General comment No. 24 on state obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities

Businesses play an important role in the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights, inter alia, by contributing to the creation of employment opportunities and, through private investment, to development. However, the Committee has been regularly presented with situations in which, as a result of states' failure to ensure compliance with internationally recognised human rights under their jurisdiction, corporate activities negatively affected economic, social and cultural rights. This General Comment seeks to clarify the duties of States parties to the Covenant in such situations, with a view to preventing and addressing the adverse impacts of business activities on human rights.
Open letter to the World Bank and its donors

Open letter to the World Bank in support of development aid going to free, quality public education signed by the Right to Education Initiative, together with 173 civil society organizations, national education coalitions and unions, based in 63 different countries.  
Global Education Summit 2021 - Civil Society Statement on public education and education financing
At the Global Education Summit, 37 CSOs Call on World Education Leaders to Use Multi-billion Dollars Funding to Support Public Education
 
As Ministers of education and other leading stakeholders in education meet on 28-29 July 2021 at the Global Education Summit, 37 CSOs call on governments to make robust funding commitments for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and urge GPE and its partners to use the money raised during the summit in support of free public education and to ensure that no funding is used to support commercial actors, in accordance with human rights requirements.
 
GPE is the main multilateral funding body solely dedicated to transforming education in lower-income countries. It plays a critical role in the strengthening of education systems of dozens of countries. World education leaders are meeting at the Global Education Summit with a target to raise at least 5 billion US Dollars for 2021–2025, in order to fund developing countries’ education plans.
 
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The Right to Education Initiative’s contribution to the global conversation on the right to education: Reviewing and extending the understanding of the right to education in the 21st Century
Civil society organisations highlight limitations of new study on Bridge International Academies’ education model, and urge caution in interpreting findings

In the light of human rights standards on the right to education and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, the signatory civil society organisations below raise serious concerns about the potential implications of the recently released working paper “Can Education be Standardized? Evidence from Kenya". We urge governments and other actors to recognise the limitations of this study, which some will seek to use to justify the expansion of for-profit private provision of education and scripted teaching methods. There are well established approaches to address the challenges faced by some education systems and we urge all actors to focus on education strategies and policies that have been proven to deliver inclusive, equitable and good quality education, and that contribute to strengthening public education for all.

 

FRANÇAIS
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RTE Statement on the Tashkent Declaration

'RTE welcomes the Tashkent Declaration’s call for an enhanced legal framework and increased public expenditure for ECCE' was written by RTE following the adoption of the ‘Tashkent Declaration and Commitments to Action for Transforming Early Childhood Care and Education at the UNESCO World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education. 

This statement summarises the most significant aspects of the Tashkent Declaration and our perspectives on the importance of this document for the protection of young children's ECCE rights.

 

FRANÇAIS
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RTE and GI-ESCR statement on the UN Special Rapporteur's report - Securing the right to education: advances and critical challenges (A/HRC/53/27)

This written statement was submitted by GI-ESCR and RTE during the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. It was submitted in relation to the presentation of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education: Securing the right to education: advances and critical challenges (A/HRC/53/27).
UK’s development finance ‘harming society and the environment’: civil society organisations respond to critical report by UK Parliamentary International Development Committee

This joint statement signed by RTE and 18 CSOs responds to a report published in September 2023 by the International Development Committee (IDC) of the UK House of Commons, entitled ‘Investment for development - The UK’s Strategy towards Development Finance Initiatives. The report’ raises major concerns about the UK’s investments as part of development aid which the signatory organisations working on education share and reiterate. In this joint statement we respond to this report and express our concern about the British International Investment’s (BII) activities and impacts in key sectors responsible for delivering human rights, including education and health.