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UN Working Group Opens Discussions on Optional Protocol for Early Childhood Care and Education and Secondary Education 

UN Working Group Opens Discussions on Optional Protocol for Early Childhood Care and Education and Secondary Education 

The first session of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child officially opened today at the UN Human Rights Council. The Working Group, mandated by HRC resolution 56/5, will explore the possibility of elaborating a new legally binding instrument that guarantees the rights to early childhood care and education (ECCE), free pre-primary education, and free secondary education.

Throughout the opening day, States recognised the urgency of ensuring the right to education for all children, especially at the pre-primary and secondary levels. Several delegations welcomed the initiative as a historic opportunity to explicitly recognise the right to ECCE in the international legal framework and reinforce obligations on free education.

States highlighted national efforts to expand access and strengthen public systems. Other states raised concerns about treaty proliferation, duplication, and financial feasibility, among other issues. Several delegations stressed the importance of domestic financing, children’s meaningful participation, and a balanced approach that complements existing legal frameworks.

Our Programme Officer on the Right to Education, Juana Barragán Díaz, delivered a video oral statement, urging the Working Group to reaffirm two essential principles: first, the primacy of public education provision; and second, the centrality of adequate domestic financing to ensure free, quality public ECCE and secondary education for all. A future Optional Protocol must clearly articulate these obligations. As stated: ‘Without robust public systems and sustainable public financing, the right to education risks becoming a privilege for some, rather than a right for all.’

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