CRUE condemns violence against educational institutions and civil society and reaffirms its rejection of war

In this context, CRUE condemns the attack carried out on 12 March by Israel against the Faculty of Sciences of the Lebanese University, a public institution in Beirut located in the Hadath neighbourhood, which caused the death of Dean Hussein Bazzi and Professor Murtada Srour. The Conference expresses its solidarity with the Lebanese university community and the families, colleagues and students of the victims. The loss of two members of the academic community is a profound blow to the university and to the education system as a whole.

Similarly, the bombing of a girls' school in Iran is a fact that demonstrates the seriousness of attacks against educational institutions and the impact of armed conflicts on human rights, the right to education and the security of educational communities.

Attacking schools, universities or research centres, as well as those who carry out their work in them, is incompatible with the principles of international law and with the norms that protect the civilian population and spaces dedicated to education and knowledge. These places must be preserved as safe spaces for encounter, dialogue and cooperation between peoples.

CRUE reiterates its firm rejection of war and any form of violence. Universities and educational centres must continue to be spaces of knowledge, freedom and coexistence, never places of violence.