More than 24,000 children in Artsakh have been deprived of the right to education

As a result of large-scale hostilities unleashed by Azerbaijan with the active support of Turkey since the early morning of September 27 along the Artsakh-Azerbaijani line of contact, more than 24,000 children in the Artsakh Republic have been deprived of the opportunity to attend school. The RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports announces about this.

Despite its international obligations, Azerbaijan continues to shell even educational institutions with weapons prohibited by international law. As a result of the military aggression, more than 10 schools, as well as a number of kindergartens and ancillary buildings were damaged. Due to the Azerbaijani aggression, thousands of children are deprived of the opportunity to attend kindergarten, young people do not continue their education at universities.

It should be reminded that from the first days of the war, the RA Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan had written letters to UNESCO condemning the targeting of educational institutions, civic infrastructure and cultural heritage, in particular, the shelling of the Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Church in Shushi. In response to these letters, UNESCO expressed deep concern over the continuing escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, which is leading to an increase in civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, including schools, cultural and religious sites.

UNESCO called for the protection of the right to education based on the principles of the Safe Schools Declaration, in line with its guidelines, to refrain from any attack or harm to children, teachers, education staff or schools. These documents restrict the use of schools and universities for military purposes, urge to strengthen the protection of education from attacks, as well as to ensure the continuity of safe education during armed conflict.

Full text in Armenian