Bringing the Right to Education into the 21st Century

Publication Title

Berkeley Journal of International Law

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Education is not only foundational to children's development, it also helps children realize the full range of their human rights. Yet, the international law mandate on the right to education has changed little since 1948. This static state has left the right to education unfulfilled for millions of children. This Article argues that it is time to update the legal mandate on education, and in particular with respect to pre-primary and secondary education. The Article starts by explicating the limitations of the current mandate on the right to education and then evaluates whether so-called “soft law,” or non-binding measures, may have helped fill the gaps in existing treaty law on education rights. The Article uses a combination of manual review and computational text analytics to examine discussions of education in the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child from 1993 to 2020. The Committee's Concluding Observations evaluate States Parties' progress in meeting their obligations under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and, as such, serve as a primary vehicle for advancing the implementation of human rights. Finding that non-binding measures are insufficient in practice, the Article concludes that the international community needs to agree to an updated legal mandate on education that ensures all children have access to an equitable start, can complete secondary education, and can develop to their full potential.

Recommended Citation

Jonathan Todres & Charlotte S. Alexander, Bringing the Right to Education into the 21st Century, 42 Berkeley J. Int'l L. 65 (2024).

Volume

42

First Page

65

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