About the Statement:

The Union Association for Human Rights delivered an oral statement under Item 5 during the 57th session of the Human Rights Council. The statement emphasized the importance of strengthening mechanisms that guarantee states’ compliance with the right to education, ensuring it is enjoyed universally, equally, and without discrimination. It also highlighted the UAE’s efforts to support education both locally and internationally through impactful initiatives and significant financial contributions, as well as its support for education in crisis-affected areas.

Content of the Statement:

• The statement reaffirmed:
  • The central role of the Human Rights Council in promoting states’ commitments to the right to education.
  • The importance of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education.
  • The implementation of HRC Resolution 21/52, which focuses on ensuring full and equal enjoyment of the right to education without discrimination.
• It called for sharing and benefiting from the experiences of countries that have made tangible progress in this area.
• It commended the UAE’s initiatives, including:
  • Providing more than $1.5 billion to support education projects worldwide.
  • Allocating $280 million to support education in crisis-affected regions.
  • Contributing $100 million to the Global Partnership for Education.
  • Launching the Literacy Challenge 2030 in cooperation with UNESCO and UNDP.
  • Strengthening international partnerships to uphold the right to education during conflicts, disasters, and crises.

Importance of the Statement:

• Highlighting the right to education as an enabling right: As the cornerstone for enjoying other fundamental rights, the statement stresses that ensuring education helps eradicate poverty, promote equality, and build prosperous, peaceful societies.
• Reinforcing states’ commitments to international standards: The statement reminds states of their obligations under relevant treaties and agreements, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
• Commending a successful global model (the UAE): The statement presents the UAE as a role model in supporting education nationally and globally through innovative initiatives and substantial funding directed toward the most marginalized communities.
• Advancing education in crisis contexts: By supporting educational projects in fragile settings, the statement underscores the importance of sustaining education even in the most challenging humanitarian conditions.