Guiding Documents and Legal Frameworks for the network

1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26, “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.”

1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons During Times of War, Article 24 states that, “The Parties to the conflict shall take the necessary measures to ensure that children under fifteen, who are orphaned or are separated from their families as a result of the war, are not left to their own resources, and that ... their education [is] facilitated in all circumstances.” In addition, Article 50 states that, “The Occupying Power shall, with the cooperation of the national and local authorities, facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children.”

1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (which also applies to the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees), Article 22 states that refugees shall be accorded “the same treatment as ... nationals with respect to elementary education” and “treatment as favourable as possible, and, in any event, not less favourable than that accorded to aliens generally in the same circumstances, with respect to education other than elementary education ...”

1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 13 states that, “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education ... and with a view to achieving the full realization of this right: primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all; secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education; higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education; fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as far as possible for those persons who have not received or completed the whole period of their primary education.”

1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child

• Article 28 “States Parties recognize the right of the child to education and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) make primary education compulsory and available free to all; (b) encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need; (c) make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means.”
• Article 29 “States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: (a) The development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; (b) The development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations; (c) The development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own; (d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin; (e) The development of respect for the natural environment.
• “No part of the present article or article 28 shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, subject always to the observance of the principle set forth in [the above paragraph] and to the requirements that the education given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid down by the State.”
• Article 2 “States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.”
• Article 31 “States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.”

Other relevant international agreements

Dakar Education for All Framework which specifies six goals to be met by all countries by 2015:

1. Expanded and improved access to early childhood care and education
2. Access to and completion of free and compulsory primary education of good quality
3. Access to appropriate learning and life skills programs
4. A fifty percent improvement in the levels of adult literacy and equitable access to basic and continuing education for adults
5. Elimination of gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and achievement of gender equality in education by 2015
6. Improvement in all aspects of the quality of education and achievement of recognized and measurable learning outcomes, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills (UNESCO 2000: 43).

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which also include two education-related goals:

1. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
2. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015

The Humanitarian Charter expresses agencies’ commitment to fundamental humanitarian principles and to achieving the Minimum Standards. This commitment is based on agencies’ appreciation of their own ethical obligations, and reflects the rights and duties enshrined in international law in respect of which states and other parties have established obligations. The Charter is concerned with the most basic requirements for sustaining the lives and dignity of those affected by calamity or conflict.