Entrevista con Mercedes Mayol Lassalle, Presidenta Mundial de la OMEP
En esta primera edición de nuestra serie de videos 'En conversación con...' (In conversation with), hablamos con la Presidenta Mundial de la Organización Mundial para la Educación Preescolar (OMEP), Mercedes Mayol Lassalle, sobre la importancia de la primera infancia como etapa y el financiamiento de los derechos humanos, así como la historia de la OMEP y la nueva iniciativa de la organización - la década de la primera infancia.
 
 
RTE Statement on the report of the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education on early childhood care and education

The final report of outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Ms Koumbou Boly Barry, addressing the right to early childhood care and education (ECCE), highlights the wide ranging ‘developmental, educational, social, cultural and economic benefits’ of ECCE to children, their families and wider society, and urges states to recognise and enshrine ECCE rights from birth until primary school, significantly calling for a more specific legal instrument to be established to complement the protections already established in international human rights instruments.

This report reflects a milestone in the realisation of young children’s right to education, and thus paves the way for long-term change and improvement to education systems, entrenched inequalities, and cohesive social development.

We wish to offer our sincere thanks to the outgoing Special Rapporteur Koumbou Boly Barry and acknowledge her for giving precedence to the right to education of young children in her report, and also for the overall contribution towards the realisation of the right to education during her mandate.

This statement synthesises some of the key information contained in the outgoing Special Rapporteur's report, and acknowledges her contribution across the two terms of her mandate. 
Key resource
Building and strengthening the legal framework on ECCE rights: Achievements, challenges and actions for change
There is undisputed recognition of the critical importance of the first years of a child’s life for development and that ensuring access to quality Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) provides tremendous benefits throughout life. Yet, despite progress made in recent years, the most disadvantaged continue to face considerable challenges in accessing quality and inclusive early childhood programmes and services with great disparities within and across countries.
 
The expanding digital environment and the wide-ranging modes of ECCE settings, further underline the need for greater state guidance.Perhaps more so than any other age group, children, from birth to the age of eight, require legal and policy measures that ensure a holistic, integrated and multisectoral approach, as not only are they highly dependent on their parents and caregivers, but their education, health, care and development are all firmly interconnected, making the realization of ECCE rights particularly complex.
 
Besides, as the right to education begins at birth and continues throughout life, adopting a lifelong learning approach has now become a fundamental right from the early years, including through ensuring equitable access to quality, free and compulsory pre-primary education.By adopting a rights-based approach, this thematic report aims to unravel the existing rights and obligations that states should comply with while evaluating how, in light of today's challenges, the right to ECCE can be further protected in the international human rights framework and national education systems. ECCE is a human right yet significant inequalities persist in terms of access to quality services with those who would benefit most often excluded.
 
This Thematic Report was published in the context of the World Conference on Early Childhood Education and Care 2022 and is the result of a fruitful collaboration between UNESCO, the Right to Education Initiative (RTE), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP), the Oxford Human Rights Hub (Oxford University), the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education (OHCHR), and the Latin American Campaign for the Right to education (CLADE).

 
Key resource
Tashkent Declaration and Commitments to Action for Transforming Early Childhood Care and Education

The Tashkent Declaration was adopted on 16 November during the UNESCO World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education.
Key resource
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.

 

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