A/68/294 being organized by the Government of Kazakhstan for August 2013 demonstrates the significant interest for regional discussions on education and the post-2015 development agenda. 29. In the recently conducted Global Thematic Consultation on Education, various aspects of the right to education were emphasized. The draft report resulting from the consultation states that one of the strongest themes that emerged in the education consultations was that the education framework should be guided by a rights-based approach in which rights are indivisible, addressing all aspects of education, including the learning environment, the teaching and learning process, Government policy, school governance and teachers. 4 30. In the context of ongoing discussions, and pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 23/4, the right to education deserves foremost consideration in the post-2015 development agenda. Thus, an appraisal from a right-to-education perspective of a universal goal on education, and of other universal goals, notably on poverty eradication and on women’s empowerment as proposed in the report of the High-level Panel, is crucial. The Special Rapporteur wishes to underline that all development goals are underpinned by educational dimensions, and must be looked at from such a perspective. 31. The Special Rapporteur believes that the right to education must be emphasized in the post-2015 development agenda for many reasons. Education is a fundamental building block for human development and is invaluable for individual and social transformation. Education enables children to prepare for democratic citizenship and responsibilities of the future. Education is central to poverty eradication strategies and the achievement of global commitments for sustainable development. Growth in the human development index employed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is associated with growth in public spending on education: education is the best investment a country can make. Education is essential for the empowerment of women, making them agents of change and of social transformation. Education is crucial for conflict prevention, peacebuilding and promoting solidarity. Education is an inalienable human right of every child, boys and girls alike. All development goals have educational dimensions and the right to education provides indispensable leverage for development. 32. The right to education, which is essential for the exercise of all other human rights, is therefore of paramount importance in national and international development agendas and in public policies and global partnerships. Full realization of the right to quality education for all as a fundamental human right is a determining factor in achieving a future agenda, emerging from a broad global development vision. IV. Mainstreaming human rights into the post-2015 development agenda with the focus on the right to education 33. The importance of taking a human rights-based approach to the post-2015 development agenda was emphasized earlier this year during the meeting of the __________________ 4 13-42277 UNICEF, “Education in the post-2015 development agenda: draft synthesis report of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education” (New York, 2013). 9/26