Title: A resolution affirming the importance of access to safe, quality education, including protection from attacks on education, for children in conflict settings.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution condemns attacks on education settings, including violence against schools, sexual violence against children in schools, and recruitment of children into armed forces from schools. The resolution affirms U.S. government commitments to support education services for children affected by conflict and calls on the U.S. government to monitor attacks on education settings and to provide support for the inclusion of refugee children in host-country education systems.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 360 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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;
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;
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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns attacks on education settings, including 
        violence against schools, the military use of schools, acts of 
        sexual violence against children in school settings, and the 
        abduction and recruitment of children into armed forces from 
        schools;
            (2) affirms the commitment of the United States Government 
        to support educational services for children affected by 
        conflict, including the most vulnerable and marginalized, 
        beginning in the earliest phases of humanitarian response 
        efforts--
                    (A) to save lives and facilitate access to critical 
                services, including nutrition, health, psychosocial 
                support, water, sanitation, and hygiene;
                    (B) to support physical, psychosocial, and 
                cognitive protection; and
                    (C) to support greater short- and long-term 
                stability, promote peace, and support the vital 
                contributions of women and girls to communities, 
                nations, and regions around the world; and
            (3) calls on the United States Government--
                    (A) to monitor attacks on education settings, 
                including attacks on schools, teachers, and students, 
                and attacks that are gender-related, and to use that 
                information to support effective and coordinated 
                diplomatic and programmatic responses;
                    (B) to hold accountable all parties, including 
                government and non-state actors, responsible for 
                attacks on schools and other grave violations against 
                children in armed conflict;
                    (C) to support policies and programs to return 
                refugee children to educational settings as soon as 
                possible upon arrival in a host country;
                    (D) to provide support for the inclusion of refugee 
                children in host country national education plans and 
                systems whenever possible;
                    (E) to recognize that education in emergencies and 
                child protection programs are lifesaving and 
                complementary efforts that are strongest when equally 
                supported;
                    (F) to ensure that marginalized children in 
                conflict settings, especially girls, children with 
                disabilities, those suffering from trauma, and those 
                excluded from access to quality and inclusive education 
                due to other causes, are able to access safe, quality 
                education;
                    (G) to ensure appropriate training and support for 
                teachers to best support students' distinct needs, 
                including their psychosocial well-being, and to apply 
                conflict-sensitive and gender-responsive approaches;
                    (H) to encourage the inclusion of child protection 
                experts in peacekeeping missions, to push for reporting 
                requirements on attacks on schools and children in 
                peacekeeping mandates, and to support the inclusion of 
                child rights experts in justice and accountability 
                mechanisms;
                    (I) to support preventative measures, such as early 
                warning systems and rapid response mechanisms, in 
                places where attacks on education occur or are highly 
                likely to occur; and
                    (J) to work in collaboration with civil society 
                experts to better prevent and respond to attacks on 
                education, and with relevant multilateral institutions 
                and other nations to share responsibility for 
                monitoring, preventing, and responding to attacks on 
                education.
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