Marking the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it was important to defend “havens of education”.

“Education is not only a fundamental human right, but a pathway to a better future for every person, and a more peaceful, understanding world,” he underscored. 

He voiced a startling truth: around the globe 224 million children and young people are in urgent need of educational support – including 72 million who are out-of-school altogether – because of crises such as armed conflict.

Attacks double

According to a comprehensive report on children and armed conflicts published by the UN chief earlier this year, from January to December 2022, there was a 112 per cent rise in attacks targeting schools and hospitals, with hotspots identified in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Israel, Palestine, Myanmar and Mali. 

In Afghanistan, for example, the UN verified a total of 95 attacks on civilian targets, including 72 on schools. 

The report attributed 50 per cent of grave violations to non-State armed groups. The other half involved government forces, who were primarily responsible for the gravest offenses, including the killing and maiming of children, relentless assaults on schools and hospitals, and obstructing humanitarian access.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday that by the end of 2022, the total number of school-aged refugees globally jumped nearly 50 per cent from 10 million in 2021 to 14.8 million, driven mostly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Disrupted learning

As put by Mr. Guterres, “attacks on students, teachers, educational personnel and schools are becoming all too common, cruelly disrupting young learners’ education and inflicting untold psychological and physical damage that can last a lifetime.”

One of the clear signs of the education deficit is the startling statistic that 763 million people around the world – adults and youngsters – lack even basic literacy skills.

‘Havens of safety and learning’

The Secretary-General urged all countries to ensure the protection of schools, children and teachers at all times, through measures such as the Safe Schools Declaration and the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

Through joint efforts, Mr. Guterres believes, schools can become “havens of safety and learning for every child, no matter where they live”.

OHCHR said that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia may be held in situations where they are forced to execute lucrative online scams – from illegal gambling to crypto fraud.

Other States including Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand have also been identified as main countries of destination or transit.

Victims, not criminals

“People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while being forced to carry out crimes,” said UN rights chief Volker Türk. “They are victims. They are not criminals,” he insisted.

The latest OHCHR report sheds new light on cybercrime scams that have become a major issue in Asia, with many workers trapped and forced to participate in scams targeting people over the internet.

The report notes workers face a range of serious human rights violations, and many have been subjected to abuses such as torture, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and forced labour.

Victims of such operations can be scammed an average of $160,000 each, often through sophisticated scripts sent via unregulated social media applications.

According OHCHR, these victims come from across the ASEAN region as well as mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, South Asia and even further afield from Africa and Latin America.

Mr. Türk called on States to ensure justice “for the people who have been so horrifically abused.” 

Noticeable trends

Speaking in Geneva, Pia Oberoi, OHCHR’s Senior Advisor on Migration and Human Rights in Asia Pacific, said ongoing regional “economic distress” paired with the COVID-19 pandemic has meant there is a lack of regular and safe pathways towards decent work opportunities.

“This has meant populations are more likely to rely on recruitment forums or intermediaries,” so criminal gangs are increasingly targeting individuals through these platforms, suggesting victims are destined for real jobs.

“There weren’t red flags being raised” – particularly for the more educated, multilingual young men who the report notes are frequent victims.

“It follows a pattern of how labour migration has taken place in the region, and also speaks to the sophistication of these fraudulent recruitments,” added Ms. Oberoi.

Weak regulations

According to OHCHR, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated response measures had a drastic impact on illicit activities across the region – with increased virtual work and the movement of business to less regulated spaces. 

Ms. Oberoi said the situation is “unfolding in locations where regulation is weak,” such as conflict affected border areas in Myanmar, “with little to no rule of law” and in “laxly regulated jurisdictions such as special economic zones in Laos PDR and Cambodia.” 

Describing the trends across the region, she added that the ability of ASEAN nationals to travel across borders without a visa, also means there is a “lack of protection sensitive screening”, as officials don’t always have the training to “identify protection sensitive responses.”

Justice for victims

Although there are several regional legal frameworks to prosecute such crimes, OHCHR said there is a lack of implementation by States and often forced criminality is not seen as a legal violation.   

Even when victims are rescued or escape, rather than being protected and given access to the rehabilitation and remedy they need, they are often subjected to criminal prosecution or immigration penalties, OHCHR said. 

“All affected States need to summon the political will to strengthen human rights and improve governance and the rule of law, including through serious and sustained efforts to tackle corruption,” said Mr. Türk.

“Only such a holistic approach can break the cycle of impunity and ensure protection and justice for the people who have been so horrifically abused.”

As of the end of 2022, close to 2,900 people were still being held under the scheme.

Unresolved legacy

Between 2005 and 2012, English and Welsh courts used the IPP legislation to issue indeterminate sentences to those deemed likely to cause serious public harm, “until they no longer represented such a risk”, said a press release issued by the UN human rights office OHCHR on behalf of the UN torture expert, Alice Jill Edwards. 

These sentences were mandatory for more than 50 specified serious crimes initially, leading to a larger than expected number being incarcerated – a total of 8,711.

Crucially, the cancellation of the scheme after 2012 was not retrospective.

“The Government must step up its efforts to ensure rehabilitation opportunities for all those affected, as well as access to adequate and appropriate reparations,” said Ms. Edwards, officially known as the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Disturbing suicide rate

A recent parliamentary report on the nearly 3,000 prisoners who remain under the scheme, brought attention to the significant psychological distress experienced by these inmates.

This includes elevated instances of self-inflicted harm, thoughts of suicide, efforts at self-harm, and tragic instances of suicide.

‘Cruel, inhuman and degrading’

“The distress, depression and anxiety caused by this scheme is severe for prisoners and their families,” Mrs. Edwards said.

Moreover, IPP prisoners are reportedly about 2.5 times more susceptible to self-harm than the general prison population, with Government data from 2021 revealing 65 cases of suicide among IPP prisoners.

“For many, these sentences have become cruel, inhuman and degrading. They have been acknowledged by successive UK governments and even described as indefensible by a justice minister – yet they persist,” she said. 

Call for change

Having communicated with the Government and other experts, Mrs. Edward underscored that the programme violates essential principles of fair justice and the rule of law, and individuals reintegrated into society under IPP can be re-incarcerated at any point. 

Mrs. Edwards conveyed her concerns over a lack of funds for effectively overseeing IPP prisoners, which has led to restricted entry to essential rehabilitation initiatives.

Furthermore, she highlighted the concept that indeterminate sentences should be employed sparingly and preserved for only the gravest crimes.

‘Mess’ of a system

Without safeguards, “we are left with the mess that is the UK’s IPP system, where people are held without being able to prove that they deserve to be released. It is therefore not surprising that many IPP prisoners are in a much worse mental state than at the time they were sentenced,” she said.

Special Rapporteurs and UN Human Rights Council-appointed independent experts who serve on Working Groups are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation. They serve in their individual capacity and receive no salary for their work.