During 2022 and 2023, attacks on schools in Mozambique decreased significantly, according to a recent report. However, there has been a troubling rise in the military use of schools during this period.
The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), in collaboration with Human Rights Watch, documented at least six incidents where Mozambican schools were damaged or destroyed due to armed violence. This marks a decline from previous years when over 220 schools were attacked by non-state armed groups, employing tactics like arson, gunfire, and explosives.
The report also highlights a disturbing trend: GCPEA recorded 12 instances of schools being used for military purposes in 2022 and 2023, compared to none in earlier periods. Mozambique’s armed forces were primarily responsible for this military use, though one case involved forces from the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM). Such actions not only restrict students’ access to education but also expose them to heightened risks of attack.
Human Rights Watch has extensively documented attacks by Islamist armed groups in northern Mozambique since 2017, including the abduction of women and girls and the recruitment of boys as child soldiers. Government security forces have also been implicated in severe human rights violations.
Despite Mozambique endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration in 2015—a commitment to safeguard students, teachers, and schools from attack—the ongoing violence in northern regions underscores that schools remain unsafe for many communities.
All parties involved in the Mozambican conflict must immediately cease targeting education and ensure schools are protected from military use. Mozambican authorities should enforce these protections, ensuring schools are places of learning and not military installations.
