>> JAPANESE <<

The Safe Schools Declaration, opened for endorsement in 2015, serves as an international framework to protect schools from attacks and military use in armed conflict, with 121 supporting countries to date. As this year marks its 10th anniversary, Japan is the only G7 country which have not yet endorsed the Declaration. Please sign the petition to urge the Government of Japan to support the Safe Schools Declaration.

***If you are under age 18, please sign the petition via “Compass for Tomorrow,” an online platform for young people managed by Save the Children Japan.

 

 

-------------

Worsening  Attacks on Education and Military Use of Schools and Universities

As conflicts continue to arise and prolong globally, attacks on education are becoming more frequent and widespread. Attacks on education includes: attacks on schools and universities; military use of educational facilities; abductions and killings of students, teachers and education personnel; child recruitment and sexual violence at, on the way to or from schools; and attacks on higher education.

In its research, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) identified around 6,000 reported attacks on education between 2022 and 2023, marking a 20% increase compared to 2020-2021. More than 10,000 students and educators were reportedly killed, injured, abducted, or detained in the same reporting period (a 10% increase from the two previous years)[1].

As a result of these attacks, an estimated 234 million children and young people worldwide are being denied access to quality education[2].

 

 

One of the reasons why education facilities are targeted is because school and universities are used for military purposes. Many school buildings are large and sturdy compared to residential houses, have multiple rooms and spacious schoolyards, and are equipped with sanitation and cooking facilities.

As such, schools are sometimes used for military purposes, such as military bases, barracks, food and weapons storage, shooting training grounds, and as detention or interrogation facilities. 
As a result, schools and universities, despite being protected civilian facilities, are turned into military objectives subject to attack by armed forces.

Although schools and universities are protected civilian facilities, their military use—or suspicion or potent ability of such usage—turn them into military objectives subject to attack by armed forces[3].

-------------

The Safe Schools Declaration – an International Framework to Protect Education from Attacks

The Safe Schools Declaration was opened for endorsement in 2015, to protect schools and universities from attack and military use. To date, 121 countries are supporting this international framework[4].

 

 

Endorsing states are expected to adhere to the following commitments:

1. Prohibit the use of functioning schools and universities in support of the military effort.
2. Prohibit the use of abandoned/evacuated schools for military efforts, except when no viable alternatives are available.
3. Ban the deliberate destruction of schools during armed conflict.
4. Consider all feasible alternative measures, including issuing a prior warning, before attacking a school used for military purposes.
5. Prohibit the provision of security for schools by fighting forces, except when no viable alternatives are available.
6. Incorporate and implement the “Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict” into domestic policies and operational frameworks.

***Refer GCPEA website for details of the Declaration and “Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict.”

The international community is observing positive changes as more countries are endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration. Among the 13 countries that endorsed the Declaration in 2015 and 2016, that experienced at least one reported incident of military use during the same two years, the overall number of reported cases of school and university military use dropped by half between 2015 and 2020.

Additionally, the endorsing countries are making strong progress in national legal framework, action plans, inter-agency cooperation, as well as in trainings for military personnel.

In between states that support the Declaration, there are increasing peer-to-peer cooperation such as exchange of experience and good practice, and joint training programmes. In 2021, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2601 on the protection of education during conflict, urging the UN member states to take concrete measures to prevent the military use of schools[5].

-------------

Please Join the Petition to Urge Japan to Endorse the Safe Schools Declaration

As this year 2025 marks its 10th anniversary, the Government of Japan has yet to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration. Among the G7 countries, the US in January 2025 joined Italy, Canada, France, UK, and Germany as endorsing states, leaving Japan as the only G7 country that is not supporting the international commitment.
Please sign the petition to call upon the Government of Japan to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration.

*** If you are under age 18, please send in your petition and comment via ”Compass for Tomorrow” with the consent from your guardian.

Your signatures and comments—submitted either on this page or on “Compass for Tomorrow” website—will be delivered to the Japanese government.

Protecting schools and universities from attacks saves the lives of children, students, and educators, ensures their right to education, and is also essential for post-conflict recovery and long-term peacebuilding.

To push the Government of Japan to take action, we need as many of your voices as possible. Please join the campaign, add your name and thoughts to the petition, and help make a difference.

 

- Campaign Organizers and Partners

Organizer:   Safe School Declaration Japan Campaign
Co-organizer and Secretariat:
Save the Children Japan
Partners: 
Japan NGO Network for Education (JNNE)
Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA)
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Amnesty International Japan
Action against Child Exploitation (ACE)

- Supporting organizations (alphabetical order)

Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO
ChildFund Japan
Development Education Association and Resource Center
Free The Children Japan
Girl Scouts of Japan
Japan International Volunteer Center
Japan Youth Council
The National Council of YMCAs of JAPAN
Plan International
Shanti Volunteer Association
United Nations Information Centre, Tokyo
World Vision Japan

(As of 22 September 2025)

-------------
[1] Global Coalition to Protection Education from Attack (GCPEA). "Education Under Attack 2024." (June 2024)
https://protectingeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/eua_2024_execsum_eng.pdf
[2] Education Cannot Wait. "Global Estimates 2025 Update." (January 2025)
https://www.educationcannotwait.org/global-estimates-2025-update
[3] GCPEA. "Commentary on the 'Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict.'" (Updated 2019) https://protectingeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/documents/documents_commentary_on_the_guidelines.pdf
[4] GCPEA. “Safe Schools Declaration Endorsements.” https://ssd.protectingeducation.org/endorsement/
[5] GCPEA. "Practical Impact of the Safe Schools Declaration: Fact Sheet." (January 2022)
https://protectingeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/documents/SSD-Fact-Sheet.pdf

*Images in the text. 1st photo: A school near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, that was attacked. 2nd photo: Countries that support the School Protection Declaration (in blue).