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On 18-19 June 2024, RTE’s Director, Delphine Dorsi, took part in a dialogue on the right to education organised by the Swiss Commission for UNESCO, the university of Geneva and the UNESCO Liaison Office in Geneva, as part of their initiative ‘UNESCO & Human Rights Dialogues, launched in 2021. The aim of theses dialogues is to provide platforms for frank and open discussions between leading thinkers and practitioners about challenges, trends, and strategies for strengthening international cooperation covering both substantive rights matters as well as the effectiveness of human rights mechanisms
The dialogue on the right to education was organised in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education. It gathered more than 40 participants which discussed the challenges, trends, and opportunities in ensuring equitable access to inclusive and quality education worldwide in the context of the 21st century and beyond. The conversations focused on the impacts of privatisation, digitalisation and crises on the right to education, as well as on the effectiveness of human rights mechanisms and partnerships.
Our director was a panelist in the fourth segment. Based on the Right to Education Initiative’s expertise and experience in monitoring the right to education and using human rights mechanisms to strengthen advocacy and accountability, she provided inputs on the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in these processes. She stressed how important this role is in monitoring the right to education: providing alternative views and insights into education problems that the State may not be aware of; holding States accountable when they are responsible for a violation of the right to education; bringing human faces and stories into monitoring processes. She highlighted tools RTE developed to monitor the right to education (online monitoring guide, thematic guides and specific indicators) and shared examples of the use of human rights law and mechanisms which has influenced law and policies processes leading to positive impacts in advancing the realising of the right to education. She also flagged some challenges and concerns in monitoring and reporting on the right to education such as security issues, challenge to access data, costs, UN current issues (online sessions stopped, session canceled).
The event was great, with very interesting discussions and food for thoughts. Our director went back with research ideas, topics to explore further, new resources to read and new people to engage with.
A report will be published soon on the website of the Swiss Commission for UNESCO.
The organisers expect the outcomes of this dialogue to guide policymakers, educators, and other key stakeholders in reinforcing the educational rights of every learner. They will also inform the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, as well as UNESCO's Evolving Right to Education Initiative which seeks to explore how the right to education could be further reinforced and expanded to meet evolving needs in support of the Transformation of Education Agenda and considering the forthcoming Summit of the Future.
Read the summary report.