The Right to Education

A/HRC/RES/29/7No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2015.

What other versions does this mandate have?

11 versions · 1980–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/59/9

2025A/HRC/RES/59/9The right to educationLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/53/7The right to educationCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/47/6The right to educationCompare with previous version
2020A/HRC/RES/44/3The right to educationCompare with previous version
2016A/HRC/RES/32/22The right to educationCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

10 topics

Armed Conflicts Criminal Justice Educational Facilities Educational Policy Equal Opportunity Gender Equality International Obligations Privatization Right to Education Technical Cooperation

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Calls upon all States to take all measures to implement Human Rights Council resolutions on the right to education with a view to ensuring the full realization of this right for all;

Urges all States to give full effect to the right to education by, inter alia, complying with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to education by all appropriate means, including by taking measures, such as:

Putting in place a regulatory framework guided by international human rights obligations for education providers that establishes, inter alia, minimum norms and standards for the creation and operation of educational institutions;

Expanding educational opportunities for all without discrimination, paying particular attention to girls, marginalized children and persons with disabilities, by, inter alia, recognizing the significant importance of public investment in education, to the maximum of available resources, and strengthening the engagement with communities, local actors and civil society to contribute to education as a public good;

Ensuring that education is consistent with human rights standards and principles, including those laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in international human rights treaties;

Monitoring private education providers and holding accountable those whose practices have a negative impact on the enjoyment of the right to education by, inter alia, engaging with existing national human rights mechanisms, parliamentarians and civil society;

Strengthening access to appropriate remedies and reparation for victims of violations of the right to education;

Supporting research and awareness-raising activities to better understand the wide-ranging impact of the commercialization of education on the enjoyment of the right to education;

Welcomes:

The work of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, and takes note of his latest report, on protecting education from commercialization;

The work of the United Nations human rights treaty bodies and special procedures in the promotion of the right to education;

The work undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the promotion of the right to education at the country, regional and headquarters levels;

The contribution of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and other relevant bodies towards attaining the goals of the Education for All agenda and education-related Millennium Development Goals;

Calls upon all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the post-2015 development agenda fosters the universal realization of the right to education, including by establishing education targets that are specific, measurable, realistic and relevant;

Reaffirms the obligations and commitments to take steps, individually and through international assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the right to education by all appropriate means, including in particular the adoption of legislative measures;

Calls upon States to take all necessary measures, including sufficient budgetary allocations, to ensure inclusive, equitable and non-discriminatory quality education, and to promote learning opportunities for all;

Expresses its dismay at the aggravation of attacks, including terrorist attacks, on educational institutions as such, their students and staff, and recognizes the grave impact that such attacks have on the full realization of the right to education, in particular of women and girls, and reiterates its condemnation in the strongest terms of all such attacks;

Urges all States to comply with their responsibilities under international law, and also urges them to strengthen the protection of schools and universities, as well as other educational settings, from attacks by reviewing national laws to ensure that attacks on schools and universities are criminalized, where appropriate; investigating attacks on schools and universities, and prosecuting and punishing those responsible, as appropriate; making every effort to collect reliable relevant data with respect to attacks on schools and universities; and providing assistance to victims, on a non-discriminatory basis, towards the full realization of the right to education;

Recognizes ongoing efforts and initiatives towards strengthening protection of schools and universities against attacks, and encourages States to continue to develop efforts in this regard;

Encourages all States to measure progress in the realization of the right to education, such as by developing national indicators as an important tool for the realization of the right to education and for policy formulation, impact assessment and transparency;

Calls upon States to accelerate efforts to eliminate gender-based discrimination and all forms of violence in schools and other educational settings, and to realize gender equality and the right to education for all;

Acknowledges the role that communications procedures can play to promote the justiciability of the right to education, and in this regard calls upon all States that have not yet signed and ratified the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to consider doing so as a matter of priority;

Encourages the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the treaty bodies, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and other relevant United Nations bodies and mechanisms, specialized agencies, funds and programmes, within their respective mandates, to continue their efforts to promote the full realization of the right to education worldwide and to enhance their cooperation in this regard, including by enhancing technical assistance to Governments;

Stresses the importance of the contribution of national human rights institutions, civil society, including non-governmental organizations, and parliamentarians to the realization of the right to education, including through cooperation with the Special Rapporteur on the right to education;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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What does this mandate say?

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