A/65/162 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 8/4, adopted on 18 June 2008, which requested the Special Rapporteur to report also to the General Assembly. Since the submission of his previous report, the Special Rapporteur has held countless working meetings with governments, United Nations agencies and other multilateral bodies, teachers’ unions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities, students and national human rights institutions in almost all regions of the world. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Latin American Committee for the Defence of Women’s Rights for its assistance with the preparation of this report. 2. In the report, the Special Rapporteur will focus on the issue of the human right to comprehensive sexual education and will analyse the current international standards in that area. The topic has been a source of interest and concern to him since the beginning of his mandate. 1 The submission of this report marks the end of the mandate of its author, Vernor Muñoz, which will conclude on 31 July 2010. 3. The Special Rapporteur is aware of the concerns surrounding the topic under discussion 2 and wishes to affirm his respect for the wide range of opinions on the matter while emphasizing that the right to sexual education is grounded in human dignity and in international human rights law. 4. States must ensure that they do not restrict individuals’ access to appropriate services and necessary information and must remove social and regulatory barriers to information on sexual and reproductive health and health care, as stated in the Cairo Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. 3 In any event, the parents and other legal guardians of students must also provide appropriate direction and guidance on sexual and reproductive matters. 5. Sexuality is an activity that is inherent to human beings and includes many personal and social factors. However, this activity is usually kept hidden or is associated exclusively with reproduction for various cultural, religious and ideological reasons, most of them related to the persistence of patriarchalism. 6. The modern State, as a democratic construct, must ensure that all its citizens receive a good education and must not allow religious institutions to set patterns of education or conduct that are claimed to apply not only to their followers but to all citizens, whether or not they belong to the religion in question. Consequently, the Special Rapporteur has noted with particular concern various instances in which sexual education has been obstructed in the name of religious ideas. He reiterates that comprehensive education acts as a guarantor of a democratic and pluralistic environment. __________________ 1 2 3 4 See document E/CN.4/2006/45. See United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Guidelines on Sexuality Education: An evidence informed approach to effective sex, relationships and HIV/STI education (2009). See the Programme of Action of the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development. 10-46213