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Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The independent expert led an electronic global discussion organized by UNICEF to highlight the issues in the special education edition of the State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2009 and the Forum on Minority Issues, with a view to highlighting the issues around minority girls' right to education. Specifically, the e-discussion examined the multiple barriers faced by minority girls in accessing education, evaluated the legal and policy responses to the above question, discussed good practices from the regional and country level and developed recommendations in line with the educational needs and priorities of minority and indigenous girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with the provisions of article 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Human Rights Committee in its concluding observations has expressed concern about the elimination of sexual education from school curricula and the high rate of unwanted pregnancies and abortions among girls and adolescents and has requested that States should take measures to help young women avoid unwanted pregnancies, including by strengthening family planning and sexual education programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Gender discrimination marks the trajectory into domestic servitude. Families will often give preference to boys to continue their education, while girls are forced to drop out of school to help earn money for the family. Such patterns are reinforced where States fail to respect their obligation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 28) to provide free and compulsory primary education to girls and boys, while making secondary and higher education available and accessible. In some cultural contexts, there is a widespread belief that domestic work provides better training for becoming a wife and mother than formal education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- [On the basis of the foregoing remarks, the Special Rapporteur considers that:] The right to sexual education is particularly important to women's and girls' empowerment and to ensuring that they enjoy their human rights. It is therefore one of the best tools for dealing with the consequences of the system of patriarchal domination by changing social and cultural patterns of behaviour that affect men and women and tend to perpetuate discrimination and violence against women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- In the case of Africa, several countries do not provide any kind of planned sexual education. According to some studies, families are uncomfortable talking about sexuality with their sons and daughters; yet young girls and boys do receive some information informally from friends or through the HIV prevention programme.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- A comprehensive United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) study has found that women and girls who were married below 18 years of age are less educated and more likely to experience domestic violence. The domestic servitude inherent to child marriages disempowers girls by denying them educational opportunities and the option to form protective networks of friends and peers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Comprehensive sexual education is extremely important in view of the threat of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, especially for groups at risk and persons in particularly vulnerable situations, such as women and girls exposed to gender-based violence or persons in difficult financial circumstances. In paragraph 16 of its General Comment No. 3, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has emphasized that "effective HIV/AIDS prevention requires States to refrain from censoring, withholding or intentionally misrepresenting health-related information, including sexual education and information, and that […] States parties must ensure that children have the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others as they begin to express their sexuality".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- However much we try to avoid it, we are always sexually informed, by action or by omission, at school, in the family, through the media, etc. Thus deciding not to offer sexual education at teaching centres is opting for an omissive form of sexual education, that leaves girls, boys and adolescents on their own as regards the type of knowledge and messages, generally negative, that they receive on sexuality. When sexual education is not explicitly provided, in practice education follows the so-called hidden curriculum, with its potential load of prejudices and inaccuracies over which there can be no social or family criticism or control.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In its concluding observations, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has called for the provision of education on sexual and reproductive health and has specifically recommended sexual education as a means of ensuring the right of women to health, particularly reproductive health, as well as full access to sexual education for all girls and young women, including in rural areas and indigenous communities. The Committee has also recommended the development of training programmes and counselling services on reproductive health and has expressed the view that sexual education and awareness campaigns are appropriate means of reducing maternal and infant mortality. The Committee has associated the lack of education with the practice of abortion as a primary means of family planning and has advocated education programmes aimed at eliminating female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The right to education of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers 2010, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- There is also ample evidence that migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking students in many countries face a far higher risk of marginalization with regard to education systems and opportunities when compared with native students Movement across national borders is only one of the many causal factors and mechanisms (social, economic, cultural, physical and psychological) that impact upon migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in the exercise of their right to education. Early marriage and pregnancy, cultural expectations requiring girls and women to attend to childcare and household duties, and insecurity when travelling to school are examples of others. An assumption of linear causality should therefore be avoided.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- In many societies, the unequal social status of women continues to contribute to patent discrimination against girls, particularly in poor and rural communities. Girls born in poor households or living in rural communities are at a clear disadvantage in terms of education, owing to persistent attitudes and practices that encourage early marriages and the confinement of young women, and give greater importance to the education of boys over girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- For example, the ability to obtain a high quality education is exponentially difficult for poor, rural and/or disabled people. Furthermore, the world's women and girls continue to receive inadequate education when compared to the men and boys from their communities. Due to inadequate education, employment and financial security are more difficult for women and girls to attain. According to UNESCO, "of the "796 million adults worldwide (15 years and older) who reported not being able to read and write in 2008… two-thirds of them (64%) were women." Being illiterate isolates women, exacerbates poverty, and creates a context ripe for violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Financing education and update on education in emergencies 2011, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The current update is divided into six sections reflecting the content and core recommendations of resolution 64/290. Each section provides an indication of remaining challenges in the promotion of education in emergencies, and progress made in the past three years. The first section focuses on the recommendation for increasing political and financial support to education in emergencies. The second section addresses the recommendation to better protect schools from attacks and to ensure accountability. The third section addresses the recommendation to better prepare education systems for situations of natural disaster. The fourth section addresses the recommendation that attention be given to the specific needs of girls and other marginalized groups. The fifth section focuses on the recommendation to ensure quality education in emergencies. The sixth section is dedicated to the need for improving the collection of data on education in emergencies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Financing education and update on education in emergencies 2011, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Specific resources must be ensured to address the root causes of the exclusion from education of girls, those living in poverty or with disabilities, ethnic and linguistic minorities, migrants, and other marginalized and disadvantaged groups. Specific measures targeting important obstacles to education must be considered, including the abolition of school fees and the provision of subsidies for other costs, such as textbooks, uniforms and transportation. Temporary special measures to provide financial support to such groups through affirmative action have a normative basis in international human rights treaties. Particular attention must be paid to the principles of transparency and accountability in the management of education budgets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Efforts to universalize access to education over the last decades are underpinned by repeated political commitments. The EFA and Millennium Development Goals campaigns inspired expansions of primary education systems and created more education opportunities for girls. However, progress is fragile and uneven across regions and among population groups. Unprecedented disparities in access and quality emerge as the demand for education grows and education systems expand. Significant gaps remain even in the coverage of education as there are about 67 million children of primary school age who are out of school; while a larger number of adolescents (another 71 million), remain deprived of basic post-primary education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Girls and women constitute the majority of those who remain deprived of education. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has repeatedly expressed concern in its concluding observations at the low level of education of women and girls, and the prevailing obstacles to their access to education at all levels, especially the secondary and tertiary levels. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that the human rights framework is pivotal in the struggle against multiple forms of discrimination which women and girls in vulnerable and marginalized situations suffer. Educating women and girls should, a priori, be viewed as a human rights imperative, rather than undertaken solely because of the potential benefits to one’s children or to society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Reports indicate that the EFA agenda is falling behind, and the prospects of achieving Millennium Development Goals 2 and 3 on universal primary education and gender equality, respectively, are also bleak. The target of universal primary education is unlikely to be achieved by 2015. Inequalities, stigmatization and discrimination linked to economic status, gender, ethnicity, language, location and disability are also holding back progress. Social and economic status and sex appear as major factors of marginalization in education, with girls and those living in poverty being the most affected. “Poverty and gender inequalities magnify other disadvantages, and close doors to education opportunity for millions of children.”
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 72b
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur puts forward the following recommendations for the promotion of equal opportunities in education on the basis of a human rights framework:] Address multiple forms of inequality and discrimination through comprehensive policies: Given the mutually reinforcing nature of different forms of discrimination and inequality in the context of education, States should address multiple forms of inequality and discrimination through comprehensive policies. Prevailing disparities in access to education – between boys and girls, and between rich and poor regions –must be given special consideration, recognizing that good policies backed by a commitment to equality can make a difference. Policy measures must respond to the need for making learning accessible for the most marginalized and vulnerable;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Reflecting the commitments adopted by world leaders in 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, the Millennium Development Goals are amongst the most significant political commitments in recent history to tackle the most pressing challenges of our world, including serious concerns relating to education. Goal 2 calls on States to ensure that all children complete primary education, while Goal 3 calls on States to eliminate disparities between girls and boys in primary as well as secondary education. Progress towards these goals requires fully embracing equality of opportunity in education in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of education policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Article 10 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women contains detailed provisions related to equality of opportunity in education and the equal rights of women and men in the field of education.” Furthermore, general recommendation No. 25, elaborated by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which oversees the implementation of this treaty, explains that “the Convention requires that women be given an equal start and that they be empowered by an enabling environment to achieve equality of results.” In this regard, the Committee further specified that temporary special measures are necessary, not as an exception to the prohibition of discrimination, but as a central part of a strategy to achieve substantive or de facto equality between women and men. The Committee has also specifically referred to the equal rights of girls in the area of basic education in its general recommendation No. 28 on the core obligations of States parties.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Key trends and challenges to the right of all individuals to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds through the Internet 2011, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations Girls' Education Initiative, evolving from the Millennium Villages project, is an example of "e-education" initiatives which also help promote girls' education. This initiative has launched a global campaign to promote universal and equality Internet access in secondary education in developing countries, with an emphasis on girls' education. ICT skills will be used to enhance the quality of education and to connect schoolchildren worldwide.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Financing education and update on education in emergencies 2011, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- States must take specific measure to guarantee the education of girls and marginalized groups in situations of emergency. Specific efforts are required to eliminate persistent or emerging patterns of discrimination and to remove physical, financial, cultural and linguistic barriers that contribute to furthering inequalities during periods of emergency
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Concerning equality between men and women, the Human Rights Committee has also interpreted articles 3 and 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on equality between men and women, and on protection of children, respectively, as requiring States to provide information on “measures taken to ensure that girls are treated equally to boys in education.”
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- Women have been disproportionately impacted by a lack of educational opportunities. Having a basic education and being literate improves a woman's opportunities for preventing and removing violence from her life, and this is especially true for women who experience multiple forms of discrimination. When women and girls are able to exercise their right to an education and livelihood, they will enjoy a high level of security in their social lives and financial well-being.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The right to an education also includes the right to a quality education. The substance of the education is as crucial as access to it. Low quality education, which disproportionately affects the world's women and girls, does not seek to uplift women and girls, but rather further entrenches them in disadvantaged situations. Quality education should include anti-violence and anti-gender stereotyping as part of the curriculum.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Sexual harassment at school and at the workplace is acknowledged as a pervasive manifestation of violence. In El Salvador, the Special Rapporteur heard testimonies of the working conditions of young women working in the maquila plants, where they were subjected to verbal and physical abuse by supervisors, sexual harassment, and mandatory pregnancy tests. Sexual harassment in educational and training institutions in Algeria was pervasive and underreported at the time of the visit of the Special Rapporteur, despite commendable steps by the authorities to criminalize sexual harassment based on abuse of authority. The visit to the United States revealed the particular vulnerability of undocumented immigrant women to violence, including sexual harassment and abuse, in the workplace. Sexual and physical violence against girls in educational establishments perpetrated by male school staff and school boys remains problematic, as reported during the visit of the Special Rapporteur in Zambia. Long distances from home to school also increased risk of harassment, with girls reportedly having sexual relationships with minibus and taxi drivers as a way of coping with transportation costs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Equal access to education, gender-sensitive curricula and a safe environment as women and girls pursue their education, are all critical aspects regarding education. The right to an education covers more than attending school: it includes the right to travel safely to and from school, as well as to ensure protection from harm while on school grounds.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Equality of opportunity in education 2011, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Threat of violence against girls on the way to and from schools limits their education opportunities: household surveys in many countries identify distance as a major factor in parents’ decisions to keep daughters out of school, and concerns over security figure prominently.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Normative action for quality education 2012, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- States’ obligations to ensure quality education for girls is further expounded in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which establishes women's right to education, both as entitlement and as empowerment. State parties thus have an obligation to ensure, on the basis of equality of men and women, access to education at all levels and in all its forms, including “access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard and school premises and equipment of the same quality” (art. 10 (b)).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- In its resolution 66/140, the General Assembly reiterated its call for an end to harmful traditional or customary practices, such as early and forced marriage, and called upon States to take appropriate measures to address the root factors of child and forced marriages, including by undertaking educational activities to raise awareness regarding the negative aspects of such practices. It urged all States to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage was entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses, and, in addition, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage and raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary, and to develop and implement comprehensive policies, plans of action and programmes for the survival, protection, development and advancement of the girl child in order to promote and protect the full enjoyment of her human rights and to ensure equal opportunities for girls, including by making such plans an integral part of her total development process.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph