Joint Statement on the International Day to Protect Education from Attack

On the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, observed annually on September 9, the Justice4Yeman Pact Coalition and the undersigned organizations express deep concern over the continued collapse of the educational system in Yemen. More than a decade of armed conflict has cast a heavy shadow over children’s right to safe and uninterrupted education, turning thousands of schools into ruins, military barracks, and training centers, and leaving millions of children without classrooms.

The Justice4Yemen Pact Coalition reiterates its call on the Ansar Allah Group (Houthis) to cease violations against the education sector in Yemen, pay teachers’ salaries in areas under their control, stop intimidating educators, and to release detainees and annul death sentences issued against several Yemeni teachers.

The Coalition also urges the internationally recognized government to protect education, ensure the continuity of the educational process, prioritize raising teachers’ salaries, rehabilitate war-damaged schools in its areas of control, and resume salary payments for Yemeni public sector employees.

According to Rasd Coalition, a member of the Justice4Yeman Pact Coalition, approximately 27,000 children, including 14,457 girls,¹ have been affected by attacks on schools and hospitals and by the obstruction of humanitarian aid by the Houthis.

Reports from UNICEF indicate that nearly 4.5 million children have dropped out of school out of a total of approximately 10.7 million school-aged children. Additionally, around 6.2 million children urgently need educational services and support to remain on the learning path.²

UN data shows that 44% of children are either at risk of dropping out or have already dropped out due to poverty, displacement, and child labor. Over the past ten years, more than 3,400 schools have been partially destroyed, totally destroyed, or repurposed for non-educational uses. UN reports also state that 2,424 schools were directly damaged or destroyed by the conflict.

The education sector faces an unprecedented crisis with salaries for nearly 200,000 teachers having been suspended for years, severely impacting the continuity of education.

These conditions are not just shocking statistics — they deprive millions of children from their most basic rights guaranteed under international human rights law, namely the right to education as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The continued targeting or militarization of schools constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. Widespread dropout rates exacerbate child labor, early marriage, recruitment, and deepen cycles of poverty and violence.

The Justice4Yemen Pact Coalition and its partner organizations call on all parties to the conflict to:

1. Immediately cease all attacks on educational facilities and ensure they are not used for military purposes.

2. Adhere to international principles protecting schools as safe spaces under international law.

3. Resume regular and sustainable salary payments for teachers and establish mechanisms to support and protect educational staff.

4. Adopt an urgent national plan to rehabilitate damaged schools and ensure the provision of basic facilities such as water, sanitation, and protection.

To the donors and UN agencies (UNICEF, UNESCO, and partner agencies):

6. Increase funding for education and reintegrate dropped-out children.

7. Provide psychosocial support and comprehensive protection services for the most affected children, especially girls in rural areas.

We also call on civil society organizations to:

8. Continue monitoring and documenting attacks on education and launch community initiatives to reduce dropout rates and ensure children return to school.

9. Pressure all parties to fulfill their human rights and humanitarian obligations toward the education sector.

We urge all parties to engage in good-faith dialogue, free from political calculations, to resolve the salary crisis across all Yemeni regions and establish a swift mechanism for regular payments to all public sector employees.

The educational process must be protected and depoliticized, schools and educational institutions must not be targeted, and families must be encouraged to send their children back to school. Teachers’ salaries must be paid across all areas of Yemen.

We affirm that protecting education in Yemen is not a secondary option — it is an urgent necessity for building sustainable peace. Investing in children’s education is an investment in the future of the entire country. Depriving an entire generation of its right to education will undermine recovery and development prospects for decades to come.

Therefore, we call on the international community, the United Nations, and national stakeholders to turn this International Day into a moment for urgent action and support for local efforts to ensure safe schools, respected teachers, and children returning to classrooms with hope for a better future.

Signatory organizations:

1. The Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations (Rasd Coalition).

2. Musaalah Organization

3. Al-Amal Cultural and Social Women's Foundation

4. Marib Dam Foundation for Social Development

5. Free Media Center for Investigative Journalism

6. Center for Strategic Studies to Support Women and Children

7. Center for Economic Studies and Media

8. Human Rights Monitoring Organization

9. Association of Mothers of Abductees Organization

10. SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties

11. Equality Organization for Rights and Freedoms

12. Orgin Human Free Organization for Development and Human Rights

13. Global Harmony Foundation

14. Taqsi Organization for Development and Human Rights

15. Hajour Victims Association

16. Medi Center for Development and Human Rights

17. Monitoring Center for Rights and Development

18. AIN ORGANIZATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

19. "Al-Jawf Organization for Rights and Freedoms"

20. Hoco Organization

21. Hajour Victims Association

22. Dy ymnt human

23. pathways for Reconciliation ‏

24. Justice For Rights & Development Org

25. Rights Radar for Human Rights