The Children of ‘Crimean Spring’ and the Right to Education under Belligerent Occupation

Abstract: Education is one of the key components in developing identity, personality and a sense of belonging in the time of peace. But when weaponized by the states as a tool of indoctrination, education becomes a highly effective instrument of war, contrary to the relevant rules prescribed by the international humanitarian and international human rights law. This weaponization of education was widely employed by the totalitarian regimes of the XXth century and is currently reinvented by the Russian Federation, which instills its “military-patriotic education” within the territory of the occupied Crimea. This thesis aims to fill a gap in the research on scope and implementation of the right to education in light of the military indoctrination techniques employed by the Occupying Powers towards civilian populations of occupied territories. The case study of the Russian Federation’s ongoing occupation of the Crimean Peninsula with its “military-patriotic” education instilled within local institutions is used to analyze the relevant provisions of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The main argument is built on three constitutive elements: 1) that the Crimean Peninsula is currently under belligerent occupation of the Russian Federation which exercises effective control over the peninsula; 2) consequently, the law of occupation (as a lex specialis) is applicable on its territory, together with international human rights law; the latter functions as an interpretative tool to help elucidate the specific scope of obligations of the Occupying Power towards civilian population of the Crimea, including the right to education; 3) therefore, Russia’s obligations as an Occupying Power include but are not limited to providing education consistent with the aims prescribed by the ICESCR; to ensure education consistent with the parents’ religious and philosophical convictions; and to refrain from pursuing indoctrination as a part of obligations under the right to freedom of thought and conscience. This analysis concludes that actions of an Occupying Power (such as in the Crimean example) that alter the curricular to instill military-patriotic indoctrination in the educational institutions of the occupied territory, are contrary to international law and require an effective and prompt response. The right to be free from military indoctrination goes beyond respecting parents’ convictions or general considerations of the aims of education. Above all, education is integral to child’s overall development as a free and independent individual in terms of the freedom of thought and conscience. Education must not be weaponized by an Occupying Power in an attempt to mentally ‘legitimize’ the occupation, as it is absolutely prohibited both by international humanitarian and human rights law to pursuing the aim of indoctrination to form allegiance to the objectives of the Occupying Power.