The United Nations warned on Friday that the civil war in Sudan, which erupted more than three years ago, is forcing over 8 million school-age children out of the classroom. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed issued the warning during an informal Security Council session on protecting education in Sudan, as the war entered its 1,210th day.
“Among all that this war is taking away, one of the most important is the future of Sudan – as children are deprived of their right to education,” Ms. Mohammed said, warning that the conflict is robbing “a whole generation” of its future.
According to UN statistics, nearly three-quarters of schools in the Darfur region have been damaged, destroyed, or rendered unusable since fighting erupted in April 2023. Ms. Mohammed stated: “Five out of every six children are not in school. Parents will tell you they would rather keep their children at home than send them to class, because for them, home is the only place that might keep their children safe.”
Since 2024, the UN has documented more than 67 attacks on schools and over 154 instances of schools being used for military purposes. Ms. Mohammed stressed that these figures are almost certainly lower than reality. More than half of Sudan's teachers have not been paid, though many continue their work “against all odds.”
“Sudan lost a generation in previous wars, and now it is losing another generation,” the Deputy Secretary-General said, emphasizing that the burden of conflict weighs heavily on women and children – those who “have no voice in this war but bear the brunt of it.”
She noted that the UN and its partners have brought more than one million Sudanese children back into some form of learning this year, but the number still falls far short of actual needs.
Since the conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has repeatedly warned about the impact of fighting on children. About 15 million people across the country have been displaced, while nearly 33 million – more than half of them children – are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, according to the agency.
During a visit to Sudan earlier this year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk described mass killings and gang rapes, calling the conflict “not just another conflict” but “a human rights catastrophe unfolding in real time.”
