The Legacy of Colonialism, Discrimination, and the High Cost of Living: Areas of Improvement for the Canadian Education System

Written by Enes Gisi

Canada is a wealthy country with rich natural resources and one of the highest GDPs in the world. Behind this wealth, however, lie deep inequalities in access to quality education. These barriers to education are not always confined to school buildings, as Indigenous peoples of Canada experience the impacts of Canada’s colonial past today. Other challenges in education include sexual abuse of kids, food insecurity, and lack of housing for post-secondary students. Addressing these challenges proves difficult as the three levels of the government – federal, provincial, and municipal, are each responsible for some of them. Taking effective and quick action, however, is a challenge for the Canadian bureaucracy. Government levels sometimes pass the responsibility for an issue back and forth, causing confusion among Canadians about who is responsible for what.

Children at Fort Simpson Indian Residential School holding letters that spell “Goodbye,” Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, 1922. Photo by J. F. Moran. Library and Archives Canada on Wikimedia Commons.

Access to Education for Indigenous Peoples of Canada

To understand why the Indigenous education system is especially troubled, it’s essential to investigate the historical injustices they suffered. Indigenous peoples (also referred to as “Aboriginal peoples”) are native to the land that we today call Canada. The colonization of the land began in the 16th century with the arrival of British and French colonizers. Indigenous peoples were called “savages” and were believed to be “less civilized” than the European Canadians (“Lower Education”, 2023). Beginning in the early 17th century, various forms of schooling systems were set up (Gordon & White, 2014). The first systems created by the French settlers aimed to “Francize” the Indigenous peoples. While the British settlers initially formed alliances with the Indigenous peoples against the French and the Americans, later their policy shifted towards the same goal: “civilizing” them. Until 1951, Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families and placed in residential schools, where they were prohibited from speaking their native languages and practicing their cultures, all to “reclaim” them from “a state of barbarism” (Wilson,1986, p. 66, as cited in Gordon & White, 2014). They received low-quality education and experienced physical, emotional, and sexual abuse (White & Peters, 2009 as cited in Gordon & White, 2014). When they returned home, they could no longer connect with their families or the non-Indigenous society (“What Is The Root Cause Of Indigenous Education Issues”, 2015). The last residential school was shut down in 1996, but the legacy of colonialism and negligence on the part of the federal government are still affecting Indigenous children.

Housing

Indigenous people experience a significantly higher rate of homelessness compared to the Canadian average (“Inadequate Housing And Crowded Living Conditions”, 2023). However, the issue of inadequate housing may have a closer connection to student success. Nearly 25 percent of Indigenous children under the age of 15 live in low-income households, which is double the percentage for non-Indigenous children (“Inadequate Housing And Crowded Living Conditions”, 2023). One implication of this situation is that some families are residing in homes that are too small for their needs. Indigenous students living in overcrowded houses may not get enough sleep and be able to study or do their homework in a quiet space. These, in turn, may impact their mental health, school success, and secondary education and employment prospects.

Graduation rates

The rate of high school completion of Indigenous children living on reserves, land reserved exclusively for the First Nations people, is low at 24 percent. This number was initially misrepresented by the Canadian government when it published a report presenting the rate as 46 percent (Coates, 2022). This calculation didn’t account for the students who had dropped out between grades 9 and 11. According to a report by the Auditor General of Canada, the Canadian government had also neglected its reporting responsibilities concerning Indigenous education, reporting on only 6 out of the 23 education results it had committed to report on (Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 2018).

While Indigenous children living off-reserve generally had better educational prospects compared to those on-reserve, their graduation rate from off-reserve provincial schools was still lower than that of non-Indigenous children. According to a 2021 report, the rate of on-time high school graduation from provincial schools in Saskatchewan was 88.7 percent. Among these students, the on-time graduation rate of Indigenous students was 44.7 percent (Clemett, 2023).

When it comes to post-secondary education, the data also highlights disparities. First Nations people, one of the three groups within the Indigenous population, have a post-secondary completion or recent attendance to a post-secondary institution rate of 37 percent, whereas the rate for non-Indigenous individuals is significantly higher at 72 percent (Layton, 2023).

Students, a former premier of British Columbia, a former British Columbia minister, and an Indigenous leader gathered around a bonfire. Image via Flickr by @bchovphotos.

School Funding and Resources

Many Indigenous students go to school in difficult circumstances and need extra support from the education system. Most on-reserve Indigenous students are not able to continue their studies without some, in some cases extensive, school-provided support or direct intervention (Coates, 2022). In most Canadian schools, perhaps 80 percent of students can succeed without school-based services or intervention. A significant number of on-reserve Indigenous students, sometimes one in three or more, however, require extensive support from their schools to succeed.

The ability of reserve schools to provide services to their students is, however, limited due to insufficient funding from the federal government. First Nations schools receive 30 percent less funding per student compared to other schools (Dart, n.d.). This leads to one obvious thing: Indigenous children are disadvantaged. They don’t have access to as many social workers, mental health professionals, and special education instructors. Alethea Wallace, a (former) principal of the Alexis School, a First Nation school, describes how inadequate funding impacts the school (Hampshire, n.d.). She says that the school is not able to offer art, drama, and music programs due to lack of funding. It also does not have a science lab or a computer lab. Parts of the school are utilized for unrelated purposes: the library and the janitor’s office as classrooms. Kristina Alexis, a student from the school, says her classroom hosts two classes at the same time where two teachers teach different subjects. Classes are overcrowded, and most classrooms are split among two grade levels.

Evan Taypotat, a former principal of Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School, and the current chief of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation, says “The average funding for a reserve kid is about $6,800 (Dart, n.d.). The funding for a kid in Broadview, which is about 10 minutes away, is $11,000.” Federal funding increases for reserve schools are capped at an annual 2 percent, which is lower than the inflation rate in Canada. There are two main issues that Indigenous leaders are currently seeking to resolve: gaining control over how federal education funding is allocated and advocating for more funding to match the funding other schools receive. Granting First Nations control over how the money is spent may allow them to implement more culturally appropriate systems.

A student bullying a classmate who’s sitting at her desk. Photo by RDNE Stock project from Pexels.

Racism, Exclusion, and Violence in School

A comprehensive 2023 report published by Children First Canada shows that bullying and violence among Canadian children have become serious threats to children’s well-being (Children First Canada, 2023). Students avoid visiting washrooms where they would get bullied, even if it means soiling themselves. Bullying mainly occurs at school or in online environments. The report highlights that 7 in 10 students between the ages of 15 and 17 experience bullying. Violence and hate speech remain pervasive problems in school and sports settings.

Most disabled students experience discrimination and exclusion. According to a 2022 report from the New Brunswick Office of the Child, Youth, and Seniors’ Advocate, only 1 in 5 disabled students feel like they belong, and they often feel unsafe at school (“Advocate Releases Office of the Child Report, 2022). Their participation in sports is also lower compared to their peers.

Jacqueline, a Jewish-Canadian high school student in Toronto says she experiences antisemitism as some people make references to Hitler or draw swastikas (Wong, 2023). She says that these acts are seen as funny among these people. She finds the Holocaust education at school insufficient in countering the hateful content that young people share online.

Sexual violence statistics are alarming. According to the 2022 report by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, between 2017 and 2021, “at least 548 children and youth” in kindergarten to grade 12 “experienced an act of sexual nature made by 252 school personnel”, and 38 school personnel were criminally charged for offences related to illicit digital content involving minors (Children First Canada, 2023).

Religious students from Quebec who practice their faith face a discriminatory challenge due to a directive from the Quebec Education Minister, Bernard Drainville. This directive prohibited “any practice of religious activity” in schools and other education centres (Feith, 2023). According to a legal challenge in response to the ban, Muslim students had been praying in a designated area in a school for months with no issues. The father of a Muslim student in Quebec says that his child is now forced to pray in secret, without knowing the consequences if he’s found praying at school.

Workers handling food hampers. Image via Flickr, by @bcgovphotos.

Food Insecurity

Canada is the only G7 country that doesn’t have a national school food program (Alphonso, 2023). Many Canadian students rely on food programs that are funded by provinces and charities. One in five, or roughly a million students, are receiving assistance in the form of meals and snacks. An educational assistant in an Ontario school says that some students would not be able to come to school if the school didn’t provide food hampers. The charity working with the school says the increasing demand strains their budget. Black and off-reserve Indigenous children are more likely to live in food-insecure households than their White counterparts (Children First Canada, 2023).

Post-secondary affordability

The rising cost of living is leaving university students unable to afford food and rent. More than 60% of university students reported earning less than 20,000 dollars a year, and almost 3 in 4 students (72%) reported allocating 30% or more of their income to paying rent (Cameron et.al., 2023). Centre for Addiction and Mental Health states that there’s a “critical” lack of affordable housing in Canada (“Housing and Mental Health Policy Framework”, 2022). Mateusz, a University of Calgary Student’s Union representative, says that the university is being irresponsible by admitting too many students without supplying housing (Tran, 2023). He says that rents are skyrocketing and argues there’s a housing crisis (Kaufmann, 2023). There have been students who lived in their cars in Calgary due to the housing shortage, he adds. Some students were only able to find housing in remote areas, where commuting to the campus became an issue (Derworiz, 2023). In addition, two in five university students experience food insecurity, more than half of them reported they could only afford low-quality food, and 1 in 6 students said they had days where they couldn’t eat at all.

Concluding Remarks and Recommendations

Indigenous peoples’ rights are protected by international law, most prominently under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was an important step in the right direction. It was a government initiative that was mandated to collect testimonies from the victims of the Residential School System. It helped create public awareness and encouraged further action to reconcile with the Indigenous peoples. Jack Harris, a former National Democratic Party Member of Parliament, cites Canada’s poor Indigenous rights record as one of the potential reasons why Canada lost its 2020 bid for a temporary seat at the United Nations Security Council (Harris, 2020). Providing Indigenous communities with the necessary legal and material tools to offer culture-appropriate and high-quality education should be Canada’s priority.

Another significant challenge seems to be the increasing cost of living. More post-secondary students experience food and housing insecurity, two things people shouldn’t have to worry about when pursuing higher education. From students living in their cars to students living in overcrowded houses, the high cost of living in Canada is taking a toll on students’ well-being. Better student loans and grants and more student residences provided by the universities can help.

References
  • Alphonso, C. (2023, March 15). With food costs soaring and no national program, Canadian schools struggle to feed students. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-school-food-programs-rising-costs/
  • Cameron, A. C., Grant, R., Kemle, A. (2023, August 16). Living in the Red. Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. https://assets.nationbuilder.com/casaacae/pages/3587/attachments/original/1692213033/LivingInTheRed.pdf?1692213033
  • Center for Addiction and Mental Health. (2022, February). Housing and Mental Health Policy Framework. Center for Addiction and Mental Health. https://www.camh.ca/-/media/files/pdfs—public-policy-submissions/housing-policy-framework-pdf.pdf
  • Children First Canada. (2023, August). Top 10 Threats to Childhood in Canada. Children First Canada. https://childrenfirstcanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Raising-Canada-2023_V1d.pdf
  • Clemett, T. (2023, June). Report of the Provincial Auditor to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan. https://auditor.sk.ca/pub/publications/public_reports/2023/Volume%201/2023-report-volume-1.pdf
  • Coates, K. (2022, May 18). Indigenous education can and must be fixed: Ken Coates for Inside Policy. Macdonald-Laurier Institute. https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/indigenous-education-can-and-must-be-fixed-ken-coates-for-inside-policy/
  • Dart, C. First Nations Schools Are Chronically Underfunded. CBC Docs. https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/first-nations-schools-are-chronically-underfunded
  • Derworiz, C. (2023, August 26). University students struggling to find housing amid affordability crisis. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/9921724/university-students-housing-affordability-crisis/
  • Feith, J. (2023, June 13). Quebec’s school prayer ban infringes on religious rights, groups argue. Montreal Gazette. https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/groups-challenge-quebec-school-prayer-ban-in-court
  • Gordon, C. E., White, J. P. (2014). Indigenous Educational Attainment in Canada. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 5(3). DOI:10.18584/iipj.2014.5.3.6
  • Hampshire, G. Alexis School. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/gradingthegap/alexis.html
  • Harris, K. (2020, June 18). Canada loses its bid for seat on UN Security Council. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/united-nations-security-council-canada-1.5615488
  • Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. (2015, April 8). What Is The Root Cause Of Indigenous Education Issues. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/what-is-the-root-cause-of-indigenous-education-issues
  • Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. (2023, February 28). Inadequate Housing And Crowded Living Conditions – #3 Of 8 Key Issues. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/inadequate-housing-3-of-8-key-issues
  • Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. (2023, January 31). Lower Education – #2 Of 8 Key Issues For Indigenous Peoples In Canada. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/lower-education-2-of-8-key-issues
  • Kaufmann, B. (2023, July 12). ‘Living in cars’: U of C students face worsening housing shortage. Calgary Herald. https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/living-in-cars-u-of-c-students-face-worsening-housing-shortage
  • Layton, J. (2023, June 21). First Nations youth: Experiences and outcomes in secondary and postsecondary learning. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/81-599-x/81-599-x2023001-eng.pdf?st=r2KEXQZ0
  • Office of the Auditor General of Canada. (2018, April 11). Report 5—Socio-economic Gaps on First Nations Reserves—Indigenous Services Canada. Office of the Auditor General of Canada. https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201805_05_e_43037.html
  • Office of the Child, Youth and Seniors’ Advocate. (2022, 21 June). Advocate Releases Office of the Child Report. New Brunswick Canada. https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2022.06.0328.html
  • Tran, P. (2023, July 12). University of Calgary Students’ Union pushes for affordable housing as rents rise. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/9825799/university-of-calgary-students-housing-insecure/
  • Wong, J. (2022, November 3). Antisemitic conspiracies are rampant online. Students, experts share how to combat them. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/education-antisemitism-socialmedia-1.6636739

Educational Challenges in Gambia

Written by Tseke Dooyum Stephanie.

Gambia is a small country located in the West of Africa. Like many developing nations, it has made progress in enhancing its educational system. Gambia has dedicated resources to making education accessible and affordable. This ensures that every child in Gambia can gain knowledge and impact society in one way or another. This is because education is said to be the beacon of development for every nation, and it should be provided to everyone for free and without discrimination. The fourth Sustainable Development Goal further echoes this, stating that everyone should receive an equitable, accessible, and high-quality education. This aligns with the Gambian government’s educationalpolicy, emphasising basic education is a right.

Educational Challenges in Gambia

Education, just like numerous sectors, is not without itschallenges. Several obstacles must be overcome to give all citizens access to high-quality education. As of 2023, Gambia faces several educational challenges that demand immediate attention and creative solutions. This article explores the most recent data on Gambia’s educational issues. It also examines their underlying causes and puts forth potential solutions. These challenges include-:

• Lack of Qualified and Experienced Teachers in Gambia

In Gambia, the lack of qualified teachers is a serious problem. Many teachers are not adequately trained or qualified to provide aneffective education. Only 57% of primary school teachers in Gambia are trained, this is according to a 2021 World Bank report. This shortage has an impact on the educationquality. It further raises student-teacher ratios, making providing individualised care and support harder. This has also been reported to cause compromised learning outcomes. Furthermore, a lack of professional development opportunities and adequate training for many teachers in Gambia has made it difficult for them to engage students and impart knowledge.

• Cultural Restriction

Cultural restrictions and values in Gambiarestrict both boys’ and girls’ educational opportunities at the community and family levels.  These cultural norms include early marriage. It is more valued than education and career advancement in Gambia.  Secondary education for girls is also highly compromised as some families push their teenage daughters to early marriage. They also move their teenage boys to Europe for riches to support their families due to the cultural expectation that boys are the family breadwinners.

• Inadequate Infrastructure and Resources

Inadequate school infrastructure and resources are among the main barriers to quality education inGambia. Many educational institutions struggle with outdated infrastructure, crammed classrooms, and a lack of basic supplies like textbooks, writing aids, and technological resources. The issue is made worse by the lack of access to facilities such as laboratories, which negatively affects the student’s learning capabilities. This makes the learning environment less than ideal, resulting in difficulty in understanding concepts.

• Outdated curriculum

The educational system in Gambia has come under fire for having an out-of-date curriculum that is only loosely in line with the needs of the nation’s development. Students’ capacity to effectively apply knowledge is constrained by the traditional rote learning techniques used in many schools, which impede the development of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

• Poor funding

Despite the significance of education, The Gambian educational sector receives little funding compared to other sectors. The lack of financial support hinders the provision of essential resources, the implementation of necessary reforms, and adequate teacher pay.

• Lack of access to education

The issue of access to education is one of the significant difficulties the Gambian educational system is currently facing. Disparities continue, especially between rural and urban areas, despite efforts to raise enrolment rates. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the net enrolment rate in primary education was 72% in 2021. In addition, there are still gender gaps, with fewer girls having access to education because of social and cultural constraints.

Gambian Schoolkids / Photo by John Savage via Flickr

Solutions

• To address the issue of lack of qualified and experienced teachers

The government must place a high priority on hiring, preparing, and keeping teachers to address the issue of the lack of qualified teachers in the nation. Competent educators can be attracted and retained by providing them competitive pay, professional development opportunities, and incentives for working in remote locations. The quality of education in the nation can also be improved by working with more international organisations and governments to offer teacher exchange and training programmes.

• To address cultural restriction.

The Gambian society can overcome this obstacle and find common ground by encouraging intercultural communication and empathy, debunking myths and fostering an open-minded and conducive learning environment. This can be accomplished through programmes that promote cultural exchange and diversity.

• To address the inadequate infrastructure and resources

To address this issue, more funds must be put into educational infrastructure and enough textbooks, technology, and sanitary facilities to create an environment conducive to learning.Partnerships between the public and private sectors can be crucial for giving schools the required tools and resources. Examining digital learning options can also increase access to educational materials and close the resource gap in remote areas.

• To address the outdated curriculum

The government should concentrate on curriculum reform and emphasise a practical and skill-based approach to education to raise the standard of instruction. A deeper understanding of subjects can be promoted by incorporating interactive learning tools, technology, and contemporary teaching methods.

• To address poor funding

Support for increased educational funding and effective budget allocation is required to address this issue. The government must prioritise education in its national budget and seek outside funding by forming alliances with international organisations and donor nations.  An increase in the national budget’s education allocation is required to ensure sufficient funding for schools, teacher salaries, and educational development initiatives. Additionally, to maximise the impact of the funds, their management must be open and effective.Gambia can foster sustainable development and economic growth by increasing its investment in education.

• To address access to education

The Gambian government must focus on improving the infrastructure in rural areas and implementpolicies to support gender equality in education to address this issue successfully. The support and resources provided by Non-Governmental Organizations and international organisations are also essential in enhancing vulnerable groups’ access to education.

Conclusion

The education system in Gambia faces serious issues that require urgent attention and coordinated efforts from the government, civil society, and international partners.Gambia can create a robust educational system that empowers its people and advances sustainable development by addressing these problems. It can also pave the way for a better future for the Gambian people.

References

Cover image by Global Partnership for Education – GPE via Flickr

Universal Periodic Review of North Macedonia

This report drafted by Broken Chalk contributes to the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for the Republic of North Macedonia. This report focuses exclusively on human rights issues in North Macedonia’s education field.

  • The Balkan country of North Macedonia has made remarkable educational progress since gaining independence in 1991. Despite a decade of complicated development in the years following independence, due firstly to the conflicts in former Yugoslavia and Kosovo and then to tensions with Bulgaria and Greece over its own identity, North Macedonia has developed a more proactive policy over the past decade. The country is one of the founders of the Open Balkan Initiative, which aims to bring the countries of the southern Balkans closer together economically and culturally. The improvement in bilateral relations with Greece in 2018, with the Prespa agreements, has raised hopes of reducing regional tensions. This new climate is favourable for creating new initiatives to strengthen cooperation in culture and education. A few Erasmus programs are offered between North Macedonian and other European universities. University exchanges with neighbouring countries, including members of the Open Balkans initiative and the European Union, are the best way to reduce tensions in the Western Balkans by bringing young people together in dialogue.
  • The country’s literacy rate, although below the European Union average (98.7%), is ahead of other developed countries such as Greece (97.7%) and Singapore (96.8%). 2002, the literacy rate was 96%, compared with 98.1% in 2015. The female literacy rate rose from 90.93% in 1994 to 96.70% twenty years later in 2014. In addition to these results, public spending on education fell from 3. 30% in 2002 to 3.7% in 2016. Moreover, in general, the education budget in North Macedonia has systematically lost since it gained independence in 1991 (4.7% of GDP in 1992). Education is compulsory from the age of 6 up to 15, which is lower than in Western European countries, where schooling lasts, on average, until the age of 16 [i]. School dropout rates vary from one category of the population to another. North Macedonia is ethnically diverse: 26% Albanian, 3.41% Turkish-speaking and 2.53% Roma. The Roma are the primary school dropout victims despite forming only a small ethnic minority.
  • The North Macedonian curriculum is similar to that of OECD countries. Higher education and research and development have received little attention from the North Macedonian public authorities: the budget for higher education has fallen from 1.1% in 2010 to 0.8% in 2021. Higher education is neither free nor fully covered by the state. Students are eligible for grants based not on income but on academic performance. Students are categorised into “state-funded” or “self-funded” groups based on their prior academic performance. State-funded students, representing high-achieving individuals, contribute partially to their education costs and pay administrative fees. Special exemptions exist for disadvantaged groups like disabled individuals, unemployed youths, and security force families, and their number is capped. Self-funded students follow a fixed tuition fee model. Similar fees are applied to students in short-cycle higher education programs. So, even if this system is meritocratic in principle, it excludes students whose families do not have the means to pay for private tuition or don’t attach much importance to reading or culture. [ii]

By Camille Boblet-Ledoyen

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46th_Session_UN-UPR_Country_Review_North_Macedonia_S

References

[i] European Commission, “Republic of North Macedonia: Organisation of the education system and structure”, Eurydice Network, 9 June 2022.

[ii] OECD, “The education system in the Republic of North Macedonia”, OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: North Macedonia, June 2019.

[iii] UPR Database, “Recommendations received by North Macedonia”, Cycle 2 (2012 – 2016). 

[iv] Minority Rights, “Minorities and indigenous peoples in Macedonia: Roma”, October 2020.

[v] World Bank, “North Macedonia Needs to Continue Investing in Education and Health to Improve Its Human Capital”, Press release, September 16th, 2020.

[vi] Staletović, Branimir; Pollozhani, Lura, “To resist or not to resist: “Skopje 2014” and the politics of contention in North Macedonia”, East European Politics, November 2022.

[vii] Eurostat, “Enlargement countries – statistics on research and development”, May 2023.

[viii] European Parliament, “Artificial Intelligence: threats and opportunities”, June 2023.

[ix] Elena Kjosevska and Sanja Proseva, “Mental health in schools in Republic of North Macedonia”, SHE Assembly, June 3rd, 2021.

[x] UNICEF, “Exploring the interplay between wellbeing and academic attainment of children”, conference in Skopje, 9 March 2022.

[xi] Aldrup, Karen; Carstensen, Bastian; Klusmann, Uta, “Is Empathy the Key to Effective Teaching? A Systematic Review of Its Association with Teacher-Student Interactions and Student Outcomes”, Educational Psychology Review, March 2022.

Cover image by Nato North Atlantic Treaty Organization via flickr

Universal Periodic Review of Eritrea

This report drafted by Broken Chalk contributes to the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for the State of Eritrea. This report focuses exclusively on human rights issues in Eritrea’s education field.

  • During the last decade, Eritrea presented a good evolution in its complex education system. The progress demonstrated in its previous comprehensive evaluation highlighted achievements and improvement areas. The 2012 educational reform, known as the “Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP 2012 – 2017),” made notable strides in equitable access to education, especially for socially disadvantaged groups like nomadic communities and those in rural areas. 
  • Since the end of the civil war 1993, the country has stabilised macro policy objectives for education, and the current National Education Sector Plan of 2018 – 2022 of the Ministry of Education reconfirmed the strategy policies. Focusing on three main areas or pillars for the education system: first, the “development of a population equipped with necessary skills, knowledge and culture for a self-reliant and modern economy”; second, the “development of self-consciousness and self-motivation in the population to fight disease, attendant causes of backwardness and ignorance”; and third “provision of basic education to all, regardless of their ethnic origin, sex and religion”[i].
  • Improvement in various metrics has been reported, such as a 6.6% increase in enrollments in pre-primary schools and an 8.5% rise in the number of such schools. The emphasis on mother-tongue instruction has been pivotal in primary education, with over 349,753 students enrolled nationwide. Eritrea’s educational policy emphasises universal primary education through the mother tongue, promoting language equality and benefiting 349,753 students, 45% of whom are girls. The advances have resulted in a 1.3% rise in rural schools and enhanced opportunities for girls and nomadic communities, with specialised workshops fostering strategy development for these segments.[ii]
  • Among Eritrea’s concerns is enhancing efforts to guarantee girls’ rights to education and provide them with a higher level of education. Expenditure on education has fluctuated over the years, representing 4% of the country’s GDP, underlining the government’s commitment to providing free education at all levels[iii].
  • Concerning gender equality in educational institutions, Eritrea has disclosed a coefficient of 0.91 for gender parity in pre-primary schools, with 1 representing absolute parity. For elementary, middle, and secondary schools, the figures are 0.82, 0.85, and 0.91, respectively, highlighting a pressing need to intensify efforts to secure and enhance girls’ educational rights and access to more advanced academic levels. Nonetheless, challenges remain in gender parity and the quality of education[iv].
  • Eritrea has also made strides in literacy and adult education, realising a 20% decrease in illiteracy facilitated by continual workshops and programs promoting literacy. Based on the data from 2016, the program witnessed participation from over 17 million adults, with a successful 75% completion rate[v].
  • Eritrea recorded enrollments exceeding 81,000 students in secondary education in the 2017-2018 academic year. Within this educational level, three crucial goals have been established: to optimise university entrance opportunities, to foster social cohesion amongst new generations, and to construct a competitive environment conducive to high academic achievement and merit competition. Despite the efforts to increase access to education and improve the opportunities and the quality of the system at all levels for the schools, the country reported in 2016 that over 220,000 children aged 5 to 13 years old remain out of schools, with the rage to 73% of pre-primary school and 27% from middle school[vi].
  • The Early Childhood Development Program enabled extensive reform that got advancements in fostering early intervention, leading to a 6.6% rise in enrollments in pre-primary schools, with the total number of such schools growing by 8.5%. This accounted for 47,196 students, with girls making up 48.7% of enrollees. The initiative also saw an increase in rural coverage from 64.2% to 65%, an 18.5% rise primarily attributed to the pivotal role of the Rural Community Care Givers Scheme. The national workshop on nomadic education has been instrumental in developing and applying strategies in these communities. Eritrea has also established progress for literacy and adult education, achieving a 20% reduction in illiteracy and ongoing workshops to drive the project’s progress[vii][viii].
  • Furthermore, regardless of the country’s advances and progress in education overall since the end of the civil war and the advances in the last decades, the country presents urgent issues on their policies that ensure equity of access to schooling all around the country. The challenges surround wide disparities in the level of participation among the different regions (Zobas) of the country, gender gaps, low level of involvement of children with disabilities, access to education for children that are part of nomadic tribes and for the ones who live geographic areas with difficult access[ix].

By Daniel Ordoñez

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46th_Session_UN-UPR_Country_Review_Eritrea_S

References

[i]  Partnership, Golbal. 2018. “ERITREA EDUCATION SECTOR PLAN.” P. 25

[ii]  Assembly, UN General. 2018. “Universal Periodic Review​ – Third Cycle – Eritrea.” P. 11

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Ibid.

[v]  Ibid.

[vi] Partnership, Golbal. 2018. “ERITREA EDUCATION SECTOR PLAN.” P. 14

[vii] Assembly, UN General. 2018. “Universal Periodic Review​ – Third Cycle – Eritrea.”  P. 11

[viii] Watch, Human Rights. 2019. “Eritrea: Conscription System’s Toll on Education.” https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/08/eritrea-conscription-systems-toll-education.

[ix] Mengesha, Tedros Sium, and Mussie T Tessema. 2019. “Eritrean Education System: A  Critical Analysis and Future Research Directions.” International Journal of Education 11 (1): 1–17. doi:10.5296/ije.v11i1.14471. P. 3

Cover image by aboodi vesakaran via Pexels

Arbitrariness on the education field in the Nicaraguan Regime: Cancellation and Expropriation of Universities

Written by: Samantha Orozco

Since 2018, Nicaragua has been experiencing an unprecedented political crisis that has led to a series of human rights violations against its population. The limitation on the exercise of fundamental rights, recognised in both the Nicaraguan Constitution and international treaties to which Nicaragua is a party, has not ceased since the onset of citizen protests against the regime. These restrictions have escalated since the controversial re-election of Daniel Ortega as president, who assumed office alongside his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice president, following elections deemed arbitrary and fraudulent by the international community.

The field of education has not been exempt from this series of violations and arbitrary actions by the authorities of this Central American country. A concerning example is the closure of 27 universities in Nicaragua, which has affected over 37,000 higher education students and even forced university professors into exile. This situation gained more prominence after the closure of two of the country’s most recognised university centres: the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) and the INCAE Business School. In addition to having their legal status revoked, these institutions were also confiscated.

Demonstration outside an University in Nicaragua. Photo by Jorge Mejía Peralta on Flickr.

Background on the Ortega-Murillo Regime

In 2018, Nicaragua experienced a profound political and social crisis. It began with municipal elections in November 2017, which were heavily criticised due to allegations of fraud and lack of transparency. These elections marked the beginning of a period of growing political polarisation in the country.

The situation worsened in April 2018 when the government of Daniel Ortega announced a reform to the social security system that triggered widespread protests across the country. These protests, led mostly by university students and civil society, resulted in a violent response from the government. The repression by the police and government-affiliated paramilitary groups led to a high number of casualties, as well as the detention of protesters and opposition leaders.

Since 2018, the situation in Nicaragua related to the violation of human rights has been on the rise, resulting in the closure and cancellation of media outlets and non-profit organisations, the expulsion of international missions, the cancellation of political parties, and the imprisonment of opposition leaders.i This ultimately led to the 2021 elections in which Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, competed as the sole presidential ticket. These elections were rejected due to evident irregularities that silenced the opposition and sowed fear among voters.

During their new term, the government of Ortega and Murillo has followed a single mission: to silence criticism, attack the opposition, and control the country’s institutions. The education and university sector has not gone unnoticed, becoming another target of the regime to consolidate control over the population.

Measures against Universities: At least 26 universities have been cancelled.

As mentioned earlier, the Ortega government has made several decisions that have led to the closure and revocation of the legal status of media outlets, non-profit organisations, and, of course, private universities in the country. To understand this situation better, it is essential to recall that university students led the citizen protest movements against the Ortega regime. Therefore, this could be seen as a retaliation and an effort by the government to control students and their civic engagement. These arbitrary measures should be understood as a way for the government to ensure aligned thinking that does not encourage criticism or scrutiny, which also jeopardises academic freedom through intimidation and persecution of teachers considered traitors to the regime.

The measures taken against universities not only violate human rights but also run counter to the Nicaraguan Constitution, which protects the autonomy of universities and prohibits the confiscation of their assets. So far, 26 universities have had their legal status revoked, with reasons for revocation ranging from allegations of financial opacity or non-compliance with educational standards to more serious accusations such as money laundering, terrorism, and weapons proliferation. The cancellations began with the confiscation of Universidad Politécnica (Upoli), culminating in the shocking cancellation and expropriation of UCA and the INCAE headquarters, two of the most renowned universities in the Central American region.ii

UCA was cancelled through government decree, under the accusation of being a hub for terrorism. This action has been the pinnacle of Ortega’s religious persecution against the Catholic Church, which has been running through this university founded by Jesuits and belonging to the Latin American network of universities entrusted to the Society of Jesus (AUSJAL for its acronym in Spanish). In response to the closure of UCA, AUSJAL issued a press release condemning the actions of the Nicaraguan government, declaring, “The UCA has been slandered and harassed, just like the more than three thousand civil society organisations in Nicaragua.’´iii Additionally, hundreds of professionals expressed their outrage and called for the reinstatement of the legal status of this university. This illustrates the significant blow that Ortega has dealt not only to Nicaragua’s education sector but to the entire region. In an interview, Miquel Cortés Bofil, Rector of Universidad Rafael Landivar mentioned to Broken Chalk ‘’Certainly the University is not a centre of terrorism, nor has it ever been. It is a study house where critical thinking and responsible and democratic citizenship are encouraged. Accusations of “terrorism” are unfounded.’’ Now, the defunct UCA has been renamed the National University Casimiro Sotelo Montenegro in honour of a leader of the Sandinista movement.

The most recent action against the university system occurred with the closure and expropriation of the INCAE campus in Nicaragua. This stirred indignation among professionals throughout the Latin American region, as this was the first campus of one of the most prestigious business schools in the region.iv The justification for its revocation, according to the government resolution, was a lack of transparency in its financial statements. The most deplorable aspect of these measures is that university representatives have been denied their right to a defence, as the challenges to the resolutions have been dismissed by the relevant judicial bodies, leaving them without access to an objective and impartial justice that can protect against such arbitrary actions.v A situation proper of a dictatorship where all institutions and bodies are co-opted.

The CNU, the Accomplice of the Ortega-Murillo Regime

These attacks on education and the academy have had key institutions and actors. In this case, it is important to mention the National Council of Universities (CNU) of Nicaragua as the institution that has facilitated these actions. Without key allies, these arbitrary actions against the country’s universities would not be possible. The CNU of Nicaragua is an entity responsible for the coordination and supervision of public universities in the country. It plays a significant role in the regulation and planning of higher education in Nicaragua. This institution is composed of the rectors of public universities. It is responsible for establishing educational policies, accrediting academic programs, and supervising the quality of education in public higher education institutions.

Currently, the CNU is presided over by Ramona Rodríguez, the rector of UNAN-Managua, who has been a key figure in the attack on the autonomy of Nicaraguan universities and is responsible for jeopardising higher education in the country. Rodríguez has been a loyal supporter of the Ortega regime and has been the public face justifying the closure of universities in the country.

An example of this is what was highlighted by the former authorities of UCA, who emphasised that since 2018, when the protests began, the CNU had begun to strangle the university by not extending certifications for its operation, excluding it as a member of the CNU, which meant it could not receive the corresponding budget allocation as established in the constitution.vi Furthermore, Rodríguez has publicly justified the closure of several universities on the grounds of financial transparency or not meeting minimum quality and infrastructure standards. In response to this, Adrián Meza, an exiled professor from the University Paulo Freire, stated to the media that “many of the universities that have been closed under these pretexts were in the middle of verification processes and were not granted the right to defend themselves”.vii

In addition, the CNU has implemented new policies following reforms approved by the legislative assembly to the General Education Law and the Law on Autonomy of Higher Education Institutions, centralising functions within the CNU and undermining university autonomy. Among the new powers granted to the CNU is the exclusive authority to open or close universities in the country, among others, turning it into a dangerous weapon against higher education.

Manifestation of students and alumni of public and private schools in Managua, Nicaragua. Photo by Jorge Mejía Peralta on Flickr.

Challenges for Students and Academics

University students and educators have viewed these actions with dismay, considering that the availability of higher education programs has diminished. Many students who were pursuing degrees at universities that have been closed have encountered difficulties in resuming their studies or obtaining their respective degrees due to a series of rigorous administrative requirements imposed by the CNU. Additionally, educators have faced limitations in job opportunities and academic freedom as their curricula are increasingly controlled. Furthermore, a significant number of university educators are now in exile following government persecution by being labelled as conspirators or traitors to the nation. The Interamerican Commission of Human Rights heavily condemned this situation in a press communication in which the actions were qualified as an “arbitrary interference towards academic freedom”.viii

In response to this series of abuses, some universities in the Central American region have taken action to provide support to students and faculty members in exile. The efforts of Jesuit universities such as the Rafael Landívar University in Guatemala and the José Simeón Cañas Central American University in El Salvador exemplify this. These institutions have led initiatives to enable students from the UCA to continue their studies. According to Landivar’s Rector Cortés ‘’Around 2,300 students have requested information from the UCA in El Salvador and the Rafael Landívar in Guatemala to continue their studies virtually. The two Central American universities have formed an inter-institutional commission, and we are responding to the students…’’

Nicaragua: A New Role Model for the Central American Region?

Nicaragua has become an example of antidemocratic standards in the Central American region due to the policies implemented against those considered opposition. Therefore, in light of the democratic crisis prevailing in the region, there is a significant fear that if the situation worsens in neighbouring countries, such actions that undermine higher education could become a popular measure. This is a reminder of the historical role of universities in Central America and the student movements that originate from their classrooms.

In this context, it is essential to remember the university martyrs who fought for freedom and democracy in Central America, often facing persecution and violence for their convictions in the darkest times of the region. Examples such as the assassination of Ignacio Ellacuría by the military in El Salvador or the persecution and murder of student leaders in Guatemala, such as Oliverio Castañeda, serve as stark reminders of the risks faced in universities when one is critical during a dictatorship.

Conclusion

Nicaragua has experienced a profound political and social crisis since 2018, marked by controversial elections, protests, and government repression under Daniel Ortega’s leadership. The situation has worsened with human rights violations, the closure of media outlets, and the persecution of opposition leaders. Furthermore, the role of the National Council of Universities (CNU), led by Ramona Rodríguez, has been instrumental in implementing policies that threaten university autonomy and restrict higher education. These actions have affected both students and educators, with numerous universities closed and a growing diaspora of academics. This situation not only poses a challenge for students and professors but also sets a dangerous precedent in the Central American region, where higher education and academic freedom are at risk. The situation in Nicaragua serves as a reminder of the importance of always defending higher education and human rights, especially during times of democratic crisis.

i Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (ICHR) (2023). Comunicado de prensa sobre la situación en Nicaragua. https://www.oas.org/es/CIDH/jsForm/?File=/es/cidh/prensa/comunicados/2023/201.asp

ii La Prensa. (2022). Régimen de Nicaragua ha cerrado 17 universidades privadas en los últimos 16 meses. https://www.laprensani.com/2023/05/02/nacionales/3140523-regimen-de-nicaragua-ha-cerrado-17-universidades-privadas-en-los-ultimos-16-meses

iii AUSJAL. (2023). Comunicado “Todos somos la UCA Nicaragua”. https://www.ausjal.org/comunicado-todos-somos-la-uca-nicaragua/

iv INCAE Business School. (2023). Sobre la cancelación de la personería jurídica de INCAE Business School en Nicaragua. https://www.incae.edu/es/blog/2023/09/26/sobre-la-cancelacion-de-la-personeria-juridica-de-incae-business-school-en-nicaragua

v Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (ICHR). (2021). Principios para la Libertad Académica. https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/principios_libertad_academica.pdf

vi Swissinfo. (2023). El gobierno de Nicaragua cierra 2 universidades privadas más y ordena decomisar sus bienes. https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/nicaragua-crisis_el-gobierno-de-nicaragua-cierra-2-universidades-privadas-m%C3%A1s-y-ordena-decomisar-sus-bienes/48697976

vii La Prensa. (2022). Régimen de Nicaragua ha cerrado 17 universidades privadas en los últimos 16 meses. https://www.laprensani.com/2023/05/02/nacionales/3140523-regimen-de-nicaragua-ha-cerrado-17-universidades-privadas-en-los-ultimos-16-meses

viii Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (ICHR) (2023). Comunicado de prensa sobre la situación en Nicaragua. https://www.oas.org/es/CIDH/jsForm/?File=/es/cidh/prensa/comunicados/2023/201.asp

References

بیان صحفي: المنظمة غیر الحكومیة بروكن تشاك تدعو إلى وقف فوري لإطلاق النار من قبل إسرائیل والمجتمع الدولي في أعقاب الأزمة الأخیرة في مستشفى الأھلي المعمداني

٨ أكتوبر٢٠٢٣

ي ٧ أكتوبر، شنت حماس ھج ًوما كبی ًرا على الأراضي الإسرائیلیة خلال مھرجان خارج الأسوار
المحیطة بقطاع غزة مباشرًة. وأسفر ھذا الحدث عن خسائر مأساویة في أرواح أكثر من ٢٥٠ مدنیا
إسرائیلیا، مع اختطاف واحتجاز كثیرین آخرین في الجیب. ردا على ذلك، بدأت إسرائیل صراعا
واسع النطاق مع حماس، مما أدى إلى غارات جویة على غزة وحصار حدودي شامل. كان للصراع
عواقب مدمرة، حیث نسبة الخسائر الفلسطینیة المقدرة بنحو ٣٠٠٠ ضحیة إلى الھجوم الأولي
لحماس، إلى جانب خسارة أكثر من ١٣٠٠ قتیل مدني إسرائیلي. وقد تسبب في أزمة إنسانیة
.مأساویة لأكثر من ٢ ملیون فلسطیني في المدینة الأكثر كثافة سكانیة في العالم
و بالتأمل في التكلفة البشریة، من المفجع أن نلاحظ أن أكثر من ١٠٠٠ طفل لقوا حتفھم في غزة
منذ بدایة الصراع، كما تقدر وزارة الصحة في غزة. نظ ًرا لأن نصف سكان غزة البالغ عددھم
١٨ ع ًاما, ویجب على الأمم المتحدة والمجتمع الدولي أن ٢.٣ ملیون نسمة تقل أعمارھم عن
یضاعف جھوده لتشجیع وقف فوري لإطلاق النار وأن یدقق النظر في التزام الجانبین بقواعد
القانون الدولي. دعا الأمین العام للأمم المتحدة أنطونیوغوتیریش إلى وقف فوري لإطلاق النار
الإنساني، مشی ًرا إلى أن ھجمات حماس لا یمكن أن تبرر العقاب الجماعي للشعب الفلسطیني
إن تحدیات المناقشات الجاریة مؤخرا والتي تشمل الولایات المتحدة والاتحاد الأوروبي وإسرائیل
ومصر تثیر قلقا عمیقا. الھدف الأساسي من ھذه المناقشات ھو تسھیل دخول المساعدات الإنسانیة
الحیویة من مصر إلى غزة من خلال فتح معبر رفح؛ للأسف، واجھت ھذه المفاوضات عقبات
كبیرة, كما استھدفت إسرائیل معبر رفح بضربات جویة في أربع مناسبات منذ بدایة الصراع في ٧
أكتوبر. علقت مئات الشاحنات الإنسانیة المصریة عند معبر رفح، حیث ضغطت الحكومة
المصریة على إسرائیل والولایات المتحدة لوقف إطلاق النار حتى تصل المساعدات الإنسانیة غیر
.المقیدة إلى العدید من الجرحى, النساء والأطفال
في ١٧ أكتوبر، ھز انفجار ھائل مستشفى الأھلي المعمداني في غزة، حیث كان الأطباء
والممرضات یرعون الفلسطینیین المصابین، بما في ذلك النساء والأطفال، ولا یزال فلسطینیون
آخرون یبحثون عن مأوى. أصبح ھذا الحادث مو ًقعا لأكبر عدد من القتلى في أي حدث واحد منذ
بدایة الصراع الحالي، مما أودى بحیاة ٥٠٠ شخص، كما ذكرت السلطات الصحیة الفلسطینیة.
یدعي كل من الفاعلین العسكریین الرئیسیین في الصراع، حماس وقوة الدفاع الإسرائیلیة، أن
ً عن الحادث
.الجانب الآخر كان مسؤولا
وبما أن ھذا الصراع قد تسبب في أزمة إنسانیة غیر مسبوقة، حیث بقي ما یقرب من ٢.٢ ملیون
فلسطیني بدون إمكانیة الوصول إلى المواد التمھیدیة مثل الغذاء والماء والكھرباء, بروكن تشاك
ترفع صوتھا للدعوة إلى اتخاذ إجراءات فوریة لوقف الانتھاكات الجسیمة المستمرة لحقوق الإنسان
لتحقیق الاستقرار داخل المنطقة وللبشریة جمیعا. ندعو الحكومة الإسرائیلیة والمجتمع الدولي إلى
وقف إطلاق النار على وجھ السرعة والسماح للمساعدات الإنسانیة بالمرور عبر حدود رفح بمصر،
وتوفیر العدید من النازحین والمتضررین الفلسطینیین. ندعو الحكومة الإسرائیلیة إلى الالتزام
الصارم بقواعد القانون الدولي المتعلقة بحمایة المستشفیات و الصحفیین والمدنیین. نحن نعتقد أنھ
من الضروري أن یمارس المجتمع الدولي المزید من التدقیق على حكومة إسرائیل لضمان احترام


حقوق الإنسان. ومن الملح أن ترفع إسرائیل الحصار عن غزة للسماح بوصول المیاه والغذاء
.والكھرباء والوقود إلى المستشفیات الفلسطینیة
.بروكن تشاك یعلن ذلك للجمھور مع الاحترام الواجب
موقعة من
بروكن تشاك

Taarifa kwa Vyombo vya Habari: Chaki Iliyovunjika (Broken Chalk) Inatoa Wito wa Kusitishwa Mara Moja kwa Mapigano ya Israeli na Jumuiya ya Kimataifa Kufuatia Mgogoro wa Hivi Punde katika Hospitali ya Al-Ahli Baptist

18 Ocktoba 2023

Tarehe ya 7 Oktoba, Hamas ilianzisha mashambulizi makubwa katika eneo la Israel wakati wa tamasha nje ya eneo jirani la ukanda wa Gaza. Tukio hili lilisababisha vifo vya zaidi ya raia 250 Waisraeli, huku wengine wengi wakitekwa nyara na kushikwa mateka katika eneo hilo. Kwa kujibu, Israel ilianzisha mzozo kamili dhidi ya Hamas, na kuanzisha mashambulizi ya anga huko Gaza na kuzingirwa kwa mpaka. Mzozo huu umekuwa na matokeo mabaya, huku takriban Wapalestina 3,000 wakipoteza maisha kutokana na shambulio la awali la Hamas, sambamba na kupoteza maisha ya zaidi ya raia 1,300 Waisraeli. Imesababisha mzozo mbaya wa kibinadamu kwa zaidi ya Wapalestina milioni 2 katika jiji lenye watu wengi zaidi ulimwenguni.

Tukitafakari juu ya gharama ya kibinadamu, inasikitisha kuona kwamba zaidi ya watoto 1,000 wamekufa huko Gaza tangu kuanza kwa vita, kama inavyokadiriwa na Wizara ya Afya ya Gaza. Kwa vile nusu ya wakazi milioni 2.3 wa Gaza wako chini ya umri wa miaka 18, Umoja wa Mataifa na jumuiya ya kimataifa lazima ziongeze juhudi zao ili kuhimiza usitishaji mapigano mara moja na kuzichunguza pande zote mbili juu ya ufuasi wao wa sheria za kimataifa. Katibu Mkuu wa Umoja wa Mataifa, Antonio Guterres, ametoa wito wa kusitishwa mara moja kwa mapigano ya kibinadamu, akisema kuwa, “Mashambulio ya Hamas hayawezi kuhalalisha adhabu ya pamoja ya watu wa Palestina.”

Changamoto za mijadala inayoendelea hivi majuzi inayohusisha Marekani, Umoja wa Ulaya, Israel, na Misri zinatia wasiwasi sana. Lengo la msingi la mijadala hii ni kuwezesha kuingia kwa misaada muhimu ya kibinadamu kutoka Misri hadi Gaza kwa kufungua kivuko cha Rafah; cha kusikitisha ni kwamba, mazungumzo haya yamekabiliwa na vikwazo vikubwa, kwani Israel imelenga kivuko cha Rafah kwa mashambulizi ya angani mara nne tangu kuanza kwa mzozo tarehe 7 Oktoba. Mamia ya malori ya kibinadamu ya Misri yamekwama kwenye kivuko cha Rafah, huku serikali ya Misri ikiishinikiza Israel na Marekani kusimamisha mapigano ili misaada ya kibinadamu isiyo na kikomo ifikie wanaume, wanawake, na watoto wengi waliojeruhiwa.

Mnamo tarehe 17 Oktoba, mlipuko mkubwa uliitikisa Hospitali ya Al-Ahli Baptist huko Gaza, ambapo madaktari na wauguzi walikuwa wakiwahudumia Wapalestina waliojeruhiwa, wakiwemo wanawake na watoto, na Wapalestina wengine ambao walikuwa wakitafuta makazi. Tukio hili limekuwa eneo la idadi kubwa zaidi ya vifo vya tukio lolote tangu kuanza kwa mzozo wa sasa, na kusababisha vifo vya watu 500, kama ilivyoripotiwa na mamlaka ya afya ya Palestina. Wahusika wakuu wa kijeshi katika mzozo huo, Hamas na Jeshi la Ulinzi la Israeli, wanadai kuwa upande mwingine ulihusika na tukio hilo.

Wakati mzozo huu umeleta mgogoro wa kibinadamu ambao haujawahi kushuhudiwa, huku takriban Wapalestina milioni 2.2 wakiachwa bila kupata huduma za utangulizi kama vile chakula, maji, na umeme, Chaki Iliyovunjika(Broken Chalk) inapaza sauti yake kutaka hatua za haraka zichukuliwe kukomesha ukiukaji wa haki za binadamu unaoendelea ili kuleta madhara. Utulivu ndani ya kanda na kwa wanadamu wote. Tunatoa wito kwa serikali ya Israel na jumuiya ka kimataifa kufanya haraka ili kusitisha mapigano na kuruhusu misaada ya kibinadamu kupita kwenye mpaka wa Rafah, kuwapatia Wapalestina wengi waliokimbia makazi yao na walioathirika. Tunatoa wito kwa serikali ya Israel kutii kikamilifu sheria za kimataifa kuhusu kulinda hospitali, waandishi wa habari na raia. Tunaamaini ya kwamba ni muhimu kwamba jumuiya ya kimataifa ifanye uchunguzi zaidi kwa serikali ya Israel ili kuhakikisha kuwa haki za binadamu zinazingatiwa. Ni dharura kwamba Israel iondoe mzingiro wa Gaza ili kuruhusu maji, chakula, umeme, na mafuta kufikia hospitali za Palestina.

Chaki Iliyovunjika (Broken Chalk) inatangaza kwa uma kwa heshima inayostahili.

Imetiwa sahihi na Chaki Iliyovunjika (Broken Chalk)

Chaki Iliyovunjika (Broken Chalk)

Translated by Lyndah Muthama from https://brokenchalk.org/press-release-broken-chalk-calls-on-the-immediate-ceasefire-by-israel-and-the-international-community-following-the-latest-crisis-at-al-ahli-baptist-hospital/

Communiqué de presse : Broken Chalk fait appel à Israël et à la Communauté Internationale pour un cessez-le-feu immédiat après la dernière crise à l’hôpital Al-Ahli.

18 Octobre 2023

Le 7 octobre, le Hamas a lancé une attaque importante sur le territoire israélien lors d’un festival qui se déroulait juste en dehors des murs de la bande de Gaza. Cette attaque a provoqué la mort tragique de plus de 250 civils israéliens, avec en complément des otages retenus prisonniers dans l’enclave de Gaza.  En réponse, Israël a amorcé un conflit total contre Hamas, à travers des raids aériens sur la bande de Gaza et un siège sans réserve à la frontière. Le conflit a eu des conséquences dévastatrices : environ 3 000 victimes palestiniennes et 1 300 victimes civiles israéliennes, ces dernières sont attribuées aux attaques effectuées par le Hamas. Cela a déclenché une crise humanitaire désastreuse pour plus de 2 millions de Palestiniens à Gaza, une des villes la plus densément peuplée au monde.

En analysant les pertes humaines, il est navrant de constater que plus de 1 000 enfants sont morts depuis le début de la guerre, selon les estimations du ministère de la Santé de Gaza. La moitié de la population de Gaza, composée de 2.3 millions d’habitants, est âgée de moins de 18 ans. Il est donc important que les Nations Unies et la communauté internationale redoublent d’efforts pour encourager un cessez-le-feu immédiat, et pour exiger le respect du droit international par les deux parties concernées. Le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, Monsieur Antonio Guterres a demandé un cessez-le-feu humanitaire immédiat, en déclarant que « Les attaques de Hamas ne peuvent pas justifier la punition collective du people Palestinien. »

Les discussions en cours impliquent les États-Unis, l’Union Européenne, Israël et l’Égypte, mais ces discussions s’avèrent difficiles. Le but principal de ces discussions est l’entrée d’aide humanitaire par l’Égypte dans le territoire de la bande de Gaza, à travers l’ouverture du passage de Rafah ; malheureusement, ces négociations sont très compliquées, car Israël a ciblé quatre fois le passage de Rafah avec des raids aériens depuis le début du conflit le 7 octobre.  Des centaines de camions humanitaires égyptiens sont bloqués au passage de Rafah, pendant que le gouvernement Égyptien fait pression sur Israël et les Etats-Unis pour qu’ils soutiennent un cessez-le-feu, de manière à ce que l’aide humanitaire puisse aider les enfants, femmes et hommes blessés.

Le 17 octobre, une lourde explosion a ébranlé l’hôpital Al-Ahili à Gaza où les médecins et les infirmiers venaient en aide aux Palestiniens blessés, parmi lesquels des femmes et des enfants, et où d’autres palestiniens se réfugiaient.  Cet incident est l’événement le plus meurtrier ayant  eu lieu depuis le début du conflit, car cette explosion a causé la mort de 500 victimes, selon les autorités palestiniennes de la Santé. Les acteurs militaires principaux du conflit, le Hamas et les forces de défense israéliennes, se rejettent la responsabilité de cette explosion.  Puisque ce conflit a entraîné une crise humanitaire sans précédent, avec environ 2.2 millions de Palestiniens privés de l’accès aux besoins essentiels comme la nourriture, l’eau et l’électricité, Broken Chalk lance un appel à une action immédiate afin d’arrêter immédiatement les multiples transgressions des droits de l’Homme en cours et pour apporter une stabilité dans cette région et dans le monde entier. Nous faisons appel au gouvernement israélien et à la communauté internationale pour soutenir de toute urgence un cessez-le-feu et pour permettre à l’aide humanitaire d’accéder au passage de Rafah, pour subvenir aux besoins essentiels de nombreux Palestiniens réfugiés et affectés dans la région Sud de Gaza. Nous demandons au gouvernement israélien de respecter rigoureusement les normes du droit international qui concernent la protection des hôpitaux, des journalistes et des civils. Nous pensons que la communauté internationale doit exercer un suivi plus rigoureux du gouvernement d’Israël pour assurer le respect des droits de l’Homme. Il est urgent qu’Israël lève le siège mis en place sur la bande de Gaza afin de permettre l’afflux d’eau, nourriture, électricité et combustibles aux hôpitaux Palestiniens.

Broken Chalk fait cette annonce au public concerné avec le respect qui leur est dû.  

Signé par

Broken Chalk.

Traduction en français par Eliana Riggi et Daphné Rein de l’article en anglais : https://brokenchalk.org/press-release-broken-chalk-calls-on-the-immediate-ceasefire-by-israel-and-the-international-community-following-the-latest-crisis-at-al-ahli-baptist-hospital/

新闻稿:在阿赫利浸信会医院发生最新危机后，Broken Chalk呼吁以色列和国际社会立即停火

18th October 2023

10月7日，在加沙地带围墙外的音乐节活动期间，哈马斯对以色列领土发动了重大袭击。这一事件造成250多名以色列平民悲惨丧生，还有许多人在聚集地被绑架和囚禁。作为回应，以色列发起了与哈马斯的全面冲突，导致对加沙的空袭和全面的边境包围。这场冲突造成了毁灭性的后果，估计有3000名巴勒斯坦人因哈马斯最初的袭击而伤亡，同时还有1300多名以色列平民丧生。它为世界上人口最稠密的城市的200多万巴勒斯坦人引发了一场悲惨的人道主义危机。

这场冲突的造成的人员伤亡不仅如此。令人痛心的是, 据加沙卫生部统计，自冲突以来，已经有超过1000名儿童死亡。由于加沙230万人口中有一半未满18岁，联合国和国际社会必须加倍努力，鼓励立即停火，并审查双方是否遵守国际法规则。联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯呼吁立即人道主义停火，称“哈马斯的袭击不能成为集体惩罚巴勒斯坦人民的理由。”

美国、欧盟、以色列和埃及最近正在进行的讨论所面临的挑战令人深感担忧。这些讨论的主要目标是通过开放拉法过境点，以便重要的人道主义援助从埃及进入加沙;令人遗憾的是，这些谈判面临重大障碍，因为自10月7日冲突开始以来，以色列已经四次对拉法过境点进行空袭。数百辆埃及人道主义卡车被困在拉法过境点，埃及政府向以色列和美国施压，要求停火，以便无限制的人道主义援助能够到达许多受伤的男人、女人和儿童手中。

10月17日，加沙的阿赫利浸信会医院发生了巨大的爆炸，当时医生和护士正在那里照顾受伤的巴勒斯坦人，包括妇女和儿童，以及其他仍在寻求庇护的巴勒斯坦人。据巴勒斯坦卫生当局报告，这一事件成为当前冲突开始以来任何单一事件中死亡人数最多的事件，造成500人死亡。冲突中的两个主要军事角色，哈马斯和以色列国防军，都声称对方应对这次事件负责。

由于这场冲突带来了前所未有的人道主义危机，近220万巴勒斯坦人无法获得食物、水和电等基本供应，Broken Chalk呼吁立即采取行动，制止持续的极端侵犯人权行为，不仅是为该地区，也是为全人类社会带来安定。我们呼吁以色列政府和国际社会紧急停火，允许人道主义援助通过拉法边境，为许多流离失所和受影响的巴勒斯坦人提供帮助。我们呼吁以色列政府严格遵守有关保护医院、记者和平民的国际法规则。我们认为，国际社会有必要对以色列政府进行更多的监督，以确保人权得到维护。以色列迫切需要解除对加沙的围困，以便让水、食品、电力和燃料进入巴勒斯坦的医院。

Broken Chalk 秉持着尊敬致全社会。

签署人

Broken Chalk

Translated by: Xinyu Huang from https://brokenchalk.org/press-release-broken-chalk-calls-on-the-immediate-ceasefire-by-israel-and-the-international-community-following-the-latest-crisis-at-al-ahli-baptist-hospital/

Comunicat de presă: Broken Chalk solicită încetarea imediată a focului din partea Israelului și a comunității internaționale în urma ultimei crize de la Spitalul Baptist Al-Ahli

18 Octombrie 2023

Pe 7 octombrie, Hamas a lansat un atac semnificativ asupra teritoriului israelian în timpul unui festival, chiar în afara zidurilor din jurul Fâșiei Gaza. Acest eveniment a dus la pierderea tragică a peste 250 de civili israelieni, iar mulți alții au fost răpiți și ținuți captivi în enclavă. Ca răspuns, Israelul a inițiat un conflict pe scară largă cu Hamas, care a dus la atacuri aeriene asupra Gazei și la un asediu amplu la graniță. Acest conflict a avut consecințe devastatoare, cu aproximativ 3.000 de victime palestiniene atribuite atacului inițial al Hamas, precum și   peste 1.300 de civili israelieni uciși. Drept consecință, s-a declanșat o criză umanitară tragică pentru peste 2 milioane de palestinieni în orașul cel mai dens populat din lume.

Reflectând asupra pierderilor de vieți umane, este sfâșietor să constatăm că peste 1.000 de copii au murit în Gaza de la începutul conflictului, după cum a estimat Ministerul Sănătății din Gaza. Având în vedere că jumătate din populația de 2,3 milioane din Gaza are sub 18 ani, Națiunile Unite și comunitatea internațională trebuie să își intensifice eforturile pentru a promova o încetare imediată a focului și pentru a asigura respectarea de către ambele părți a regulilor dreptului internațional. Secretarul general al ONU, Antonio Guterres a solicitat o încetare imediată a focului umanitar, afirmând că „atacurile Hamas nu pot justifica pedeapsa colectivă a poporului palestinian.”

Provocările discuțiilor recente în curs de desfășurare, care implică Statele Unite, Uniunea Europeană, Israel și Egipt, sunt profund îngrijorătoare. Scopul principal al acestor discuții este de a facilita intrarea ajutorului umanitar critic din Egipt în Gaza prin deschiderea trecerii Rafah. Din păcate, aceste negocieri s-au confruntat cu obstacole semnificative, deoarece Israelul a vizat trecerea Rafah cu lovituri aeriene de patru ori de la începutul conflictului din 7 octombrie. Sute de camioane umanitare egiptene sunt blocate la trecerea Rafah, iar guvernul egiptean face presiuni asupra Israelului și SUA să înceteze atacurile, astfel încât ajutorul umanitar nerestricționat să ajungă la numeroși bărbați, femei și copii răniți.

Pe 17 octombrie, o explozie masivă a zguduit Spitalul Baptist Al-Ahli din Gaza, unde medicii și asistentele aveau grijă de palestinieni răniți, inclusiv femei și copii, iar alți palestinieni căutau în continuare adăpost. Acest incident a devenit locul celui mai mare număr de decese din orice eveniment de la începutul conflictului actual, cu moartea a 500 de persoane, conform rapoartelor autorităților sanitare palestiniene. Ambii principali actori militari din conflict, Hamas și Forța de Apărare Israeliană, susțin că cealaltă parte este responsabilă pentru incident.

Datorită crizei umanitare fără precedent provocate de acest conflict, cu aproape 2,2 milioane de palestinieni care rămân fără acces la provizii de bază, cum ar fi hrană, apă și electricitate, Broken Chalk cere acțiuni imediate pentru a pune capăt încălcărilor extreme ale drepturilor omului și pentru a aduce stabilitate în regiune și pentru întreaga umanitate. Facem apel la guvernul israelian și comunitatea internațională să implementeze de urgență o încetare a focului și să permită ajutorului umanitar să treacă prin granița Rafah, asigurându-se că numeroși palestinieni strămutați și afectați primesc asistența necesară. Facem apel, de asemenea, la guvernul israelian să respecte cu strictețe regulile dreptului internațional privind protejarea spitalelor, jurnaliștilor și civililor. Considerăm că este necesar ca guvernul Israelului să fie mai bine monitorizat de către comunitatea internațională, pentru a se asigura respectarea drepturilor omului. Este urgent ca Israelul să înceteze asediul asupra Gazei pentru a permite apă, alimente, electricitate și combustibil să ajungă în spitalele palestiniene.

Broken Chalk aduce la cunoștință acest document publicului cu respectul cuvenit.

Semnat,

Broken Chalk