The Right to Education

A/HRC/RES/32/22No 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 2016.

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?

12 topics

Accountability Digital Technology Distance Education Educational Financing Educational Policy Educational Quality Equal Opportunity Gender Equality Information Technology Internet Justiciability Right to Education

What does this mandate say?

27 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:

Addressing issues of access, quality and equity in the use of information and communications technology in education, including in order to bridge the digital divide;

Creating an enabling policy environment for drawing on digital technologies that can serve as valuable tools in the delivery of education;

Building the capacity of teachers to use digital technologies while retaining their freedom concerning pedagogical approaches;

Assessing the quality of education, including online or Internet education and certification, including massive open online courses, and taking appropriate remedial or other action to address policies or practices that prevent the enjoyment of the right to education by, inter alia, engaging with existing national human rights mechanisms, parliamentarians and civil society;

Putting in place a regulatory framework for education providers, including those operating independently or in partnership with States, guided by international human rights obligations, that establishes, inter alia, minimum norms and standards for the creation and operation of educational services, addresses any negative impact of the commercialization of education, and strengthens access to appropriate remedies and reparation for victims of violations of the right to education;

Encouraging the availability of educational resources in various languages, including in the implementation of information and communications technology in education;

Also urges all States to expand educational opportunities for all without discrimination, recognizing the significant importance of investment in public education to the maximum of available resources; to increase and improve domestic and external financing for education, as affirmed in the Incheon Declaration and the Education 2030 Framework for Action; to ensure that education policies and programmes are consistent with human rights standards and principles, including those laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in relevant international human rights instruments; and to strengthen engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including communities, local actors and civil society, to contribute to education as a public good;

Further urges all States to regulate and monitor education providers and to hold accountable those whose practices have a negative impact on the enjoyment of the right to education, and to support 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 issues and challenges to the right to education in the digital age, with a focus on higher education;

The work of the United Nations human rights treaty bodies and special procedures in the promotion of the right to education, and 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 States to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Goal 4;

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, paying particular attention to girls, marginalized children and persons with disabilities;

Stresses the importance of international cooperation, including the exchange of good practices, and of technical cooperation, capacity-building, financial assistance and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms in the realization of the right to education, including through the use of information and communications technology;

Calls upon States to continue to make efforts to strengthen the protection of preschools, schools and universities against attacks;

Encourages efforts to provide safe, inclusive and enabling learning environments and quality education for all within an appropriate time frame, including higher education in humanitarian emergencies and conflict situations;

Encourages States to promote human rights education in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training and the World Programme for Human Rights Education as a means of contributing to the prevention of human rights violations and conflict;

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 High Commissioner, 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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