12 August 2016
Kampala, 12 August 2016The Ugandan Minister of Education and Sports, Hon Janet Museveni, formally announced on Tuesday during a session of parliament that the Government will soon close the schools operated by the largest and most controversial chain of commercial private schools worldwide, Bridge International Academies (BIA), which runs 63 nursery and primary schools in Uganda. Hon Museveni... Read more
21 July 2016
UNESCO has recently launched the 9th Consultation of Member States on the measures taken to implement the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education.The Convention, which celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2015, reflects UNESCO’s constitutional mission of instituting collaboration among nations to “advance the ideal of equality of educational opportunities without regard to race, sex... Read more
11 July 2016
Press release, 11th July 2016Regulate education providers and invest in public education, urged the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in a historic resolution made public on Friday, and welcomed by 23 civil society organisations.The resolution, which was adopted during the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council (13 June to 1 July 2016), urges all States to “address any negative impacts of the... Read more
5 July 2016
Press Release, Geneva, 5 July 2016In a landmark report, which has just been published, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed its concerns that in some cases the UK’s development aid “has been reportedly used for activities in contravention of economic, social and cultural rights in the receiving countries.” This is the second time in less than a month that UN... Read more
17 June 2016
This is a joint statement of the East African Centre for Human Rights in Kenya, the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights in Uganda, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Right to Education Project, ActionAid, and the Global Campaign for Education.We welcome the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education which sheds light on the potential of... Read more
17 June 2016
(Geneva, 16 June 2016) A week after the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concerns about the UK’s funding of commercial private schools in developing countries, today another UN body challenged the UK on the legality of how it spends its development aid, adding to mounting pressure on the UK to cease its controversial support of private schools abroad.The UN Committee on Economic... Read more
14 June 2016
This volunteer role is a unique opportunity to gain valuable communications work experience in the NGO sector. The Right to Education Project (RTE), housed at ActionAid International in London, is a collaborative initiative between ActionAid International, Amnesty International, the Global Campaign for Education, Save the Children, and Human Rights Watch.RTE promotes mobilisation and ... Read more
10 June 2016
(London, 10 June 2016)In an unprecedented statement on 9 June 2016, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) expressed concern about the UK's “funding of low-fee, private and informal schools run by for-profit business enterprises” through its development aid and warned that it could be contributing to the violation of children’s rights in recipient countries.The CRC... Read more
31 May 2016
Press release by the Organisation of American States, available here and reproduced below. For further information on taking action in response to this crisis, please contact ESCR-Net. Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is going through a severe financial crisis that will have serious consequences on its ability to fulfill its mandate and carry out its basic... Read more
24 May 2016
Press Release, Geneva, 24 May 2016The United Kingdom (UK)’s controversial support for commercial, low-cost private schools in developing countries has been questioned by a UN Committee on children’s rights.(1) The UK Department for International Development’s support for the for-profit primary and pre-primary school chain, Bridge International Academies (BIA) was singled out as a particular... Read more