A/66/269 submitted in 2008 by his predecessor (A/HRC/8/10) in order to identify gaps and remaining challenges in ensuring the right to education in emergency situations. 57. In the 2008 report, emergencies were defined as any crisis situations due to natural disasters, or to armed conflict, which may be international (including military occupation) or internal, as defined in international humanitarian law, or post-conflict situations. It was pointed out in the report that, besides being a widely recognized State obligation, ensuring adequate education was indispensable for preventing emergencies and ensuring success in peacebuilding and recovery efforts. It was underlined, however, that education was frequently found to be interrupted, delayed or even denied during emergencies and in the reconstruction process. In the report a number of recommendations were presented to States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations for better protecting education and ensuring its inclusion as an integral part of the humanitarian response to conflicts and natural disasters. 58. The current update is divided into six sections reflecting the content and core recommendations of resolution 64/290. Each section provides an indication of remaining challenges in the promotion of education in emergencies, and progress made in the past three years. The first section focuses on the recommendation for increasing political and financial support to education in emergencies. The second section addresses the recommendation to better protect schools from attacks and to ensure accountability. The third section addresses the recommendation to better prepare education systems for situations of natural disaster. The fourth section addresses the recommendation that attention be given to the specific needs of girls and other marginalized groups. The fifth section focuses on the recommendation to ensure quality education in emergencies. The sixth section is dedicated to the need for improving the collection of data on education in emergencies. 59. The preparation of the present update benefited from an extensive submission prepared through a collaborative consultative process led by a group of international and non-governmental organizations with expertise on education in emergencies. 37 The Special Rapporteur expresses his gratitude to all those who compiled or shared information for the preparation of the update. A. Ensuring political and financial support to education in emergencies 60. Millions of persons continue to be deprived of their right to education in emergencies. Enhanced political attention and sustainable financial support are essential to safeguard this fundamental right. Lack of sufficient attention to education in emergencies continues to affect prospects for achieving both the Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All (EFA) goals. The EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2011 underlines that around 28 million children of primary school age in conflict-affected countries are estimated to be currently out of school. This represents 42 per cent of the total number of children in the world who __________________ 37 14 Education Above All, the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, the Right to Education Project/ActionAid International, Save the Children International and the United Nations Children’s Fund co-signed the submission. 11-44589