![]() ![]() In this inclusive perspective, the real priority of education focuses on the needs of the students. This also means that education must be available and accessible to all without discrimination based on gender, age, ethnic origin, social status, nationality, disability, or illness, including HIV/AIDS. When considering the appropriate application of these interrelated and essential features, the best interests of the student shall be a primary consideration. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has clearly enunciated that education in all its forms and at all levels shall exhibit the following interrelated and essential features: availability, accessibility (that is, physical, economic and non-discriminatory access), acceptability and adaptability. It also offers well defined cross-cutting principles which the international human rights protection machinery further developed and clarified.Īllow me, therefore, to refer to some of the substantive contents of Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which outlines the responsibilities of States in relation to primary, secondary and higher education as well as fundamental education. Such legal architecture imposes precise obligations on States. Moreover, the right to education is recognized as such also in regional instruments, as well as national constitutions. Its normative framework finds a powerful echo in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. ![]() The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides the most comprehensive articulation of the substantive contents of the right to education for all. On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this December 10, let us celebrate the fact that-at least in principle and law-education has become universally accepted as a fundamental human right. Let us simply reflect on the value of education in securing work, the positive impact of education on health, or the decisive role which education plays in achieving equality between women and men. In short, it is personal experience as much as conviction that prompts me to reaffirm that education is both a human right in itself, as well as an indispensable instrument for achieving many other rights, whether civil, cultural, economic, political, or social. And when I started a law practice on my own it was not out of choice, but because nobody would employ a black woman lawyer. Finally, it was a black lawyer who agreed to take me on board, but first he made me promise that I would not become pregnant. After my graduation, I sought an internship, which was mandatory under the law but then as a black woman, I had to fight against multi-layered forms of discrimination and barriers. He argued that I could not expect white secretaries to take instructions from a person of my background. The registrar actually discouraged me from becoming a lawyer. ![]() ![]() Despite their efforts and good will, I almost didn't make it as a lawyer, because when I entered university during the apartheid regime everything and everyone was segregated. When the essay was published, my community raised funds in order to send this promising, but impecunious, young woman to university. I was sixteen when I wrote an essay which dealt with the role of South African women in educating children on human rights. I know first hand the benefits of access to education, as well as the effects that obstacles to such access produce. This is an approach that underscores the centrality of non-discrimination in access to education for all, as well as its potential to empower individuals and improve the welfare of whole communities. I am particularly pleased with the choice of this year’s theme, that is: “Inclusive Education”. It is a pleasure to be here with you today at such an important forum which addresses issues of high relevance to the promotion and protection of the human right to education. ![]()
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