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News Release

(20 November 2007)  Today the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child comes of age - yet millions of children around the world are still denied their rights, particularly those living in conflict.  These children face increased risk of abuse, exploitation and forced recruitment into the armed forces.  Among other violations, 36 million children in these countries are denied the basic right to go to school - half of the total 72 million children out of school worldwide.  Yet the right to a quality education could offer protection to these children and open the door to other rights.  

The number of children out of school worldwide is declining, but children in conflict remain the hardest to reach.  Despite some progress, one in three children in conflict affected countries never enjoy their right to go to school, and still account for half of the world's out of school children. Yet these countries receive very little attention and less than one-fifth of global education aid.

In a number of countries, such as the Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and Iraq, more children are out of school now than they were a year earlier. In countries including the Republic of Congo, Sudan, Eritrea and Côte d'Ivoire, half of their children are out of school.

But change is possible.  Nigeria for instance has made a large percentage improvement (19%) over the past year - equivalent to helping more than one and a half million children get back into school.  This follows a concerted initiative by the government, which has included making education free and providing health services in schools.

Following World War 1, Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb wanted to make the rights and welfare of children a major issue around the world. Her 'Declaration of the Rights of the Child' was adopted by the League of Nations and inspired the present UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the UN on November 20th 1989.  Yet governments and international donors around the world continue to fail children caught up in conflict.

"While there's been some progress, reports of war and conflict are a constant reminder that children's rights are still being violated around the world. Millions of children turning 18 today will enter adulthood without ever having gone to school. Now's the time for action - All children must enjoy their rights, including the right to education.  No matter who they are, or where they live." said Simon Cowell, Acting Secretary General of the International Save the Children Alliance.

In three weeks time, the UN 'Education for All' high level meeting will take place in Senegal, to review progress towards achieving education for all children by 2015.  But the time for talking is over.  Donors and governments must prioritise and invest in education if all children are one day to go to school. This is the time to demonstrate that the world is serious about children's rights.

Notes to Editors

• The total of 72 million children out of school and individual country figures of out of school children in this press release are from the UIS (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
• The figure of 36 million children comes from a Save the Children analysis of country data from UIS and UNICEF sources. All the above figures are taken from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) - 2005, apart from Côte d'Ivoire (UIS - 2003) and Sudan (UIS - 2000). Save the Children will release a detailed report card with figures for all conflict-affected fragile states in December.
• The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child is based on the world's first declaration on children's rights, written by Save the Children's founder, Eglantyne Jebb, in 1923
• Save the Children's global campaign, Rewrite the Future, focuses on children affected by conflict and, in the first year, has helped 3.4 million children in more than 20 countries benefit from better education. In addition, Save the Children continues to mobilize support from governments, corporations, and individual contributors.
• Education is essential to protecting children during conflict. It helps break the cycle of conflict and is key to reducing poverty. Education helps lay the groundwork for economic growth and good governance. In areas of war and conflict, education is often among the first casualties. Schools close, teachers flee or are recruited into the military, and school systems lose funding. This puts children at exceptional risk, making them easier targets for recruitment as child soldiers, or exploitation as cheap labour. It also increases their vulnerability to trafficking and abuse.