The right to education

Author(s):  
Benjamin Mallon

Chapter 14 critically analyses the idea of education as a universal human right. It outlines existing international human rights mechanisms relevant to education as a right and critically assesses their ability to make that right a reality in a diverse world with different levels of ‘peace’, stability, conflict, cultural and socio-economic contexts. While recognising that the right to education includes all people regardless of age, the chapter mainly focuses on education as a right for children and, in particular, how the right to education for children in developing countries can be affected by violent conflict. In this regard, the work of UNESCO and the influence of Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are assessed along with a range of other rights mechanisms.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Virgayani Fattah

Jus cogens as a norm of general international law accepted and recognized by the international community as a whole with the main characteristics is the nature of non derogable rights.The right to education is a fundamental human right, so that its existence can’t be reduced under any circumstances based on the importance and importance of education for children.The national education policy is not yet fully aligned with the international human rights instruments causing the development of education sector not yet fully based on human rights.The Government is obliged to fulfill the right to education primarily in relation to the budget for building and repairing school buildings and improving the quality of education in Indonesia, as set out in the International Human Rights Instrument, in particular the Covenant on Ecosystem Rights.The importance of the right to education as the primary vehicle for lifting and empowering children from poverty, as a means to participate actively and totally in the development of its social community and as a powerful road to humanity.


Author(s):  
Nima Norouzi ◽  
Hussein Movahedian

The right to use one's mother language is affected by examining the nature of this right in the international human rights system. Speaking of linguistic rights requires examining this right in the context of general human rights and the rights of minorities. On the one hand, the right to use one's mother tongue is rooted in the “right to be different,” which itself is inspired by human dignity, and, on the other hand, because the linguistic rights of the majority are better guaranteed than the linguistic rights of the minority. This chapter examines the right to use one's mother tongue in the minority system; therefore, language rights can be divided into two approaches based on tolerance, which prohibits any interference with the choice of language and its use by governments, as well as an extension-based approach that seeks to protect the right to use language in various fields such as education, court, public arena, and government institutions.


Author(s):  
d’Argent Pierre ◽  
de Ghellinck Isabelle

Principle 32 deals with the procedural aspect of the right to reparation, that is, the right for victims of human right violations to access remedial procedures. It addresses three issues: the right to access remedial procedures, procedural requirements of national reparation programmes, and regional and international procedures. While the obligation of states to provide effective remedies is enshrined in most of, if not all, the key international human rights treaties, Principle 32 provides for a right to all victims to access remedies. ‘Reparation’ and ‘remedies’ are both envisioned as victims’ rights, but the distinction between them is vague. After providing a contextual and historical background on Principle 32, this chapter discusses its theoretical framework and how the reparation procedure, judicial or administrative, dealing with gross violations of human rights at national or international level has been implemented.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Munafrizal Manan

This paper discusses the right of self-determinationfrom  international  law  and international human rights law perspective. It traces the emergence and development of self-determination from political principle to human right. It also explores the controversy of the right of self-determination. There have been different and even contradictory interpretations of the right of self-determination. Besides, there is no consensus on the mechanism to apply the right of self-determination. Both international law and international human rights law are vague about this.


Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elijah Adewale Taiwo ◽  
Avinash Govindjee

This is the first of the two articles dealing with the implementation of the right to education in South Africa and Nigeria. The article examines the meaning and the process of implementation of the right to education as well as the general nature of states’ obligations under the international human rights instruments regarding the right to education. The article examines the measures put in place at the international level towards realizing the right to education. While this first article examines legislative measures, the follow-up article examines the non-legislative measures, that is, administrative measures as well as other measures put in place to ensure theimplementation of the right to education. The right to education is an empowerment right which is given wide recognition in a number of important international and regional human rights instruments as well as in national constitutions. The article argues that in terms of the international human rights instruments, states are obliged to make primary, secondary and higher levels of education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to all in their territories. It posits that by having ratified those international agreements in which the right to education is guaranteed, both South Africa and Nigeria assumed obligations under international law enjoining themto realize the right to education and to respect freedoms in education in their respective territories. It submits that, despite the international obligations and commitments to provide education for all, there is a significant gap between what is stipulated and the practical realities in the two countries.


2020 ◽  
pp. 109-130
Author(s):  
Michelle Jurkovich

This chapter considers the puzzling role of international law around the right to food and examines why the existing law has been unable to generate norms within the advocacy community. It explores the reasons why international anti-hunger organizations rarely legitimate the right to food in legal terms and how this case can challenge the understanding of the relationships between norms, human rights, and law. It also provides a conceptual discussion of the distinction between formal law and norms, underscoring the importance of not conflating the two concepts. The chapter argues that many international anti-hunger organizations still do not conceptualize food as a human right, making international human rights law less relevant. It looks at the hunger case that suggests there is nothing automatic about law generating norms among activists or society at large.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-39
Author(s):  
Enock Akattu

This paper evaluates the state of education as a human right and demonstrates that it is possible to implement and ultimately protect the right to education within a domestic context. Despite its importance, the right to education has received limited attention from scholars, practitioners and international and regional human rights bodies as compared to other economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs). NGOs have been increasingly interested in using indicators to measure and enforce a state‘s compliance with its obligations under international human rights treaties. Education is one of the few human rights for which it is universally agreed that the individual has a corresponding duty to exercise this right. This paper first of all draws up an inventory of the many international instruments which mention the right to education and analysethem in order to obtain a more precise idea of the content of this right, which often appears blurred. The paper also discusses the right to education as it is guaranteed in articles 13 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (ICRC) and article 13 of the Protocol of San Salvador. The enjoyment of many civil and political rights, such as freedom of information, expression, assembly and association, the right to vote and to be elected or the right of equal access to public service depends on at least a minimum level of education, including literacy. Similarly, many economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to choose work, to receive equal pay for equal work, the right to form trade unions, to take part in cultural life, to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and to receive higher education on the basis of capacity, can only be exercised in a meaningful way after a minimum level of education has been achieved. Similarly, this paper discusses education in Kenya as a basic need and a human right (enhancing access, participation, retention, achievement and quality of schooling) to girls and boys and by extension women and men especially with the promulgation of the new Constitution of Kenya 2010 that recognizes education as a Bill of Rights and everyone is bound by the Bill of Rights. This means that all people in Kenya must respect education as a human right. The Bill binds all government institutions and state officers. They are required to respect human rights and deal appropriately with the special needs of individuals and groups in our society. In this paper, the provision of education in the first 4 to 18 years of schooling is considered to be basic, thus a basic right in Kenya


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-226
Author(s):  
Aron Degol ◽  
Bebizuh Mulugeta

Freedom of expression is one of the human rights enshrined under International human right instruments. However, hate speech in the course of exercising this right has the potential to pose threats on the peace and security of nations and wellbeing of individuals. This has brought about arguments in favor of limitations to expression and against the limitations owing to unintended adverse impact of such limitations in the exercise of freedom of expression. In the Ethiopian case, ‘Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation No. 1185/ 2020’ has been enacted.  The Proclamation indicates prohibited acts of hate speech and its exceptions. In particular, the generic terms contained in the definition given to ‘hate speech’ need to be carefully examined. However, the implications of provisions that set exceptions to ‘hate speech’ in the new law have not yet been subject to adequate academic discourse. This article examines these issues. By consulting different international human rights instruments, experience of other countries and scholarly literature, the article examines the appropriateness, constitutionality and implications of the Proclamation on the right to freedom of expression. Moreover, it indicates potential challenges that the exceptions will pose on the process of implementing the Proclamation in real court cases.


2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-37
Author(s):  
Claire Breen

In July 2001, the Irish Supreme Court decided that the right to a free primary education as contained in the Irish Constitution could not be extended to a 23-year-old autistic man, Jamie Sinnott. Much of the Supreme Court judgment is an exercise in statutory interpretation. The Court considered the meaning of both ‘primary’ and ‘education’ in the context in which it appeared in the Constitution – that of the rights of parents regarding the education of their children. Whilst it was happy to find that the type of on-going care and support required by Jamie Sinnott could be classified as education, nevertheless, the majority of the Irish Supreme Court limited the meaning of ‘primary’ education to that required by children and thereby excluding the care and support, which it recognised as ‘education’, required by profoundly handicapped adults. The impact of the Court's exercise in statutory interpretation is that, in Ireland, the right to free primary education is to be defined with regard to age and not needs. This paper examines the decision of the Irish Supreme Court against the background of the general right to education as provided for in international human rights law in an effort to ascertain the extent to which the Supreme Court decision, as it reflects Irish domestic law regarding the provision of free primary education, correlates with Ireland's international human rights obligations. In so doing, it will reveal the limited extent to which the rights of disabled person have been ‘integrated’ into the general right to education. To that end, Part 1 of this article will focus upon the Sinnott Case as it provides an effective summary of domestic law regarding primary education as contained in the Constitution, statute and case law as well as being the benchmark for the rights of disabled persons to education in Ireland. Part 2 will consider the provisions of international human rights law regarding that pertain to the rights of disabled persons. Part 3 will consider the right to education as provided for in international human rights treaties by comparing the provisions regarding the general right to education, provisions regarding primary education, and provisions regarding persons with disabilities. Part 4 concludes this article by drawing together the right to education and the rights of disabled individuals in an analysis of language and interpretation in an effort to determine the extent to which the rights of individuals, such as Jamie Sinnott are protected by both national and international law.


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