghan girls and women

More than 1,000 women and young girls, from 15 to 45, are now learning how to read, write, and calculate for the first time in their lives through literacy classes supported by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Bi Bi, a 32-year-old home-based tailor, shared her story, which is common among her classmates.

“In the past, I was not allowed to attend school by my father, but now my husband allows me to join UNESCO’s classes and learn,” she said. “I have nine children: eight girls and one boy. I want my girls to go to school and I want to help them learn.”

Learn more about the agency’s community-based programme, here.

All students in UNESCO’s community-based literacy classes are experiencing schooling for the first time in their lives.

Ukraine: Widespread learning loss continues due to war, COVID-19

“Inside Ukraine, attacks on schools have continued unabated, leaving children deeply distressed and without safe spaces to learn”, declared Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, who recently returned from the country.

“Not only has this left Ukraine’s children struggling to progress in their education, but they are also struggling to retain what they learnt when their schools were fully functioning,” she said.

Going backwards

According to the latest survey data, up to 57 per cent of teachers report a deterioration in students’ Ukrainian language abilities, up to 45 per cent of educators point to a reduction in maths skills, while 52 per cent report a reduction in foreign language abilities.

Only a third of children of primary and secondary age are learning fully in-person. Another third of enrolled students are learning through a mixed approach of in-person and online, and one-third are fully remote.

Online learning can complement in-person learning and provide a short-term solution, but it cannot fully replace in-person classes, which are especially critical for social development and foundational learning among young children, said the UNICEF Director.

According to national survey data, two-thirds of preschool-age children are not attending any kind of learning facility. In frontline areas, three-quarters of parents report not sending their children to preschool, UNICEF noted.

Psychological support is important for the future of Ukraine’s children.

Half of child refugees out of school

For Ukraine’s refugee children, there is yet more uncertainty, with more than half of children from preschool to secondary school not enrolled in national education systems across seven countries hosting refugees.

Pre-schoolers and secondary-age students are the most likely to miss out. Language barriers, difficulty in accessing school, and overstretched education systems are among the contributing factors, said UNICEF.

Some young refugees are likely attempting to study online, either via the Ukrainian curriculum or through other distance learning platforms whereas others may have completely abandoned their education, the agency warned.

In times of crisis or war, schools provide far more than a place of learning, Ms. De Dominicis said. They can provide children who have already endured loss, displacement and violence with a sense of routine and safety, a chance to build friendships and get help from teachers.

They can promote access to vaccines, nutrition and services to support mental health and well-being.

Government alliance

UNICEF is working with governments and partners on the ground in Ukraine and countries hosting refugee children and families to help increase access to quality learning.

They agency is also working with the Ukrainian Government to support learning recovery and alignment with regional standards to remove barriers to education and ensure lifelong learning for all.

This includes rehabilitating schools and providing much needed catch-up classes in core subjects, with the aim of supporting 300,000 children at risk of learning losses in Ukraine over the coming school year.

Afghan girls' voices for education echo loudly through new global campaign

#AfghanGirlsVoices comes precisely two years after the de facto Taliban authorities seized control in Afghanistan and will continue until September 18, which marks the start of their official ban on school for adolescent girls.

Voices and visuals

The campaign was developed in collaboration with ECW Global Champion Somaya Faruqi, former captain of the Afghan Girls’ Robotic Team, with compelling artwork by a young Afghan female artist.

It features a series of inspiring, heart-wrenching and determined testimonies from Afghan girls whose lives have been abruptly upended by the ban preventing them from pursuing their education and dreams.

Their powerful words are conveyed together with striking illustrations depicting both the profound despair experienced by these girls along with their incredible resilience and strength in the face of this unjust ban on their education.

“The courage of these girls in Afghanistan gives me the strength to use my own voice as an ECW Global Champion to amplify their voices to the world,” said Ms. Faruqi.

“The situation is taking an immense toll on girl’s mental health and rates of suicide for girls has gone up in the last two years. It’s more urgent than ever to act now, and I hope that next year, we celebrate their freedom rather than mark their oppression,” she added.

Worst situation globally

As per a recent report by UN experts, the condition of women and girls in Afghanistan is the ‘worst globally’. The systematic curtailment of their human rights, coupled with the profound bias they face under the regime of the de facto Taliban authorities, could potentially qualify as “gender apartheid” and “gender persecution,” the report said.

“The international community must hear this poignant call from the heart from Afghan girls and young women and mobilise in greater numbers and with renewed strength of purpose to condemn the violation of their rights,” said UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of ECW’s High-Level Steering Group, Gordon Brown.

Call to action

Additionally, the campaign’s timing will elevate the voices of Afghan girls onto the global stage, as world leaders gather at the UN General Assembly in New York for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit on September 18-19.

“It is hard to think of anyone further left behind than the girls in Afghanistan who are being denied their most basic human rights, including their right to education, based solely on their gender,” said ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif.

“We will continue to steadfastly advocate for the full resumption of their right to education in Afghanistan, and to work with our partners to deliver crucial learning opportunities to Afghan children through the community-based education programmes we support,” she added.

Category: Culture and Education