Higher education is part of the right to education, protected under international human rights law. This means that states have the obligation to protect respect and fulfil the right to higher education and that there are ways to hold them accountable for violations or deprivations of this right.

International Women’s Day is rightly a day of celebration of the achievements of women. Across the globe, women are changing their environments, breaking boundaries and providing inspiration to future generations. 

Whilst we must take time to celebrate these leaps forward, it is equally essential not to lose focus of the origins of the day, which reside in multiple national battles for rights.

IIEP-UNESCO has published ‘Planning to Fulfil the Right to Education: methodological guidelines and a toolkit’, a document whose purpose is to support national administrations in weighing and costing policy options and cross-checking them against the most appropriate benchmarks.

In February, ten civil society organisations including RTE presented a joint submission to the CESCR, in light of its upcoming review of the United Kingdom’s compliance with its human rights obligations as regards economic, social and cultural rights.     

Today marks the fifth International Day of Education, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.

During the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (WCECCE), held between 14-16 November in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, delegates drafted and approved the Tashkent Declaration and Commitments to Action for Transforming Early Childhood Care and Education. 

To mark international human rights day on 10 December, the Right to Education Initiative (RTE) participated in an UNESCO webinar on ‘Transforming education through human rights’.