Moving towards inclusive education as a human right: An analysis of international legal obligations to implement inclusive education in law and policy

Children with disabilities experience ongoing segregation in special education classes or are otherwise excluded from education. This is in spite of the fact that states have a legal obligation to offer an accessible and inclusive education to all learners. Exclusion of any child from education is a violation of international law and a breach of human rights. The provision of inclusive education is an obligation under international law, as well as the means by which to fulfil the additional legal obligation to make education accessible to children with disabilities.

The Right to Inclusive Education in Germany

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in article 24 seeks to combat discrimination of children with disabilities in the field of education by prescribing a model of social inclusion. This paper will critically examine the sociological concept of inclusion, the German experience in implementing article 24 and the limitations of article 24 vis à vis the Right to Education in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Litigating the Right to Education in Africa

This issue of the INTERIGHTS Bulletin focuses on litigating the right to education in Africa. It includes the following articles:

Litigating the Right to Education: Editorial
Solomon Sacco and Susie Talbot

Africa and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Malcolm Langford and Rebecca Brown

Litigating the Right to Universal Primary Education: Challenges and Prospects
Iain Byrne

The Justiciability of Social and Economic Rights: An Updated Upraisal

This article considers the question of the justiciability of social and economic rights from both a conceptual and an experiential perspective. It first reviews some of the major concerns that are frequently raised in relation to whether social and economic rights can, or should be, adjudicated by courts, drawing on commentary from experts and judicial and quasi-judicial bodies considering this question. This is followed by an overview of the growing body of jurisprudence from domestic courts and regional and international bodies that have adjudicated social and economic rights. 

The role of the courts in ensuring the right to a basic education in a democratic South Africa: a critical evaluation of recent education case law

This article critically evaluates case-law developments regarding the right to basic education as enshrined in the South African Constitution and argues that litigation, or at the least the threat of it, plays an important role in the realisation of the right to education. 

The Case for Social Rights

This paper argues that social and economic rights, defined as rights to the satisfaction of basic needs, are constitutional essentials at domestic level and claims of the highest priority at supranational level. Their inadequate legal protection in national and supranational orders is not justified. Social rights have common foundations with civil and political rights, but have been neglected in law because of Cold War ideologies.

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