Human Rights Council Side-Event: ‘Human rights policy responses to the growth of private actors in education”

The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the Right to Education project, the Global Campaign for Education, and the Privatisation in Education Research Initiative are pleased to invite you to an event on ‘Human rights policy responses to the growth of private actors in education’, to be held on Friday 12th June from 12.45 pm to 2.15 pm in  Auditorium A2 at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Maison de la Paix , Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2, Geneva).

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The global growth of private actors in education presents many challenges from a human rights perspective. As discussed during a side-event at the Human Rights Council last year, increasing privatisation of education is pushing already vulnerable groups deeper into poverty and furthering social divisions, making it more difficult for states to fulfil their core obligation to provide quality public education for all. Unfortunately, the issues discussed last year have become more acute and the questions raised at that time remain unanswered; in particular, which policies consistent with human rights frameworks need to be adopted to effectively respond to these challenges.

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The event seeks to provide an overview of this topical issue, building on the report of Mr Kishore Singh, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, which will be presented the following week at the Human Rights Council. The event will also provide an opportunity to share experiences and to discuss the potential of different human rights policy responses to the privatisation of education.

The Global Campaign for Education will also launch during the event its forthcoming flagship report on low-fee private schools.

Confirmed speakers:

• Mr Kishore Singh, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, who will present some of the findings from his forthcoming report on the regulation of private actors in education
• Ms Anjela Taneja, Head of Policy at the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), who will present GCE’s key report
• Ms Salima Namusobya, Executive Director, Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), Uganda

The fourth speaker will be confirmed shortly.

The event will be chaired by Dr Joanna Bourke-Martignoni, Research Fellow, Project on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

Please contact Anja Nielsen at  anja.nielsen@opensocietyfoundations.org with any queries and to RSVP. The event is free of charge but space is limited, so please confirm your attendance to avoid disappointment. Do not hesitate to share this invitation with other partners.