By Eleanor , 22 July 2021

Amidst COVID-19, UN Human Rights Council reaffirms recognition of the Abidjan Principles and calls for joint action between UN and GPE

Public statement, 16 July 2021 

On July 16 2021, Right to Education Initiative and 24 civil society organisation partners co-signed a public statement welcoming the Human Rights Council’s resolution on the right to education. The resolution was adopted by consensus on Monday July 12 2021, sponsored by 54 States. Through this resolution, the Human Rights Council reaffirms its recognition of the Abidjan Principles on the right to education and urges States to act against commercialisation of education, requesting the UN to work with the Global Partnership for Education to implement it. 

This resolution is the second to be adopted by the Human Rights Council which recognises the Abidjan Principles, after a previous resolution in 2019. It adds to the similar recognition by all major global and regional human rights institutions and mandate-holders working on the right to education.

Crucially, the 2021 resolution of the Human Rights Council also encourages “the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to collaborate with relevant United Nations agencies, including UNESCO, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and civil society organizations to provide technical support to States to realize the right to education in the COVID-19 and post-COVID context”.

Read the full statement in English, French and Spanish.

By Eleanor , 15 July 2021

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child finds that Spain violated the right to education of a Moroccan child denied entry to public school

On June 14, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) found that Spain violated the right to education of an eight-year old Moroccan boy in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, for not taking the appropriate and timely action to confirm his residency in territory, and for not immediately admitting him to public school after his residency was confirmed.

 

By Eleanor , 1 July 2021

Grounded: the impact of Covid-19 on academic exchanges

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A major innovation brought about by globalization within higher education is the increase in academic mobility. Every year, millions of students cross borders to access higher education, or to discover a new way of learning. This experience full of autonomy and novelty pushes their self-development and opens doors to other cultures.

By Eleanor , 30 June 2021

Strengthen the legal framework at national and international level for universal access to quality and inclusive ECCE, urge participants at RTE’s CIES Conference panel

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One out of two children do not receive pre-school education. This situation has worsened due to the mass closure of preschools education due to the COVID 19 pandemic, affecting more than 155 million pre-school age children. But, in many countries the education response strategy to COVID 19 relatively neglected early childhood care and education (ECCE).

By Eleanor , 23 June 2021

What happens when the ‘best years of your life’ are actually the hardest? The particular challenges faced by first-year university students during the pandemic

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While the Covid-19 pandemic has raised many difficulties for all students in terms of access to higher education online, coping with mental health issues, and escaping economic precarity, those in their first year face particular obstacles. Indeed, this group has faced exacerbated challenges.