Children cannot wait for education while we debate the difficulties and the details. Peace begins in the minds of children, and it must begin today.

 In a rare joint statement, more than thirty winners of the Nobel Peace Prize today called for urgent action to implement quality education and build peace in conflict-affected countries.

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including President Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, urged world leaders to pay more attention to the educational needs of more the 37 million children who live in fragile states and are unable to go to school.

The letter comes at a time when millions of children continue to be denied an education because of war. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, even before the recent fighting every second child did not have access to education. Without adequate protection from the escalating conflict in recent weeks, even more children have been forced to flee their schools. Some schools have even been targeted to recruit schoolchildren as child soldiers.

The Nobel Laureates have come together to call for change, as part of the Save the Children campaign Rewrite the Future which fights for education for all children affected by conflict. In March 2008 Save the Children launched a global debate on the links between education and peace.

Read the joint letter signed by the Nobel Peace Prize winner

Watch the video interview with Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1976