The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education has responded to the report of the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP), stressing the need for mechanisms to hold governments accountable to their obligations under human rights law.
12 June 2013: The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education has responded to the report of the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP), stressing the need for mechanisms to hold governments accountable to their obligations under human rights law. Kishore Singh said the HLP report lacked an emphasis on accountability, which is “regrettable.”
Singh said, “Rights without remedies are not rights at all. The post-2015 development agenda must move beyond political commitments, and more closely reflect the obligations undertaken by States under international human rights law.” He called for governments to make their commitments “justiciable in their national legal systems.”
In the context of the right to education, Singh explained, “As we embark on more complex challenges, we must ensure that the right-holders themselves, the students and their parents, have the ability to challenge governments to meet their international obligations.” He urged Member States to give the post-2015 development goals a firm framework for accountability, with appropriate indicators.
A Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed on an honorary basis by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The Special Rapporteurs are part of the HRC’s Special Procedures system. [UN Press Release] [OHCHR Press Release] [OHCHR Website on Special Rapporteur]