At its last meeting, on 3 September 2020, RTE’s Executive Board appointed three new trustees who bring additional expertise on fundraising and human resources:

• Dina Hashem, Associate Director for Global Partnerships at Habitat for Humanity International 

• Bharti Patel, Child Rights and Social Justice Advocate 

On 18 September 2020, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities  (CRPD) found that Spain violated the right to inclusive education of a child with Down’s Syndrome by excluding him from the mainstream education system and sending him, against the will of his parents, to a special school for children with disabilities. 

A remarkable 190 organisations, including the Right to Education Initiative, have signed up to a bold Call to Action on domestic financing of education post-Covid. Faced with the threat of major cuts to education spending in developing countries, this call to action offers an alternative path.

RTE, together with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Global Initiative on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), held webinars on 24 and 31 July 2020.

The discussions explored The Guiding Principles on the Human Rights Obligations of States to provide public education and to regulate private involvement in education (Abidjan Principles) and their application in the context of covid-19.

Before covid-19, the educational finance gaps and inequalities in learning opportunities were already visible, and the pandemic has only exacerbated these issues.

On the 20th of July, RTE participated in a virtual launch for the 2nd edition of Protecting Education in Insecurity and Armed Conflict: an International Law Handbook organised by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL).