Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: The purpose of this meeting was for the
Special Rapporteur to meet with NGO
representatives and talk about his mandate,
his plans for the future and how he very much
relies on NGOs’ participation for his work.
Children’s Human Rights Caucus : Morning briefing, Thursday 31 March 2005
Guest speaker: Mr Muñoz Villalobos, Special Rapporteur on the Right to
Education
The purpose of this meeting was for the Special Rapporteur to meet with
NGO representatives and talk about his mandate, his plans for the future
and how he very much relies on NGOs’ participation for his work.
His first and main aim was to describe the link between the right to
education and children’s rights in general. There are seven points that are
essential to look at: the aims of education; access to education; quality;
participation; diversity; best interest; and monitoring necessities to
improve public policies.
1. Aims of education: as explained in Article 29 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and in the General Comment 1 on the aims of education
(CRC/GC/2001/1, 17 April 2001), there are four aims of education, which
are: that it relates to every child, that it develops skills for life, builds
capacities and that education is enjoyed as a right (it should not be a
suffering process). As explained in the General Comment, the right to
education is not just about schooling, but also about a quality of
knowledge and the process of learning. Hence, the right to education
should be moved towards human rights.
2. Access to education: access to education is more than just having
access to school, one could have possibilities to enter education
processes, but one’s right might not necessarily be fulfilled. As explained in
the General Comment 13 on the Right to Education of the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/1999/10, 8 December 1999),
exclusion remains an important issue. Thirty-two forms of exclusions have
been identified by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which can, in
turn, be divided into three categories:
1. Political: exclusion because of situations of armed conflicts, occupation,
other violent situations.
2. Economic: owing to poverty, fees for education (and not just because of
poverty, but because education is seen as a service that is provided, as
opposed to a right), working children (there are currently an estimated 250
million children worldwide who are working) and it is important to note that
this third point affects girls especially.
3. Social and cultural: in patriarchal culturse, where girls do not get access
to education, even where some countries might abolish fees, girls are still
not allowed an education.
3. Quality: quality of education needs to be measured. Human rights is not
a subject of the curriculum, we need to move towards a human rights
based education. Furthermore, the right to education needs to be
complemented by the provision of other rights, such as the right to food,
the right to health, etc. within the school (i.e. inter-relatedness of rights).
The General Comment 1 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child also
refers to a specific quality of education taking into account gender and
equity, more specifically with a sexual and reproductive approach: with the
construction of masculinity with sensitivity and responsibility.
4. Participation: which is the right of every child to be asked their opinion in
every aspect that concerns them, this is both a right and a condition for
human rights learning and for developing citizenship. Participation should
be in school life, in school processes, and in local and national events.
5. Diversity: Homogeneity is impossible: one vision is no longer the aim of
education, there are many groups interacting, and boys and girls should be
given the opportunity to get in touch with cultures different from their own.
We need to foster an intercultural approach to education.
6. Best interest: referring to the specific and the individual necessities of
every child. Education should be child-centered, where the child is not just
a subject that needs to be protected, but the child as human being. Special
consideration should be given to child migrants, children with disabilities,
other minority groups and the girl child.
7. Monitoring necessities to improve public policies: in formal education,
what really matters, is what happens in the classroom, therefore, we need
to adopt an approach that studies how public policies might affect this.
One step for this is to develop indicators related to education and the right
to education, particularly qualitative ones. We need to monitor
accountability and justiciability at national and international levels.
The Special Rapporteur’s next report will focus on the right to education for
the girl child. He will also undertake two country missions, however, these
have not been chosen yet. The Special Rapporteur is very keen to hear
from NGOs and others about their concerns, experiences, ideas, etc.
Contact: Vernor Muñoz, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Commission on Human Rights, United Nations
PO BOX 1245-1007 San José, Costa Rica
Tel: + 506 248 2537; Fax: + 506 248 0991
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]