More than 300 participants representing 92 governments and 25 international organisations met in Salamanca in 1994 to further the objective of Education for All by considering the fundamental policy shifts required to promote the approach of inclusive education, namely enabling schools to serve all children, particularly those with special educational needs. Organised by the Government of Spain in co-operation with UNESCO, the Conference brought together senior education officials, administrators, policy-makers and specialists, as well as representatives of the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies, other international governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations and donor agencies. The Conference adopted the Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education and a Framework for Action. These documents are informed by the principle of inclusion, by recognition of the need to work towards “schools for all” - institutions which include everybody, celebrate differences, support learning, and respond to individual needs. As such, they constitute an important contribution to the agenda for achieving Education for All and for making schools educationally more effective.
On March 2014, the UN Security Council held an Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict and unanimously adopted this resolution setting out practical steps to combat violations against children in armed conflict, including their right to education. An important element in this resolution is the reference to the use of schools by armed forces.
Written by John Ruggie, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, these Guiding Principles are designed to provide for the first time a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity. The Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles in its resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011.
In February 2013, the Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted General Comment 16 on State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children's rights, to which countries will be held accountable for ensuring that children's rights are protected in business activities.
Paragraphs regarding education:16, 19, 21, 30, 33, 35, 37, 56, 61(a), 68, 77 & 82.
General Comment 11, adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, provides interpretation and clarification of Article 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The first General Comment of the Committee of the Right of the Child interprets Article 29 (1) of the Convention of the Rights of the Child which defines the aims of education.
This General Recommendation by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women aims to clarify the scope and meaning of Article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which provides ways for States parties to implement domestically the substantive provisions of the Convention.
See paragraphs 13, 21 and 36 for references to education.
General Comment 22 by the Human Rights Committee interprets the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 18 of the ICCPR). See paragraph 6 in particular.