22 March 2016
Press release, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, available here and reproduced below. GENEVA (22 March 2016) It is completely unacceptable for Liberia to outsource its primary education system to a private company, said the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Kishore Singh. “This is unprecedented at the scale currently being proposed and violates... Read more
3 March 2016
In a series of recommendations published last week, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) expressed its deep concerns about the growth and lack of regulation of private schools in Uganda, which could be in violation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ rights. The African Commission expressed its worry that “that the increase in the establishment of... Read more
3 March 2016
The Right to Education Project is pleased to invite you to participate in a discussion on monitoring the right to education using indicators, following the recent launch of the Right to Education Project (RTE) new online Guide to Monitoring the Right to Education (‘Guide’) and accompanying Right to Education Indicators Selection Tool (‘Tool’).We have produced the Guide and Tool to demystify and... Read more
15 February 2016
On 4th February, 2016, Italy became the 26th State party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure (the Protocol, OP3 CRC). The Protocol will enter into force on 4th May, 2016.Italy joins Peru, France, and Luxembourg in ratifying the Protocol this year.OP3 CRC was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 19th December, 2011 and entered into... Read more
9 February 2016
On 9th February, 2016, civil society organisations in Kenya isued a joint-statement (below) on the Committee on the Rights of the Child's Concluding Observations which expressed concern at the rapid growth of private schools providing low-quality education, including those funded through foreign development aid. In October 2015, the Right to Education Project raised the same concern in a report... Read more
28 January 2016
On November 27, 2015 the Tanzanian government issued Circular 5 which implements the Education and Training Policy 2014 and directs public bodies to ensure that secondary education is free for all children. This includes the removal of all forms of fees and contributions. The Circular reads:“Provision of free education means pupils or students will not pay any fee or other contributions that were... Read more
26 November 2015
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which oversees the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has made a call for submissions on its Draft General Comment on the right to inclusive education (article 24).The Committee invites interested parties to provide written input on the draft. Comments and feedback should be sent... Read more
9 November 2015
On 5th November 2015 the minimum age of marriage for both boys and girls was raised to eighteen in Guatemala. Guatemala's Congress voted 87 to 15 in favour of raising the minimum age of marriage from fourteen to eighteen for girls and from sixteen to eighteen for boys. However, the new legislation contains a provision that allows sixteen year old girls to marry with the consent of a judge. This... Read more
9 November 2015
Press release, Amnesty International, available here and reproduced below: Thousands of pregnant girls, excluded from mainstream schools and barred from sitting upcoming exams, risk being left behind as Sierra Leone moves forward from the Ebola crisis, Amnesty International said in a report published today.The report, Shamed and Blamed: Pregnant Girls’ Rights at Risk in Sierra Leone, reveals how... Read more
2 November 2015
Press release, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, available here and reproduced below. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Kishore Singh, has called on all UN Member States to focus on strengthening the right to education when seeking partnerships for education.“The importance of respecting human rights in commercial dealings is even more important... Read more