UNITED NATIONS, Aug 08 (APP):With more than 1,000 days of war in Sudan having left millions of children out of school, displaced or exposed to grave violations, Pakistan Friday called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and immediately protect educational facilities. "Top priority and ultimate objective must be to bring a swift end to this conflict," Syed Ansar Shah, a first secretary at the Pakistan Mission to the …
At UN, Pakistan urges immediate protection for Sudan’s education facilities after 1,000 days of conflict
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 08 (APP):With more than 1,000 days of war in Sudan having left millions of children out of school, displaced or exposed to grave violations, Pakistan Friday called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and immediately protect educational facilities.
“Top priority and ultimate objective must be to bring a swift end to this conflict,” Syed Ansar Shah, a first secretary at the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council “Arria-formula” meeting, held under the format named after Diego Arria, a former Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN.
Arria-Formula meetings are informal that enable Security Council members to have a frank and private exchange of views on relevant subjects.
The meeting — organized by convened by Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Liberia — was aimed at safeguarding education in war-torn Sudan.
Sudan has been engulfed in the conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between former allies — the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces militia (RSF).
What began as a power struggle metastasized into deadly conflicts across the country, most devastating in the Darfur region, which also saw longstanding ethnic tensions that prompted allegations of genocide in the early 2000s to be reignited.
In his remarks, Ansar Shah, the Pakistani delegate, warned that Sudan’s ongoing conflict threatens to rob an entire generation of their future.
He stressed that protecting education is not a secondary issue, but central to civilian protection and sustainable peace.
“Education has been one of the gravest casualties of this conflict, ” the Pakistani delegate said, noting that more than 17 million children have had their education severely disrupted, including approximately 8 million who are currently out of schools.
In Darfur alone, he said, more than 3 million school-age children are out of learning. “These are not just statistics; they represent a generation at risk of being lost to displacement, poverty, exploitation, despair and recruitment by negative actors.”
In this regard, Ansar Shah outlined three critical priorities:
— All parties must abide by international humanitarian law and ensure safe access for children, teachers, and humanitarian workers;
— Sudan’s nationally recognized education system, including examinations and certifications, must be protected to prevent long-term exclusion and ensure national cohesion; and,
— The international efforts must prioritize education, emergency learning, school rehabilitation and teacher support for displaced and refugee children.
Opening the debate, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned that the 3-year-long conflict has created a devastating educational crisis.
“Among everything this war is taking, one of the most significant is the future of Sudan depriving the education of its children,” she said.
At least eight million school-aged children remain outside the classroom, she said, “with a disproportionate impact on millions of displaced children,” especially those who have fled to other countries.
In battle-scarred Darfur alone, nearly three quarters of schools have been damaged, destroyed or otherwise rendered non-functional since fighting erupted in April 2023.
“Five children in every six are out of school, and parents will tell you they would rather keep their children at home than send them to a classroom, because home for them is the only place left where they can keep them safe,” she said.
She noted that since 2024, the UN has verified more than 67 attacks on schools across Sudan, while over 154 instances of military use of schools have been reported, though the true scale is undoubtedly greater.
