Right to Education Handbook
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Right education handbook to Right to education handbook UNESCO Education Sector The Global Education 2030 Agenda Education is UNESCO’s top priority because UNESCO, as the United Nations’ specialized it is a basic human right and the foundation agency for education, is entrusted to lead on which to build peace and drive sustainable and coordinate the Education 2030 Agenda, development. UNESCO is the United Nations’ which is part of a global movement to eradicate specialized agency for education and poverty through 17 Sustainable Development the Education Sector provides global and Goals by 2030. Education, essential to achieve regional leadership in education, strengthens all of these goals, has its own dedicated Goal 4, national education systems and responds which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable to contemporary global challenges through quality education and promote lifelong learning education with a special focus on gender opportunities for all.” The Education 2030 equality and Africa. Framework for Action provides guidance for the implementation of this ambitious goal and commitments. Published in 2019 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France and Right to Education Initiative, c/o ActionAid International 33-39 Bowling Green Lane, EC1R OBJ London, United Kingdom © UNESCO and Right to Education Initiative, 2019 ISBN 978-92-3-100305-9 Revised This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO and Right to Education Initiative concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO or Right to Education Initiative and do not commit the Organizations. Cover design: Aurélia Mazoyer Cover credits: Shtyrov Dmitry/Shutterstock.com; Dietmar Temps/Shutterstock.com; Travel Stock/Shutterstock.com; Fresnel/ Shutterstock.com; StevenK/Shutterstock.com; Filipe Frazao/Shutterstock.com; © Bart Verweij/World Bank; © UNESCO/ IIDAC; © UNESCO/Noam Assouline; Van Thanh Chuong/Shutterstock.com; Blend Images/Shutterstock.com; Riccardo Mayer/ Shutterstock.com. Inside Figures designed by Aurélia Mazoyer: Figure 1.1; Figure 1.2; Figure 3.1; Figure 3.2; Figure 4.1; Figure 4.2; Figure 6.1; Figure 7.1; Figure 8.1; Figure 8.2. Designed by Aurélia Mazoyer and UNESCO Printed by UNESCO Printed in France 1474_19 Right to education handbook 3 Foreword Education is a basic human right and the best investment that we can make to ensure a sustainable future and leave no one behind. This is true for every country and every region. However, millions are deprived of educational opportunities every day, many as a result of social, cultural and economic factors. This handbook represents a landmark for overcoming these barriers and making the right to education a reality. It has been developed by UNESCO and the Right to Education Initiative (RTE), and serves as a definitive reference point for those seeking to understand and advance that right. For more than 70 years, UNESCO has been defending and advancing the right to education, which lies at the heart of its mandate. This has involved raising awareness on the main principles of the right, advocating for and monitoring the application of legal obligations under the 1960 Convention against Discrimination in Education, and providing support to guarantee its implementation and enforcement in national systems. The Right to Education Initiative (RTE) is a global human rights organization focused exclusively on the right to education, established by the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education. Since 2000, it has been endeavouring to promote education as a human right, by conducting research and developing tools to help people understand and effectively use mechanisms to claim and enforce this human right. Today, the right to education is also at the heart of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which testifies to its fundamental importance. Yet, despite the consensus in human rights instruments and political commitments, we still have a long way to go to fully realize it. UNESCO’s Strategy on Standard-setting Instruments (2016 – 2021) encourages Member States to use normative action on the right to education to achieve SDG 4. This handbook is a central part of delivering on that Strategy. It provides a comprehensive overview of all major aspects of the right to education, tools for understanding this right as an enabler for the enjoyment of other rights as well as implementation strategies and practical insights. The period between now and 2030 is crucial for delivering on the right to education, and there is no time like the present to step up our efforts. Indeed, without major progress on education, it is clear that the world will not be able to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals. We trust that this handbook will provide guidance for all those who share our conviction that education has the power to transform the world for the better. Stefania Giannini David Archer Assistant Director-General Chairperson of the Right to Education for Education, UNESCO Initiative Executive Board Acknowledgements The Right to education handbook was produced by the Education Sector of UNESCO in Paris. It is the result of a fruitful collaboration between UNESCO and the Right to Education Initiative (RTE), a global human rights organization focusing on the right to education. The handbook was prepared by Rolla Moumné, who led and coordinated the process, Erica Murphy, who authored the manuscript, as well as Sharlene Bianchi, Melen Bouetard, Delphine Dorsi, Viv Griffiths and Sarah Thau, who all contributed to the drafting process. It was prepared under the guidance of Francesc Pedró (Chief, Section of Education Policy of UNESCO). The publication also received valuable insights and feedback from: Hamdi Addow (UNESCO), Clive Baldwin (HRW), Christian Courtis (OHCHR), Francesca Feruglio (ESCR-Net), Karina Gomes da Silva (UNESCO), Keith Holmes (UNESCO), Priyadarshani Joshi (UNESCO GEM), Camille Lailheugue (UNESCO), Oliver Lang (ILO), Florence Migeon (UNESCO), Jun Morohashi (UNESCO Bangkok), Carol Rask (Danish Institute for Human Rights), Sergio Rozalén (RTE), Delphine Santini (ILO), Susie Talbot (ESCR-Net), Konstantinos Tararas (UNESCO), Bret Thiele (GIESCR) and Carlos Vargas-Tamez (UNESCO Santiago). Special thanks to David Archer (ActionAid) for his support and guidance and to Mary de Sousa for copy- editing. Table of contents Table of contents Foreword . 4 Acknowledgements . 5 List of boxes, figures and tables . 10 Abbreviations and acronyms . 14 Introduction . 17 Chapter 1: Education as a human right . 21 Key questions .............................................................................................22 1.1 What is education? ....................................................................................23 1.2 What are human rights? . .24 1.3 The human right to education .........................................................................28 1.4 Why states should implement the right to education ...................................................29 1.4.a The benefits of education to the individual ..................................................31 1.4.b The benefits of education beyond the individual ............................................35 1.4.c The right to education as a blueprint for action ..............................................37 1.5 Common criticisms of human rights ....................................................................38 Summary .................................................................................................44 Ask yourself ..............................................................................................44 Chapter 2: International legal recognition of the right to education . 45 Key questions .............................................................................................46 2.1 The right to education in international law .............................................................47 2.2 International human rights instruments ................................................................51 2.2.a United Nations core human rights treaties ..................................................51 2.2.a.i United Nations: Declarations ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������57 2.2.b UNESCO normative instruments ............................................................57 2.2.c International labour law ....................................................................60 2.2.d International refugee law ...................................................................61 2.2.e International humanitarian law .............................................................63 2.2.f International criminal law ...................................................................64 2.3 The right