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November 2019 update on the implementation of the Abidjan Principles on the right to education
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The momentum of the dissemination and promotion of the Abidjan Principles continues with several major developments taking place since the last update. Most recently, the Paris Peace Forum announced that the Abidjan Principles were selected as one of the ten ‘most promising governance projects’ that will be awarded support for scale-up. This is an exciting development that showcases the global importance of the right to education and our reinforces our commitment to work collectively to make the Abidjan Principles available to more audiences and to continue to bring the discussion on the right to free, quality public education to different countries, villages and communities.
Below is an overview of these key developments that have taken place between July and November 2019. For more information, you can also follow the developments on the Abidjan Principles website, and on Twitter via the hashtag #AbidjanPrinciples.
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The Paris Peace Forum announced yesterday that the Abidjan Principles on the right to education were selected as one of the ten ‘most promising governance projects’ that will be awarded support to scale-up. The Abidjan Principles were selected among 716 projects from 115 countries that applied in the call for projects.
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- At the United Nations Social Forum 2019, during a panel on ‘Transformative Power of Education’, Ms Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the Abidjan Principles while emphasising that the principle of public education must be upheld. Watch her opening remarks for the panel here.
- The High Court of Uganda directed the government to regulate private actor involvement in education, largely quoting the Abidjan Principles. This comes following a case filed by the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights in Uganda (ISER Uganda) in the High Court of Uganda. The court found that the government policy of public financing of secondary education infringes on the right to education, equality and freedom from discrimination. Download the case summary and the judgement.
- The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Dr Boly Barry, made remarks at the C7 – the civil society space of the G7 –explaining how the Abidjan Principles can help governments in the Sahel to frame their education systems to address issues in education for the region.
- At the World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, DC., Dr Boly Barry also presented on a panel at the Civil Society Policy Forum. She called on the World Bank to unequivocally support public education and to use the Abidjan Principles in their assessment of education project funding. Watch the full video here.
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National and local organisation are mobilising around the world to bring the right to education back to the core of policy debates in education.
- UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) strategic debate series, ‘Breaking Barriers in Education’ focused on how the Abidjan Principles can move the right to education from rhetoric into action at the international, and national levels. Watch the full debate.
- The Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), Commissioner Solomon Dersso, welcomed an Oral Statement by the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER) presented to the 65th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR in Banjul, The Gambia, and condemned the ‘commodification of basic goods like health and education’. This further confirms the ACHPR’s commitment to incorporate the Abidjan Principles and ACHPR Resolution 420 in their work on the right to education and health.
- The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to water, Mr Léo Heller, held a meeting of key stakeholders to discuss private involvement in water. The discussion highlighted parallels and similar legal concepts between health, water and education, with interesting potential for some of the concepts detailed in the Abidjan Principles to provide inspiration to other sectors.
- The Qatar Mission in Geneva organised a roundtable on education as a human right, organised during a side event of the United Nations Social Forum 2019, where the Abidjan Principles were shared as a tool.
- As part of a two-day workshop in Bangkok, members of Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE) discussed in depth the content of the Abidjan Principles and how they can be used in their local contexts. The workshop and the Abidjan Principles were used in an article by Dr Manzoor Ahmed, Professor Emeritus at Brac University, following the event.
- The National Campaign for Education (NCE) Nepal, brought together representatives from civil society, journalists, teachers, youth groups and local governments for a two-day workshop to discuss the right to education and the Abidjan Principles in the context of Nepal, with the view to provide technical support to local authorities developing.
- On 7 November, ASPBAE held a training on the Abidjan Principles with the Pakistan Coalition for Education.
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See also...
- On 7 August 2019, the Oxford Human Rights Hub held a panel with the Abidjan Principles Draft Committee members, ‘The 2019 Guiding Principles on the Right to Education: The Drafters’ Perspective’. Watch the full panel here.
- Oxfam organised a side panel at the United Nations General Assembly in September, discussants looked at how privatisation of education is a driver of inequality, and the Abidjan Principles as one tool for ensuring the right to education is fulfilled.
- The Right to Education Initiative, ActionAid International and the Institute of Education held a session at UKFIET 2019 on financing education, with a discussion on the Abidjan Principles.
- The Right to Education Initiative, ActionAid International and the Institute of Education held a panel at the HDCA Conference, focusing on Private education, inequalities and human rights guiding principles on states’ obligations regarding private actors’ involvement in education where the Abidjan Principles where presented.
- GI-ESCR, presented at the United Nations Social Forum 2019 on concrete ways to implement the right to education, using the Abidjan Principles as a key tool for States.
- In September 2019, the East African Centre for Human Rights (EACHRights) presented the Abidjan Principles as an example of efforts towards, and as a tool for the harmonisation of education laws in Africa. EACHRights CEO, Dr Judith Oloo, made the presentation during the technical symposium on Catalysing Action for Harmonisation of Laws on Children in Africa hosted by the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF).
- In preparation for Kenya’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) review in 2020, EACHRights presented an alternative report on the challenges with the growth of private actors in education and in their recommendations advised the Government of Kenya to utilise the Abidjan Principles as they review the Alternative Provision of Basic Education and Training (APBET) Policy. The report will be available on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights UPR page for Kenya.
- In October, Prof Pierre de Galbert at Brown University held a debate with his students using the Abidjan Principles in conjunction with empirical studies to discuss the public-private partnership in Liberia.
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