Washington D.C., February 26, 2018 --- It is with utmost concern that I learned about the abduction of school girls from the Bursari Government Girls Science Secondary School in Dapchi, Yobe state in northeast Nigeria by the terrorist group Boko Haram.

While the exact number of missing girls has not yet been confirmed, media report that more than 100 girls are missing. This is the second such horrific attack after the abduction of more than 250 girls in 2014.

These acts of violence are deplorable and to be condemned in the strongest terms. An attack on education is an attack on a human right. It is our obligation to ensure that schools are safe places – for students and teachers.

This outrage must strengthen our determination to ensure that all the world’s children – especially girls – get the quality education they deserve and need to thrive. We demand the perpetrators immediately release the girls. We call on the Nigerian Government to do their utmost to find the girls. 

My thoughts and heartfelt feelings are with the families of these girls and I hope they will soon be able to embrace their daughters back home. We also remember the more than 250 Chibok girls who were abducted by Boko Haram four years ago, many of whom have not yet returned.

We must unite to end violence against children everywhere and protect their right to an education.