Non-State Armed Groups and Attacks on Education: Exploring Trends and Practices to Curb Violations

Each year, non-state armed groups carry out attacks on schools and universities, and their students and staff, in conflicts around the world. This scoping paper provides background on the topic and explores global trends in non-state armed group attacks on education. The motivations and factors associated with these groups attacking, or in some cases safeguarding, education are considered. This paper also highlights various practices and policies, from the community to international levels, to curb non-state armed group attacks on education and use of schools and universities for non-educational purposes. The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack relied on analyses of its Education under Attack database, an extensive literature review, and interviews with international organization staff and experts on non-state armed groups for this paper.