Education and Migration Policy Paper: Language, Education and Migration in the Context of Forced Displacement (Policy Brief Series, no 1)

A surge in global migration, spurred in part by conflict, emergency, and fragility, has elicited increased attention to the specific needs of migrant and refugee learners. The international community faces an urgent global challenge: more people are now displaced than since the end of the Second World War. Half of those displaced are under the age of 18. Further, while two-thirds of international migrants are in high-income countries, 85% of those displaced by conflict and natural disaster now live in low-income countries. Forced displacement creates particular vulnerabilities, including access to education free from discrimination. Meeting Sustainable Development Goal 4 by 2030 demands that all children, youth, and adults receive an inclusive and equitable quality education. Education is a right that plays a critical role in advancing both sustainable development and peace. Yet refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers encounter numerous barriers to an inclusive andequitable quality education in host countries worldwide.