International Day to Protect Education from Attack Observed on 9 September 2026

Key facts

• International Day to Protect Education from Attack is observed annually on 9 September, falling on a Wednesday in 2026.
• The day was established by UN General Assembly Resolution 74/275 in 2020, at the urging of Qatar and its Education Above All Foundation, and coincided with the fifth anniversary of the Safe Schools Declaration led by Norway and Argentina.
• All member states present backed Resolution 74/275 unanimously when it was adopted.
• The UN Security Council followed with Resolution 2601 in 2021, condemning attacks on schools and calling on parties to armed conflict to spare education.
• Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chair of Education Above All, pushed the issue for years before the resolution passed.
• The Education Cannot Wait Fund, created in 2016, routes emergency money toward classrooms in active crises.
• UNESCO and UNICEF co-facilitate the day each year.
• The first observance was paired with the UniteToProtect campaign run by Education Above All with UNICEF and UNESCO.
• The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack has published its Education under Attack report series since 2007.
• The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack has tracked thousands of incidents affecting tens of thousands of students and staff across dozens of countries.
• Afghanistan, Chad, Ethiopia, Syria, Yemen, and parts of the Sahel appear repeatedly in reports on attacks on education.
• Nigeria announced plans to host the Fourth International Conference on Safe Schools in 2021, becoming the first African nation to do so.
• The UN Secretary-General's 2024 report on children and armed conflict recorded a 21 percent jump in grave violations against children compared with the previous year.