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New York, 18 October 2022: International community discussed the need to advance progress on early care and education as a basic human right during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education at the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.

Mrs. Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education, presented the report (A/77/324) on early childhood care and education (ECCE) and engaged in interactive dialogue with member states on the need to strengthen the realization of the right to education. The report examines ECCE from a human-rights perspective, reflecting the multisectoral needs of children and their caregivers followed by key recommendations to States on addressing the imperative of ECCE.

In her presentation, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the benefits of ECCE as an effective tool for reducing educational disparities as well as improving lifelong learning outcomes and earnings. Yet, young children worldwide continue to face an extremely challenging educational environment, and ECCE participation rates are still low globally. In contrast to Europe and North America, where pre-primary education is practically widespread, only 50% of children in North and Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia have access to it. 

Turning to the report’s conclusion and recommendations, she called on countries to integrate national lifelong learning frameworks into their education systems to uphold the right to education and ensure the establishment of a level playing field for the youngest of learners worldwide. Most importantly, all actors, including governments, citizens, international and national organizations, parents, and children, are encouraged to collectively engage in consultations to identify and codify a rights‑based approach to early childhood care and education, therefore advancing a new international instrument to guarantee that every child has the right and equal access to participate in ECCE.

At the interactive dialogue, Mrs Lily Gray, Liaison Officer at UNESCO New York Office, reiterated the critical role of early childhood care and education in addressing the learning crisis as underlined during the Transforming Education Summit held in September. As such, UNESCO is actively collaborating with Member States and other key stakeholders to advance global commitment on ECCE. In particular, she highlighted the upcoming World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education co-organized by UNESCO in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 14 to 16 November 2022. The event will mobilize over 1000 participants, including representatives from governments, UN agencies, civil society and private sector, aiming to galvanize collective actions in developing effective ECCE policies and systems, as well as enhancing investments to achieve lifelong learning and sustainable development.

On behalf of the Group of Friends for Education and Lifelong Learning, Mr Rene Zeleny, Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic, recalled the Transforming Education Summit where Member States agreed on the value of investing in early childhood care and education as well as foundational education as the first step toward lifelong learning. In response to the inadequate and uneven distribution of ECCE services, the Group backs the Special Rapporteur’s call on intensifying advocacy and taking tangible steps to safeguard every child’s right to ECCE. In addition, he envisioned meaningful outcomes from the approaching World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, which will contribute to the achievement of SDG 4.2 and other early childhood-related SDGs.

Watch the meeting here.

URL:

https://en.unesco.org/news/general-assembly-discusses-progress-early-childhood-care-and-education