MMM expresses support for strengthening of the right to education

No consencus for a fourth Optional Protocal

The 3 days of the session began with a general debate where UN Member States, UN entities, National Human Rights institutions and NGOs expressed their views on what would be a 4th Optional Protocol (OP) to the Convention on the rights of the child. While a majority of governments support this this process, a number of governments question the need for an new OP or if it is the best way forward; others voiced concerns such as resource constraints. Only a few countries clearly expressed their oposition to the process, including Argentina, Belgium, Eritrea, and the UK.

From the very beginning, MMM has been involved in the process, which was initiated by Human Rights Watch and Child Rights Connect, a network of child rights organisations of which MMM is a member.

We reasserted our support during the general debate, by sharing four key considerations:

• A 4th Protocol could not only acknowledge the central role and responsibility of parents in their children’s educational journey but also recognise the disparities in their ability to be actively involved. This will help Member States create policies and legal frameworks that support families in all their diversity and actively engage all parents as partners in education
• Investing in pre-primary education yields high returns—a fact that a 4th Protocol can help promote
• A 4th protocol is the opportunity to explicitly recognise and address the multiple and intersecting barriers that too many girls still face in accessing education
• The 4th Protocol would also bridge the gap between education and care—two fundamental aspects of human development

Strengthening the right to education is essential to combating poverty, reducing inequality–including gender inequality, as well as fostering democratic participation, sustainable development and peace. It is vital for building a better future for all.

📄 Read MMM full statement

The session also includeed different panels, where experts discussed

MMM participated in the discussion o

The Open-ended intergovernmental working group on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the rights to early childhood education, free pre-primary education and free secondary education was established in 2024 by the Human Rights Council. Its mandate is to explore the possibility of elaborating a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child with the aim to:

• Explicitly recognize that the right to education includes early childhood care and education
• Explicitly state that, with a view to achieving the right to education, States shall:
  • Make public pre-primary education available free to all, beginning with at least one year
  • Make public secondary education available free to all
• Recall that States shall promote and encourage international cooperation in matters relating to education
• Consider a provision that would allow for States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to incorporate all reporting on their obligations under the optional protocol into their reports submitted under article 44 of the Convention, eliminating the need for an initial or other separate reports.

Its first session took place 1-3 September in the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

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