Gordon Brown calls for international criminal court for crimes against children

"Schools, which should be safe havens, are increasingly being drawn into war, with pupils and teachers easy targets who cannot fight back. International law, including the founding statute of the ICC, has long prohibited assaults on children or schools in war. But in a world where modern warfare increasingly takes place in built-up civilian areas, classrooms can be as dangerous as the frontline."

"Two excuses are normally used by perpetrators of attacks on schools: that they were not intentional, or that the schools in question were being used as military bases. This has allowed them to claim a defence that is still recognised in international law. But on any plausible interpretation of humanitarian law, those who attack a school are manifestly failing to act on their legal responsibility to avoid all known risks to children."

Gordon Brown, UN special envoy for global education, advocates for creating an international criminal court dedicated to crimes against children. He argues that schools must receive the same legal protections as hospitals under international law, citing the Shajareh Tayyebeh school bombing that killed 168 schoolgirls. While international law already prohibits attacks on children and schools during warfare, modern conflicts increasingly occur in civilian areas, making classrooms as dangerous as frontlines. Perpetrators often escape accountability by claiming attacks were unintentional or that schools served military purposes. Brown contends that those attacking schools violate their legal responsibility to avoid risks to children and protect innocent civilians, regardless of stated justifications.

Read at www.theguardian.com