16 July 2024

On 10 July 2024, the Human Rights Council adopted by consensus a resolution establishing an open-ended intergovernmental working group with the mandate of exploring the possibility of, elaborating and submitting to the Human Rights Council a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the rights to early childhood education, free pre-primary education and free secondary education.

This resolution was sponsored by Luxembourg, the Dominican Republic, and Sierra Leone, and cosponsored by 46 other states. 

During the negotiation of the text, all States agreed on the importance of early childhood, care and education for the realisation of the right to education, referring to their own laws and policies to implement it. Some States however questioned the need for an optional protocol. They highlighted the risk to create a precedent – having optional protocols for each right of the Convention, or to have a low number of ratifications. They also flagged their limited time and resources, particularly in light of the current liquidity crisis at the UN. In this line, UNICEF shared their view that‘the right to education as articulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other international standards already includes a right to both pre-primary and secondary education and that States parties to the relevant treaties already have an obligation to lift all barriers – including financial ones – to respect, protect and fulfil this right for all children under their jurisdiction, without any discrimination of any kind (including on the basis of age).’

Other states stressed the need of including international assistance and cooperation for the implementation of early childhood care and education in countries with limited resources. 

Some States wanted the resolution to already refer to the content of a possible optional protocol, wishing it to recognise the role of parents and guardians in their children’s education. Their proposed amendments were rejected.

As agreed in the resolution, the working group will meet for five working days in Geneva in a hybrid format, including a webcast, and its first session should be held before the end of 2025. They will first discuss the necessity of an optional protocol and based on their decision may draft a text.

The resolution requests the participation of children and provides the working modalities of the working group.

Read the details the resolution here