UNITED
NATIONS
E
Economic and Social
Council
Distr.
GENERAL
E/C.12/1999/10
8 December 1999
Original: ENGLISH
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL
AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Twenty-first session
15 November-3 December 1999
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
General Comment No. 13 (Twenty-first session, 1999)
The right to education (article 13 of the Covenant)
1.
Education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other
human rights. As an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which
economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty
and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities. Education has a vital role in
empowering women, safeguarding children from exploitative and hazardous labour and sexual
exploitation, promoting human rights and democracy, protecting the environment, and
controlling population growth. Increasingly, education is recognized as one of the best financial
investments States can make. But the importance of education is not just practical: a
well-educated, enlightened and active mind, able to wander freely and widely, is one of the joys
and rewards of human existence.
2.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) devotes
two articles to the right to education, articles 13 and 14. Article 13, the longest provision in the
Covenant, is the most wide-ranging and comprehensive article on the right to education in
international human rights law. The Committee has already adopted General Comment 11 on
article 14 (plans of action for primary education); General Comment 11 and the present general
comment are complementary and should be considered together. The Committee is aware that
for millions of people throughout the world, the enjoyment of the right to education remains a
distant goal. Moreover, in many cases, this goal is becoming increasingly remote. The
Committee is also conscious of the formidable structural and other obstacles impeding the full
implementation of article 13 in many States parties.
GE.99-46216 (E)