EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since the beginning of 2015, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) has been monitoring and reporting on the impact of the conflict on educational facilities and children’s access to education in the conflict-affected areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine as part of its mandate to gather information and report on the security situation and monitor and support the respect for human rights.
In this regard, the SMM’s monitoring since 2015 includes observations of damage to educational facilities due to shelling and smallarms fire, the usage of such facilities by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the armed formations and their presence within 1km of educational facilities, as well as the impact of the conflict on children and school staff. For children living near the contact line, access to education continues to be hampered by security risks posed by shelling, the prevalence of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) near schools or on their commute to school, as well as school buildings that have been rendered structurally unsafe by shelling and small arms fire.
Ongoing ceasefire violations along the contact line continue to pose a threat to the physical and psychological well-being of children and educators. The Mission corroborated nine civilian casualties (seven children and two adults) of which four were due to shelling in the immediate vicinity of educational facilities and five civilian casualties were due to UXO or unspent ammunition at educational facilities. The lives of children and school staff (most of whom are women) continue to be put at risk due to the presence of positions and equipment less than 1km from educational facilities, as well as the use of educational facilities by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the armed formations.
Between January 2015 and March 2020, the Mission has confirmed damage to 93 educational facilities in 43 settlements on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In some instances, children were inside the educational facilities when the incidents occurred. With many educational facilities rendered non-operational due to the conflict, many children have to rely on distance learning programmes offered by other educational facilities and, at times, have to cross the contact line to sit exams or meet with instructors. In some instances, children cross the contact line every day to attend classes.
The SMM remains committed to monitoring and reporting on the impact of conflict on educational facilities and children’s access to education; however, it continues to face impediments in gathering information, particularly in non-government-controlled areas.
Measures should be taken by the sides to enable the continuity of education in a safe environment and to ensure the civilian nature of educational facilities is preserved, including by intensifying efforts aimed at adhering to commitments to cease fire; regular mine action and awareness raising for students and school staff, and refraining from establishing military and military-type positions in and within the vicinity of educational facilities.
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Thematic Report: Impact of the conflict on educational facilities and children's access to education in Eastern Ukraine (January 2015 — March 2020) - Ukraine - ReliefWeb
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