A/68/294 High-level Panel on Human Rights Mainstreaming on mainstreaming human rights into the development agenda with the focus on areas of the right to education, organized by the Human Rights Council on 1 March 2013. 34. In his remarks to the High-level Panel, the Secretary-General expressed his concern that too many primary school-age children are still not in school, and too many leave school without learning the most basic skills, and that education is hope and dignity, growth and empowerment, and the basic building block of every society and a pathway out of poverty. 35. Also at the meeting, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that the universal right to education is central to the human rights approach and that education is essential to the achievement of the right to development, enabling all people, without discrimination of any kind, to take an active part in the process. 36. Sheikha Moza bint Nasser expressed her continuing engagement for the full realization of the right to education, which is a fundamental right of every child, as epitomized by her “Educate a Child” initiative for providing quality education for the world’s children and youth who are still out of school. 37. The Director-General of UNESCO underlined the transformational power of education that makes it the force that brings sustainability to all development and stressed that the future development agenda must start with equity to ensure everyone can exercise the right to education, to training and to learning opportunities. V. Implementing a rights-based approach to education in the post-2015 development agenda A. Importance of a rights-based approach 38. A human rights-based approach imparts strength and legitimacy to the development agenda and provides a firm foundation for action at the national level. The adoption of a human rights perspective to the development agenda implies, among other things, a careful screening of national legal instruments that frame educational systems and policies in countries, linking political commitments of Governments to the international obligations under human rights law. 39. A rights-based approach recognizes that all human rights are universal and indivisible, and provide for equality, participation, transparency and accountability. The education goals and targets should apply to all nations. National targets should be developed in full consultation with citizens and civil society. Each goal must ensure that education is available to all, and when limited by the lack of resources it is made progressively available without discrimination. Education goals, implementation efforts and financing by Governments must be transparent. Finally, through national legislation, the right to education shall be given to all people, who shall have national recourse to ensure those commitments are honoured. 40. A focus on an effective implementation strategy, as well as monitoring mechanisms and accountability measures, is vital in addressing the gap between commitments and reality in achieving Education for All and education-related 10/26 13-42277