Purpose of the mandate
The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education was established to examine the crucial issue of the right of all persons to access quality education without discrimination, and to provide recommendations to Governments and other stakeholders. The Special Rapporteur addresses issues of availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of education, from pre-primary to tertiary levels, including in non-formal education systems or mechanisms.
More about the human right to education.
About the mandate
The Special Rapporteur on the right to education is an independent human rights expert appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. First established in 1998, the mandate was most recently renewed in 2020 under
resolution 44/3.
More about the
history of the mandate and the resolutions that established it.
Current mandate holder
Ms. Koumbou Boly Barry, from Burkina Faso, was appointed Special Rapporteur in 2016 at the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council. The fourth expert to serve since the mandate was established, Dr. Boly Barry holds a PhD in Economic History from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal. She is the former Minister of Education and Literacy of Burkina Faso, and has consulted widely for various governments and international institutions on the right to education. Read
Ms. Koumbou Boly Barry’s full biography.
Latest thematic reports
The right to education of migrants. In this report, the Special Rapporteur identifies key issues to ensuring the right to education of migrants and challenges migrants face in accessing educational facilities and quality educational opportunities that take into account their specific needs.
View report page | View document
A/76/158
The cultural dimensions of the right to education, or the right to education as a cultural right: In this report, the Special Rapporteur calls for the right to education to be viewed as a cultural right – that is, as the right of each person to the cultural resources necessary to freely follow a process of identification, to experience mutually rewarding relations his or her life long, to deal with the crucial challenges facing our world and to engage in the practices that make it possible to take ownership of and contribute to these resources
View report page | View easy-to-read summary (English | Français | Español) | View document
A/HRC/47/32
Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the right to education, presented in June 2020: The Special Rapporteur explores key issues such as structural discrimination and rising inequalities, the digitalisation of education, and the rights of teachers. She provides recommendations to governments and stakeholders on ways to face the education crisis.
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A/HRC/44/39
Latest country reports
Mission
to Qatar (8-16 December 2019)
View document
A/HRC/38/32/Add.1
Mission to
Tunisia (7-12 April 2019)
View document
A/HRC/44/39/Add.2
