Publication date: 09.06.2024
Lawyer
Legal aspects of protecting the rights to education for persons who have experienced violence in the occupied territories
For those who have experienced violence in the occupied territories, the right to education is often violated due to a number of factors: destruction of infrastructure, lack of safe access to educational facilities, displacement and forced migration, and psychological trauma and stress caused by the violence. That is why ensuring access to education for this vulnerable category should become one of the priorities for state policy and the international community.
Legal conclusion: International humanitarian law and human rights impose obligations on states to protect the right to education in armed conflicts. In particular, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols provide a number of guarantees for the protection of the civilian population, including children and victims of violence. States should take all possible measures to ensure the continuity of education, the restoration and reconstruction of educational institutions, as well as the provision of psychological and social support to victims.
Legal opinion of the lawyer: In order to effectively protect the rights to education for persons who have experienced violence in the occupied territories, it is necessary to use a comprehensive approach that includes both national and international legal mechanisms.
At the national level, it is important to ensure the implementation of relevant international standards into domestic legislation, as well as to develop special programs and strategies to support victims. This may include:
1. Special educational programs for the integration and adaptation of children and youth from the occupied territories.
2. Legal and psychological assistance to victims to overcome the consequences of violence.
3. Creation of safe educational spaces and alternative forms of learning (distance education, electronic platforms, etc.).
4. Financial support and scholarships for obtaining an education in the controlled territory of Ukraine.
At the international level, it is necessary to actively cooperate with international organizations, such as UNESCO, UNICEF, the Council of Europe, to attract expertise, financial resources and monitor the situation with human rights in the occupied territories.
Legal opinion of a lawyer online or offline / legal analysis of the situation: In the event of a violation of the right to education, persons who have experienced violence in the occupied territories can apply to national courts and international mechanisms for the protection of human rights. In particular, individual complaints can be submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in accordance with the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
When preparing such complaints, it is necessary to carefully collect and document all the facts of the violation of the right to education, including evidence of violence, destruction of infrastructure, obstacles to access to educational institutions, etc. It is also important to analyze relevant national and international legal norms, practice of international judicial bodies and recommendations of monitoring missions.
Analysis of documents: When preparing lawsuits, complaints or other legal documents, lawyers need to carefully study and analyze the relevant legal acts, in particular:
- The Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine on education;
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
- Convention on the Rights of the Child;
- Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols to them;
- Decision of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the right to education and protection of the civilian population during armed conflicts.
It is also necessary to analyze the reports of international monitoring missions, the reports of human rights organizations and the conclusions of independent experts regarding the human rights situation in the occupied territories.
