What happened to the human right to education?

Published: 24th September 2013

16 leading organizations call for human rights to be at heart of development goals

Today, Oxfam joined fifteen other leading civil society organizations to call for the right to education to be recognized and placed at the heart of the post-2015 development framework by member states of the United Nations.

Between them, the organizations represent thousands of grassroots, national, regional and global civil society groups, and 30 million teachers in more than 170 countries.

Oxfam spokesperson Katie Malouf Bous said:

“Everyone has the right to education, but millions have this right violated because access to school is denied, fees are charged, and governments are not investing in the desperately needed teachers that will deliver a quality education.”

“Donors and national governments must rediscover the commitment they demonstrated at the turn of the millennium – which has sadly lapsed – and support basic education with robust funding so that no one is shut out of this basic human right.”

Read the organizations' full statement

Donors and national governments must support basic education with robust funding so that no one is shut out of this basic human right.

Notes to editors

  1. The organizations launching this joint call are the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), Oxfam, the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), Education International (EI), the Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (CLADE), the Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE), the Arab Campaign for Education for All (ACEA), the Africa Network Campaign for Education for All (ANCEFA), the Latin American and Caribbean Council for Popular Education (CEAAL), the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA), Global March Against Child Labor, ActionAid, DVV International, Plan International, IBIS and Open Society Foundations.
  2. The Right to Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda event is being held at 1pm-2.30pm, Tuesday 24th September at the headquarters of the Open Society Foundations in New York.

Contact information

Sherry Abuel-Ealeh, sherry@campaignforeducation.org, +44 7733077927

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Oxfam's Health and Education For All Campaign

Global Campaign for Education website