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To learn more about Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and the Question of Palestine, click here to visit the dedicated webpage.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 20 May 2025<\/p>\n Attacks on schools are an assault on children, UN experts said today, condemning the latest attacks on UNRWA schools in Gaza and the storming and forcible closure of UN schools in Jerusalem by Israeli occupation forces.<\/p>\n \u201cThese attacks are also an assault on the right to safe education and a blatant violation of international law, all the more in the context of an unlawful occupation,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n On 7 May, Israeli forces reportedly struck an UNRWA school sheltering 2,000 displaced Palestinians in Gaza twice in a single day, killing at least 30 civilians, including women and children. Nearly three-quarters of all school buildings in Gaza have been directly hit since October 2023, with around one third of UNRWA schools among them. According to UN satellite-based assessments, 95 per cent of Gaza\u2019s schools have sustained damage, rendering the vast majority unusable.<\/p>\n \u201cThis destruction demonstrates the devastating, lasting impact on a generation of Palestinian children\u2019s learning,\u201d the experts said. Their learning has already been cut-off for more than 19 months and once hostilities cease, they will have no schools to return to. Girls are disproportionately affected by such actions and the long-term consequences for girls\u2019 education, health, and empowerment are especially dire. In addition, leaving all the children exposed to armed eviction with irreversible trauma, that takes years of mental and psychosocial support and is inaccessible to them.<\/p>\n At least 300 UN personnel, mostly UNRWA aid workers, have been killed since the escalation began in October 2023.<\/p>\n In East Jerusalem, on 8 May, heavily armed Israeli forces stormed three UNRWA schools in Shu\u2019fat refugee camp while classes were in session, violently evicting over 550 Palestinian children, some as young as six, from their classrooms. One UNRWA staff member was detained, and by the end of the day all six UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem had been evacuated.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael has no authority to carry out these actions, when the International Court of Justice has determined that Israel is under an obligation to dismantle its occupation,\u201d the experts said. \u201cIn the meantime, it is bound by international humanitarian law, which protects schools against direct attacks, especially as there were no hostilities in the area that would justify an evacuation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs the schools stormed were UN premises, the harassment of staff and forcible removal of children from schools by Israeli soldiers also constitute a breach of the inviolability of UN facilities and violate the right to education,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n “Targeted attacks against civilians and civilian objects are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. In the current context, such actions may also amount to collective punishment.”<\/p>\n The experts emphasised that Israel\u2019s obligation to end its occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is mandatory under international law, rooted in non-derogable norms like the right to self-determination and the ban on acquiring territory by force. Israel is required to withdraw its troops, dismantle its settlements, provide full reparations to Palestinian victims and facilitate the return of displaced people and humanitarian aid and rehabilitation.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a UN Member State, Israel must respect international humanitarian and human rights law,\u201d the experts said. \u201cEducation is never a target. The international community must act to ensure respect and protection of the right to life and to education of Palestinian children living under occupation and accountability for violations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n *The experts:<\/strong>\u00a0Farida Shaheed,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right to education<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Francesca Albanese<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Cecilia M. Bailliet<\/strong>,\u00a0Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Balakrishnan Rajagopal,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0George Katrougalos<\/strong>,\u00a0Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Ashwini K.P<\/strong>.,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Morris Tidball-Binz<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Nicolas Levrat<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on minority issues<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Irene Khan<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Tlaleng Mofokeng<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Surya Deva<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right to development<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Michael Fakhri<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right to food<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Heba Hagrass<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Gina Romero<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Mary Lawlor<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Siobh\u00e1n Mullally,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Reem Alsalem,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Chair), Laura Nyirinkindi (Vice-Chair), Claudia Flores, Ivana Krsti\u0107, and Haina Lu,<\/strong>\u00a0Working group on discrimination against women and girls<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Paula Gaviria Betancur,\u00a0<\/strong>Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"