Denying a child an education is an injustice and a crime against our common humanity. No child should ever have to trade a classroom for a shelter, or the joy of learning for fear of war. Education is a right, and today that right is under attack. When classrooms are destroyed and teachers are killed, children are robbed of their future and entire societies lose their chance for peace and prosperity.
From Gaza to Ukraine, from Sudan to so many other forgotten conflicts, wars and crises are destroying schools and denying children their right to learn in safety. Each attack on a school is an attack on our shared humanity.
The European Union will continue to stand firm. We defend the right of every child to learn — a right protected under international law and reaffirmed in UN Security Council Resolution 2601. We will keep supporting the Safe Schools Declaration and working with partners to ensure it is more than words on paper.
Education in emergencies is a priority for Europe's humanitarian action. We invest in safe learning spaces, psychosocial support, and the protection of children in war. As part of our commitment to supporting education in fragile contexts, the EU invested more than €175 million in education in emergencies in 2024. We also dedicated roughly €160 million to child protection — nearly half of our total protection budget within the EU's humanitarian aid.
Safeguarding education is not just about classrooms or textbooks. It's about giving every girl and boy the right to a safer, fairer, and brighter future. The European Union will always stand up for that right, wherever and whenever it is threatened.
