A/68/267 1. Military use of schools and its impact on education 15. Schools remain at the heart of armed conflict in many countries around the world. The use of schools for military purposes by armed forces and groups continues to put schoolchildren at risk of attack and hampers children’s access to education. Schools are often being used as military barracks, weapon storage areas, command centres, detention and interrogation sites, firing and observation positions and training grounds for combatants, as well as serving as recruiting grounds for children. This practice not only results in reduced enrolment, high dropout rates and overcrowding of schools, but also changes the civilian nature of schools and may lead to the perception of schools as legitimate targets for attack. Even when children are evacuated from schools used by military forces, their right to an education under international human rights law is compromised. In some situations, as a direct result of the military use of schools, children have been injured or killed and schools have been damaged or destroyed in targeted attacks and by the indiscriminate use of weapons. 16. International humanitarian law prohibits armed forces and groups from using schools while children and teachers are using them for educational purposes. Parties to conflict are urged to fully comply with this obligation and not to use schools for any purpose in support of their military efforts. They are called upon to urgently take all precautionary measures not to endanger civilians and civilian objects in the vicinity of military targets and to exercise caution, especially when indentifying military targets among buildings that are normally dedicated to civilian purposes. 2. Detention of children associated with armed forces and groups 17. In many countries children are arrested and detained without due process or legal safeguards, including under antiterrorism laws, either because they are perceived as a threat to national security or for acts allegedly committed while associated with armed groups. Children are also captured in the course of military operations and held in formal or informal detention facilities without any legal basis, sometimes incommunicado and for prolonged periods of time. 18. Furthermore, children detained by security forces are often held in poor conditions, in blatant disregard of basic human rights and minimum standards applicable to any person in captivity. When deprived of their liberty, children are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses, including sexual violence. Parties to the conflict are urged to recognize children associated with armed forces and groups primarily as victims, and in all circumstances children should be treated in accordance with international norms and standards in the area of juvenile justice. 3. Impact on children of the use of drones in military operations 19. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas has been shown to result in a pattern of harm affecting children and their families. In recent years, United Nations actors have noted with concern how evolving technologies and tactics reflecting the changing nature of armed conflict pose a threat to children. Over the past decade, reports of child casualties in the course of military operations by armed unmanned aerial vehicles, referred to as drones, have multiplied. While precise information is not available on the number and circumstances of these incidents, such reports indicate that drones have had a significant impact on children. 4/18 13-41862