This indicator measures the total number of schools partially or totally occupied and used for military purposes by non-state armed forces.
The United Nations reports on military use of schools as one of six grave violations against children in armed conflict. Find examples in the virtual library of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict. Check also the annual reports of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.
Article 7, (g) (i) & article 8 (2) (b) (ix), Rome Statute;; Articles 48, 51 & 52, Protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention, Article 1 (A), Article 2 (1), Article 13 (1,4), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Article 29 (2), 38, Convention on the Rights of the Child; Article 2, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; Article 22, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; Article 14 (3), European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights; Article 17 European Social Charter (Revised). See also the Safe School Declaration and the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict. UN Security Council resolutions: 1261 (1999), 1314 (2000), 1379 (2001), 1460 (2003), 1539 (2004), 1612 (2005), 1820 (2008), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011), 2068 (2012), 2143 (2014), 2225 (2015), 2427 (2018).
Non-state armed forces are also bound by international humanitarian law to respect and protect schools. A high number of incidents probably implies a high number of schools closed, increasing the number of out-of-school children and drop-out rates. In the long-term, it may also affect transition rates and gross and net enrolment rates. Besides hindering the access to and availability of education, a high number of reported incidents of military use of schools creates a general climate of insecurity and fear which may be reflected in the overall picture of education, for example in the closure of schools for fear of attack and/or prevention of students and teachers from going to school, even where no incidents of military use of schools has been reported.