III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 360 

Affirming the importance of access to safe, quality education, including 

protection from attacks on education, for children in conflict settings. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 17, 2019 

Mr. MURPHY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Affirming the importance of access to safe, quality education, 

including protection from attacks on education, for children in conflict settings. 

Whereas providing children with education is critical to the 

international, humanitarian, and development efforts of 

the United States; 

Whereas 142,000,000 children live in high-intensity conflict 

zones, according to a February 2019 report from Save 

the Children; 

Whereas grave violations against children, which are defined 

by the United Nations Security Council as the killing and 

maiming of children, recruitment or use of children as 

soldiers, sexual violence against children, abduction of 

children, and attacks against schools or hospitals, have 

nearly tripled since 2010; 


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•SRES 360 IS 

Whereas attacks on education settings, including targeted 

killings, sexual and gender-based violence, abduction, 

child recruitment, intimidation, threats, military occupation, and destruction of property, are common tactics in 

conflict; 

Whereas there were 1,432 verified attacks on schools in conflict contexts in 2017, according to the United Nations 

Secretary General’s annual report on children and armed 

conflict; 

Whereas conflict limits educational opportunities for millions 

of students worldwide, and regions with low rates of education have a 50-percent chance of experiencing conflict; 

Whereas 27,000,000 children of primary and lower secondary 

school age are out of school in 24 conflict-affected countries, and refugee children are 5 times more likely to be 

out of school as compared to nonrefugee children; 

Whereas only 61 percent of refugee children attend primary 

school compared to 92 percent of nonrefugee children, 

only 23 percent of refugee adolescents attend secondary 

school compared to 84 percent globally, and only 1 percent of refugee children make it to a university; 

Whereas education in emergencies is lifesaving, providing access to critical services, including nutrition, health services, mental health and psychosocial support, water, sanitation, and hygiene; 

Whereas education supports children’s safety and well-being 

as part of child protection strategies; 

Whereas education accounts for less than 2 percent of total 

global humanitarian funding and child-specific protection 

programs account for 0.53 percent; 


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Whereas girls and boys experience conflict differently, encounter distinct gender-related barriers to education, and 

require gender-responsive and context-specific approaches 

to education, child protection, and health services, including mental health and psychosocial support programming; 

Whereas girls, children with disabilities, and those impacted 

by traumatic experiences living in conflict contexts face 

significant barriers to access, enrollment, and attendance 

in schools; 

Whereas access to quality educational opportunities can contribute to peace and security as well as mitigate factors 

that lead to conflict and displacement; and 

Whereas Congress passed the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act (Public Law 115–56), 

and the Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act (Public Law 115–442), which recognize 

the importance of education in crisis and conflict situations, and require reporting on progress toward a comprehensive United States strategy to promote quality 

basic education in partner countries and address the 

needs of displaced girls: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns attacks on education settings, in3 cluding violence against schools, the military use of 

4 schools, acts of sexual violence against children in 

5 school settings, and the abduction and recruitment 

6 of children into armed forces from schools; 

7 (2) affirms the commitment of the United 

8 States Government to support educational services 


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•SRES 360 IS 

1 for children affected by conflict, including the most 

2 vulnerable and marginalized, beginning in the ear3 liest phases of humanitarian response efforts— 

4 (A) to save lives and facilitate access to 

5 critical services, including nutrition, health, psy6 chosocial support, water, sanitation, and hy7 giene; 

8 (B) to support physical, psychosocial, and 

9 cognitive protection; and 

10 (C) to support greater short- and long11 term stability, promote peace, and support the 

12 vital contributions of women and girls to com13 munities, nations, and regions around the 

14 world; and 

15 (3) calls on the United States Government— 

16 (A) to monitor attacks on education set17 tings, including attacks on schools, teachers, 

18 and students, and attacks that are gender-re19 lated, and to use that information to support 

20 effective and coordinated diplomatic and pro21 grammatic responses; 

22 (B) to hold accountable all parties, includ23 ing government and non-state actors, respon24 sible for attacks on schools and other grave vio25 lations against children in armed conflict; 


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1 (C) to support policies and programs to re2 turn refugee children to educational settings as 

3 soon as possible upon arrival in a host country; 

4 (D) to provide support for the inclusion of 

5 refugee children in host country national edu6 cation plans and systems whenever possible; 

7 (E) to recognize that education in emer8 gencies and child protection programs are life9 saving and complementary efforts that are 

10 strongest when equally supported; 

11 (F) to ensure that marginalized children in 

12 conflict settings, especially girls, children with 

13 disabilities, those suffering from trauma, and 

14 those excluded from access to quality and inclu15 sive education due to other causes, are able to 

16 access safe, quality education; 

17 (G) to ensure appropriate training and 

18 support for teachers to best support students’ 

19 distinct needs, including their psychosocial well20 being, and to apply conflict-sensitive and gen21 der-responsive approaches; 

22 (H) to encourage the inclusion of child 

23 protection experts in peacekeeping missions, to 

24 push for reporting requirements on attacks on 

25 schools and children in peacekeeping mandates, 


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1 and to support the inclusion of child rights ex2 perts in justice and accountability mechanisms; 

3 (I) to support preventative measures, such 

4 as early warning systems and rapid response 

5 mechanisms, in places where attacks on edu6 cation occur or are highly likely to occur; and 

7 (J) to work in collaboration with civil soci8 ety experts to better prevent and respond to at9 tacks on education, and with relevant multilat10 eral institutions and other nations to share re11 sponsibility for monitoring, preventing, and re12 sponding to attacks on education. 

Æ 


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