Reports

The SMM has been monitoring the ability of children on both sides of the contact line in Donetsk and Luhansk regions to attend classes and enjoy a safe and secure school environment since 2015.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked unprecedented havoc on children, families and communities around the globe, disrupting vital services and putting millions of lives at risk. Since March, attempts to avert the global health crisis have seen nationwide school closures in 194 countries.

In this report, the Special Rapporteur commends the efforts made by Governments, who were under harsh pressure, to preserve human lives while facing scientific uncertainties. 

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur considers ways in which the right to education contributes to the prevention of atrocity crimes and mass or grave human rights violations. Stressing that education has a key role to play at all stages of prevention, the Special Rapporteur underlines the particularly forceful preventive potential of the right to education in the very early stages, before warning signs are apparent. That role is to be linked with the aims of education and the right to inclusive and equitable quality education, as established in international instruments.

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur reviews the situation of refugees with regard to the right to education, in particular in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Reports on the broader issue of education in emergencies were presented to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/8/10) and the General Assembly (A/66/269) by previous incumbents. The Special Rapporteur considers that it is relevant to follow-up on the issue in today’s context.

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur examines how the right to education, and the commitments made under the Sustainable Development Goals, provide guidance for governance in national education systems. She considers how the right to education should be mainstreamed into education governance. Governance in this context can be thought to include the laws, policies, institutions, administrative procedures and practices, monitoring and accountability mechanisms, and judicial procedures that are related to education.

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur reviews the role of equity and inclusion in strengthening the right to education, in particular in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Special Rapporteur concludes by calling for States to take significant, positive actions to tackle discrimination, inequity and exclusion in education to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals are met.

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In this report, the Special Rapporteur shows that non-formal education programmes provide flexible, learner-centred means to improve education outcomes. This is particularly relevant for girls and groups in vulnerable situations, including children with disabilities, minorities and rural and impoverished children, who are disproportionately represented among out-ofschool populations. When designed to be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable, such programmes enable States to fulfil the right to education of learners who are excluded from the formal system.

In this report, the Special Rapporteur sheds light on the vision and concept of lifelong learning and highlights the emergence of the “right to learning”, intertwined with the right to education and training as a social right. He also examines State responsibility, along with that of other social partners, for its realization and underlines the key importance placed on lifelong learning in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The report addresses issues and challenges to the right to education in the digital age, with a focus on higher education. It considers how the norms and principles that underlie the right to education should be upheld while embracing digital technologies. The report concludes with recommendations for ensuring that the use of digital technology in education is in keeping with State obligations on the right to education.

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