Day One of the 2025 Session of the Social Forum: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Calls for a Recommitment to Education as a National and Global Priority
Forum Holds Keynote Panel, Panel on Education for Civil Rights, and Panel on Education for Cultural Rights
The Social Forum today opened its 2025 session in Geneva, focusing on “the contribution of education to the respect, promotion, protection and fulfilment of all human rights for all”, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 56/12. Following opening statements, the Forum held three panel discussions, hearing from United Nations representatives, experts, State officials, academia, and civil society on a variety of topics pertaining to education and human rights.
In opening remarks, Anita Pipan, Co-Chair Rapporteur of the Social Forum, said the dialogue held over the next two days could help ensure that human rights education became a truly transformative force, enabling the realisation of all human rights for all, and building a foundation for more just, resilient and inclusive societies.
Claudia Fuentes Julio, Vice President of the Human Rights Council, said the right to education was fundamental to human dignity and instrumental in unlocking the full spectrum of human rights. Redressing gaps in education through collective action was imperative, as it held the potential to advance equality across all the Sustainable Development Goals and diverse sectors.
Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said since it was recognised as a fundamental human right, education had transformed the world. Despite its promise, education was under attack. This course needed to be changed drastically; it was time to recommit to education as a national and global priority.
The Forum then held three panel discussions.
Speaking in the Keynote Panel highlighting the importance of education in the realisation of all human rights for all were Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Ana Luiza Massot Thompson-Flores, Director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Geneva Liaison Office; Bonny Ibhawoh, Chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development; and Whitney Mélinard, President of Kopounoule Inc.
Speaking in the discussion were Albania, Ethiopia, Cuba, European Union, Indonesia, Hungary, Venezuela, South Africa, Jordan, Colombia, Malaysia, Belarus, China, Spain, Ukraine, Iraq, Bolivia, Russian Federation, Pakistan, Greece, Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Iran and Azerbaijan.
Also speaking was the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, as well as Rights Centric Education Network; Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII; Humanity First; Réseau Unité pour le Développement De Mauritanie; Women's Federation for World Peace International; Tierra Nuestra; Nigeria Humanist Association; ALLI Association; Union Leader FNV; United States Council of Organizations; Geneva for Human Rights; Her Dream Initiative; European Democratic Education Community; Hassan Omran; the Association of People with Disability; Sitara Brooj Akbar; Pilares de una sociedad Project of the Central University of Venezuela; DMUN Foundation; Diaspora Policy Interaction; Gregory Odey Water Foundation; Nebrija Mun Student Association; Integracion Ciudadana Suiza; Congrès Mondial Tchètehène; and Réveil communautaire d'assistance aux victims.
The panellists raised topics including the contribution of education to human rights; the importance of education in realising the right to development; and the need for decolonisation of education. Speakers in the ensuing discussion spoke on education as a powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty and exclusion; the negative impact of conflicts on education; the importance of ensuring digital education; and steps taken around the world to improve access to education.
Speaking in the second panel on “Education for civil rights – Freedom, safety and accountability” were Juana María Ibáñez Rivas, Panel Moderator and Member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development; Verene Shepherd, Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; Petra Heusser, Geneva Hub on Education in Emergencies; Maria Lucia Uribe Torres, Executive Director of Arigatou International; and Denise Roche, Advocacy Manager of Scholars at Risk Europe.
Speaking in the discussion were the Russian Federation, Venezuela, Iran, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.
Also speaking were the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, as well as Federación Internacional Fe y Alegría; Rights Centric Education Network; Pilares de una sociedad Project; Association of People with Disability; Association for the human rights of the Azerbaijani people in Iran; DMUM; Global Student Forum; Group of Advocates for the Right to Development; Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXII; Union Leader FNV; Raïssa D’zentima; Women’s Federation for World Peace International; Diaspora Policy Interaction; and Latter-Day Saint Charities.
The panellists covered topics including ensuring education in emergencies; integrating interfaith and intercultural learning into national curricula; and the importance of academic freedom. Meanwhile, speakers in the discussion which followed raised topics such as how education needed to address the needs of marginalised peoples; the importance of security in ensuring access to education; and measures being taken to promote children’s access to education.
Speaking in the third panel on “Education for cultural rights - Diversity, memory and belonging” were Mylene Bidault, Human Rights Officer, mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; Zongxu Xie, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Indigenous fellow 2024, Miao youth from China’s Guizhou and Co-founder of Vision 2061; Camilla Croso, Executive Director of the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas; and Patrice Meyer-Bisch, Philosopher, President of the Observatory on cultural rights and diversity, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Speaking in the discussion were Venezuela, Iran, Ukraine, Italy, Mexico, as well as Maloca Internationale; Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran; Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII; Global Student Forum; Geneva for Human Rights; DMUN; Maniati Evaggelia, Othisi High School; Réseau Unité pour le développement de Mauritanie; Elsa Nebrija, student association; and Latter-Day Saint Charities.
The panellists covered topics including education as a cultural right; the importance of indigenous knowledge; and ensuring the right to science through academic freedom. Those speaking in the discussion highlighted the importance of education as a tool for strengthening cultural diversity; the importance of preserving indigenous languages and cultures; and challenges faced by indigenous communities around the world in attaining their cultural rights.
The Social Forum is an annual meeting convened by the Human Rights Council. It is a unique space for open and interactive dialogue between civil society, representatives of Member States, and intergovernmental organizations, on a theme chosen by the Council each year.
The 2025 Social Forum is being held in Geneva from 30 to 31 October. Summaries of the public meetings can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The programme of work of the 2025 Social Forum and other documents related to the session can be found here.
The Social Forum will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Friday, 31 October, to begin the second and final day of its 2025 session.
Opening Statements
ANITA PIPAN, Co-Chair Rapporteur of the Social Forum, in opening remarks, said it was an honour to call to order the seventieth session of the Human Rights Council’s Social Forum. In line with Council resolution 59/9, this year the Forum would explore “the contribution of education to the respect, promotion, protection and fulfilment of all human rights for all”. Education was both a right in itself and an enabling right to realise all other human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social, as well as the right to development, food, and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The right to education was anchored firmly in several global instruments, serving as a reminder that education needed to be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to the needs and rights of all learners.
States bore the primary duty to make education accessible, inclusive and of quality for all. However, between 2023 and 2024, an estimated 272 million children and youth were out of school. Low- and lower-middle-income countries faced an annual funding gap of around 97 billion USD to achieve Sustainable Development Goal four on inclusive and equitable education and lifelong learning for all. Education aid was projected to decline through 2027, and by 2030 the world could face a shortage of up to 44 million teachers. Education today was also under pressure from a convergence of global crises. In 2024, the Unted Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization reported a 44 per cent rise in attacks on education in situations of armed conflicts. In Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and Myanmar, schools had been bombed, occupied or closed.
At the same time, the climate crisis was reshaping the geography of education. In 2024, extreme weather events disrupted schooling for at least 242 million students in 85 countries. The crisis of inequality only deepened these wounds and continued to exclude millions. More than 100 million girls worldwide remained out of school, while 240 million children with disabilities faced barriers to access and participation. Furthermore, the rapid digitalisation of learning had opened doors for some, but left millions further behind, and exposed many to risks of surveillance, profiling and data misuse. When education fell behind or came under attack, the enjoyment of all human rights was undermined.
Yet, amid these realities, there was also hope. Across the world, children and youth were rising, demanding climate action, equality and justice. In this regard, dedicating the ongoing fifth phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education to children and youth was timely and appropriate. The plan of action for the fifth phase of the programme offered clear guidance for national strategies on human rights education and called for children and youth to be engaged as partners at every stage. Ms. Pipan concluded by stating that the Social Forum provided a unique space to share experiences, identify best practices and foster collaboration across governments, international organizations, academia, civil society and beyond. The dialogue held over the next two days could help ensure that human rights education became a truly transformative force, enabling the realisation of all human rights for all, building a foundation for more just, resilient and inclusive societies.
CLAUDIA FUENTES JULIO, Vice President of the Human Rights Council, said the right to education was fundamental to human dignity and instrumental in unlocking the full spectrum of human rights. Global challenges, disasters and crises had deepened long-standing systemic and structural inequalities in the enjoyment of human rights and sustainable development, disproportionately affecting women and girls, as well as individuals in vulnerable and marginalised situations. Redressing gaps in education through collective action was imperative, as it held the potential to advance equality across all the Sustainable Development Goals and diverse sectors.
The Human Rights Council reaffirmed the right to education during its fifty-ninth session when it adopted resolution 59/9 by consensus, reflecting the shared determination of all States to uphold education for all as a universal human right. The international community was called upon to guarantee education for all, especially for children, in every context - especially in humanitarian emergencies, post-disaster recovery phases, conflict zones, and situations of occupation. This required States to comply with their obligations and international humanitarian law. The Council had also prioritised human rights education since its inception, notably through the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training and the World Programme for Human Rights Education.
To unlock meaningful transformation in education, technology needed to play a role. Ensuring digital inclusion and narrowing technological gaps - especially across diverse regional education systems - was essential. The international community also needed to integrate technology in ways that eliminated gender bias and expanded access to learning. This included embracing emerging digital solutions, such as artificial intelligence, while remaining vigilant about their impact. The world was undergoing an unprecedented evolution in education, and it needed to shape and manage this change responsibly.
The Social Forum presented a vital opportunity for all stakeholders to collectively reimagine education as a transformative and enabling right. Building on the momentum of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, the Forum needed to place innovation at the heart of education for all human rights. Together, the international community could ensure that education became a bridge to a world where equality, peace and human rights belonged to all.
VOLKER TÜRK, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a world gripped by complex crises, a straightforward solution had always been in front of everyone: education. Since it was recognised as a fundamental human right, education transformed the world. Education was the best investment in the economy. Over the past 45 years, it had helped reduce extreme poverty by 40 per cent, and closing gender gaps in education and the workforce could boost gross domestic product by 23 per cent. Education was also the best investment in security. Research showed that education, especially human rights education, built social cohesion and prevented conflict.
Despite its promise, education was under attack. In Gaza, over 90 per cent of schools had been damaged or destroyed. In Sudan, the war had deprived 13 million children of education. In Haiti, violence had affected hundreds of schools, leaving one in four children out of the classroom. In Ukraine, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had documented over 1,600 attacks on schools. In Afghanistan, more than 90 per cent of 10-year-olds were unable to read a simple text, and close to 80 per cent of young Afghan women were excluded from education, employment, and training. Education was also undermined by those who saw it as a budget line to be trimmed. This came at a time when one in 10 young people and adults lacked basic literacy skills, when a quarter of a billion children remained out of school, and when less than half of the world’s primary schools had access to computers or the Internet.
This course needed to be changed drastically; it was time to recommit to education as a national and global priority. By anchoring economies in human rights, education could be brought back to the centre of policymaking. Through fairer financial policies, such as equitable taxation, this could unlock the resources needed to strengthen education systems. Reforming the global financial architecture could ensure that every country was able to invest in education. The entire annual education funding gap for low- and lower-middle-income countries could be closed with less than four per cent of last year’s global military spending.
Education was about more than preparing people for jobs. When curricula promoted critical thinking, presented history accurately, and acknowledged past injustices, they helped build a fairer and more inclusive world. Human rights education needed to be deeply embedded into societies. Mr. Türk called on every Member State to share next year, at the sixty-third session of the Human Rights Council, their strategy to ensure their people learned about human rights throughout their lives. Education for all was not only a matter of rights and justice; it was about heeding the voice of reason.
Keynote Panel Highlighting the Importance of Education in the Realisation of All Human Rights for All
FARIDA SHAHEED, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, said the right to education was an empowering and transformative right – a pathway through which people accessed, claimed, and shaped all other human rights. It was a vital thread that weaved the tapestries of both current realities and unfolding, untold futures, providing environments where millions of people – especially the young – searched for meaning, safety and a place to belong.
Education systems were under profound strain. In too many places, public financing was declining. In crises, schools were attacked, closed or used as shelters. Digital transformation increasingly responded to market priorities rather than pedagogical care. Curricula were politicised, and teachers were undervalued, under-paid, and exhausted. Being serious about human rights meant being serious about protecting education. Education enabled participation in socio-economic life and supported the right to work by nurturing capabilities for safe and freely chosen livelihoods. It transmitted values and visions of desired futures, and nurtured a sense of individual and collective self.
Education strengthened the right to health, including mental health, by fostering confidence, self-awareness and supportive relationships. Comprehensive sexuality education grounded in human rights and scientific evidence equipped young people with the knowledge and skills to understand their bodies, form respectful relationships, and make informed decisions. Teaching nutrition helped learners understand how food, health, the environment and economic conditions were interlinked, enabling choices that supported well-being, growth and dignity.
For girls and young women, education could be profoundly transformative. When girls learned, social norms shifted, families transformed, and entire communities changed. Supporting girls’ education was a powerful investment in equality.
Education prepared individuals to participate in public life. Human rights education was also a vital way of teaching and learning grounded in dignity, empathy and shared responsibility. When peoples’ heritage was reflected and respected in textbooks, classroom materials and teaching practices, education affirmed that they belonged. Multi-voice inclusive history teaching could help societies confront past harm, prevent denial and erasure, and cultivate responsibility towards one another and the future. Ensuring the right to education in all emergencies was also vital, as it could be a source of protection, stability and hope, offer psychosocial healing, and preserve the continuity of communities.
To build peaceful, sustainable and just societies, education needed to be treated as a universal public and common good, not a commodity or privilege. Towards this aim, the steps that needed to be taken included protecting education in emergencies, ensuring educational institutions were safe for everyone, supporting teacher well-being and fair labour conditions, ensuring public financing and equitable resources, governing digital education in the public interest, promoting inclusive and culturally grounded curricula, safeguarding academic freedom, and educating with a responsibility to future generations. Education was not only preparation for life, but it was also life itself. It was humanity learning how to live together today and in the future.
ANA LUIZA MASSOT THOMPSON-FLORES, Director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Geneva Liaison Office, said as the world stood at a crossroads of uncertainty, the call for social justice, solidarity and strengthening multilateralism had never been more urgent. Education was the great enabler, unlocking access to cultural life, decent work, health, dignity, civic participation, and freedom of expression. Where education thrived, so did societies. However, data showed that the world was far from achieving Sustainable Development Goal four on inclusive and equitable education and lifelong learning for all; 270 million children and youth remained out of school and 70 per cent of children in low- and middle-income countries could not read a simple text by the age of 10. Compounding these challenges were chronic financing gaps, with debt repayments acceding educational spending in 50 countries. These were not just statistics: these were a call for action.
Investing in education was investing in peace, sustainability and human rights. A recent report “Artificial Intelligence and Education: Protecting the Rights of Learners” reminded that technology must serve, not substitute human development. It was time to strengthen, not weaken multilateralism. The commitment to education was reflected across three key areas: political, normative and networks. Education was where all human rights met. When education was denied, every other right was weakened. When it flourished, the full spectrum of human rights could be realised. The Unted Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization would hold its international symposium on the right to education on 9 December at its headquarters in Paris, to further advance the vision of an evolving right to education throughout life and reaffirm education as the guiding light of human progress.
BONNY IBHAWOH, Chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, said education was the cornerstone of human dignity, the basis for democratic participation, and the driver of sustainable development. In today’s context of widening inequalities, climate disruption, technological upheaval, and persistent conflict, the urgency of securing rights-based education could not be more pressing.
At the core of the right to development were principles of participation, equity and non-discrimination. Education was one of the most effective means by which these principles were translated into lived reality. It empowered individuals, including marginalised individuals and groups, to participate actively and meaningfully in their communities and societies, and opened pathways that allowed people to rise beyond cycles of poverty and exclusion. Without universal and equitable education, the right to development remained abstract.
The ability of millions to enjoy this right was under severe threat. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed and widened existing inequalities, especially the digital divide, which left millions of marginalised children and youth disconnected from learning. Conflict and displacement continued to deny access to education for millions living in war zones or refugee camps, perpetuating cycles of vulnerability and exclusion. Climate change had also disrupted education through extreme weather events.
Education was one of the most powerful instruments for advancing justice. It was key to economic justice, for it provided the knowledge and skills that allowed individuals to break the chains of poverty and participate in labour markets on fair terms. Financing for education needed to be aligned with the principle of fair distribution of the benefits of development.
The right to development affirmed that all peoples had the right to self-determination, including sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources. Education strengthened this right by equipping communities with the knowledge and skills necessary to claim and exercise sovereignty over their heritage and their future. A rights-based approach demanded intercultural education that honoured indigenous knowledge systems, languages and traditions.
The international community should not allow education to be captured by exclusion, commodification, or neglect. It needed to be universal, rights-based, and inclusive at all levels; financed justly with national and international resources; and transformative, preparing learners to advance peace, gender equality, climate justice, intercultural understanding, and democratic participation. Education was not only the foundation of the right to development, it was the foundation of freedom itself. It gave voice to the voiceless, power to the marginalised, and hope to future generations. All parties needed to ensure that every child, woman and man in every corner of the globe could learn, grow, and flourish. Only then would the world realise the promise of the right to development and secure a just future for all.
WHITNEY MÉLINARD, President, Kopounoule Inc., said Kopounoule Inc. was rooted in the belief that those on the margins held the knowledge for everyone’s collective survival. She came from a place where the triple planet crisis was felt first-hand; a place where culture had always been part of the curriculum and where justice was about protecting what could be protected.
Ms. Mélinard said that Hurricane Melissa had recently made landfall in Jamaica, and it had left youth and children standing in flooded communities filled with uncertainty and worry. The storm, which had destroyed homes, had been supercharged by a warming planet, the plastic washed up on the shores, and lands that the affected communities would never visit. This was the unravelling of rights and responsibilities.
Climate justice was a human right. The loss of access to water due to a drought was a violation of the right to water. When children developed asthma due to pollution, this was a violation of the right to health. Excluding indigenous peoples, who contributed the least to emissions yet faced the harshest impacts, from decision making was a new form of environmental racism and colonialism.
Ms. Mélinard called for the decolonisation of education. Schools needed to reflect the cultures and histories of habitants. She also called for education to be made relational, so children could understand that climate change was not a future problem but a current one. Education needed to teach empathy and it needed to be actionable. It needed to foster skills that allowed people to adapt and regenerate in the face of climate threats. Education systems also needed to be answerable to the communities most impacted by the triple planet crisis.
If the world failed to teach the link between justice and ecology, no amount of wealth would save it from collapse. Youth were often described as being “too young” to participate in discussions on climate policy, but they were not too young to survive hurricanes, see coral reefs die, or to know when promises were broken. Youth and island communities were innovating with less, holding knowledge that the world had forgotten. These people needed to be acknowledged as knowledge holders and decision makers. Human rights were the thread that connected climate justice, environmental justice, and education.
Discussion
In the ensuing discussion, some speakers, among other things, commended the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for convening the timely dialogue. Education was a cornerstone of human rights and a driver of equality and inclusion. Many speakers recognised that education was a human right in itself, as well as a powerful tool for the realisation of other human rights, namely the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal four on inclusive and equitable quality education for all. Education empowered youth to shape a just and sustainable future, and fostered understanding and acceptance. It was key to combatting discrimination and upholding equality and democratic values; it empowered individuals to address global challenges, and it was crucial for building free and democratic societies. Education was also the single most powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty, exclusion and discrimination. Education was a shield against intolerance and bridge towards mutual understanding.
Thanks to education, people could increase their opportunities and contribute to the building of societies which respected human rights. Delivering quality education, including human rights education to children and people, was a critical investment to shape a society that was inclusive, just and harmonious. It was therefore vital to guarantee education that was accessible, inclusive, relevant and transformative, and that promoted the values of solidarity, peace, social justice and respect for cultural diversity. Education must also address gender equality and environmental sustainability. Speakers underscored their commitment to strengthening the right to education for all children and to achieving Sustainable Development Goal four. A society which valued education was one that valued human worth. One speaker called for governments to commit at least 20 per cent of their national budget to education.
Unfortunately, the world was subject to tensions and crises in which education suffered. In some countries, the right to education was under direct and systemic attack due to war. One speaker said since 2002, 17 per cent of all educational institutions in Ukraine had been damaged or destroyed due to Russian aggression. Speakers condemned the attacks against education in armed conflicts. Classrooms must be safeguarded from violence, inequality and ideology. One speaker said the Russian language was being supressed in Ukrainian schools, with teaching still being provided in Ukrainian, English, and other European and indigenous languages. The Aljmajiri system in Nigeria housed 12 million children, the largest number of out of school children in the world, one speaker noted. It was hoped that the United Nations and world partners would help to address this issue. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, millions of children had their education impacted by climate change weather events. Education stood on the front line of the climate crisis, and it was therefore important to act by integrating disaster preparedness into the school curriculum.
Additionally, around the world, millions of schools remained offline while others experimented with artificial intelligence. This was no longer a digital divide, but a divide of opportunity, outlining who did and who did not participate in tomorrow’s economy. Speakers believed that in today’s digital era, children and youth needed to be equipped to navigate technology safely and responsibly. When financed equitably and governed through rights‑based standards and principles, artificial intelligence was a catalyst which could provide personalised instructions to remote learners and reduced teachers’ administrative burdens. Some speakers outlined their strong commitment to building a safe and inclusive digital environment for all, focusing on improving digital literacy among children and protecting them from online risks. Unilateral coercive measures hampered access to education resources and technologies; it was urgent that they were eliminated, one speaker said.
It was also noted that only a fraction of African States met their international commitment to education, while rising debt and declining global aid threatened to push the most vulnerable, including girls, to the margins; these groups must not be left behind. Legal, social and economic barriers to girls’ education should be removed. Human rights education should be integrated into lifelong learning pathways. The lack of early recognition of certain learning disabilities in schools was a major issue, a speaker said. Many children who suffered from learning disabilities like dyslexia, which were not always recognised, fell behind in the classroom, often becoming troubled children, and falling into criminality. Another speaker noted that human rights were being infringed upon within schools, due to compulsory schooling and mandatory classes, which forced young people to learn content which they had not chosen themselves. A school which respected the rights of children had to refrain from imposing a binding curriculum. Another speaker called for the end of commoditising knowledge. The private sector should join efforts to ensure education remained a public good.
Speakers outlined steps to improve access to education in their own countries including: integrating human rights education into curriculum and teacher training; free education; comprehensive human rights education in schools; a 13-year compulsory education policy; providing free textbooks in schools; supporting children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds; ensuring safer and inclusive schools for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex children; modernising vocational schools; reforms in higher education to expand scholarships to students from remote areas and those with disabilities; expanding national digital platforms to bridge geographical gaps; strengthening the connections between families and schools; increasing levels of school enrolment; designing syllabuses which promoted the realisation of spirituality and emotions; and extended full coverage of education fees for certain territories, among other measures.
Closing Statements
FARIDA SHAHEED, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, said the right to education was empowering, transformative, and opened doors to other human rights. People were excluded from education for various reasons, including geographic location, ethnicity and gender, among other factors. She expressed concern that the digital divide was fuelling division between rural and urban communities and genders. Algorithms were not neutral, and they were pushing a singular perspective. Humanity needed to appreciate value and learn from diversity. Inclusion did not mean pulling all people into one idea. All needed to find creative ways of overcoming and learning from their differences, and rethink where they made investments. There was nothing more valuable than providing education to all citizens.
ANA LUIZA MASSOT THOMPSON-FLORES, Director of the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization Geneva Liaison Office, said the inputs that had been provided were extremely enriching for the organization, for which education was a crucial component. When education was denied, every other right was weakened.
BONNY IBHAWOH, Chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, said there was consensus that education was central to how all lived and experienced human rights. To actualise the right to education, States needed to cooperate to remove obstacles to education. In an increasingly globalised world, education should not be left only to domestic institutions, as some had limited capacity. There was an urgent need for global cooperation to make education accessible to all populations of the world. There were currently moves to make the draft International Covenant on the Right to Education a legally binding instrument. Mr. Ibhawoh urged States to engage in this process and contribute to making the rights to education and development real.
WHITNEY MÉLINARD, President, Kopounoule Inc., said she was impressed and inspired by the youth who had spoken. Interventions echoed the call for transformative action to meet modern challenges. Youth needed to become advocates for sustainable practices and to seek justice for those impacted by these challenges. Participants needed to continue to fuel discussions on education systems to promote awareness of human rights, environmental issues, and interconnected spaces. Holistic education needed to be accessible to all. This was not just an ideal, it was an imperative.
Panel Two: Education for Civil Rights - Freedom, Safety and Accountability
Statements by the Moderator and the Panellists
JUANA MARÍA IBÁÑEZ RIVAS, Panel Moderator and Member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, said the panel would explore how education contributed to civil rights, including to life and bodily integrity, the right to safety in learning, and the right to privacy. Speakers would highlight the role of education in addressing the major human rights challenges faced today in the digital age, including climate change, armed conflict, violence and discrimination.
VERENE SHEPHERD, Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said States parties had obligations under international human rights law to protect economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to education and training for their citizens. Education and training were not only about access, but also about content, orientation and the commitment to prevent discrimination, including based on gender, race and ethnicity, and including structural discrimination.
The content of education was key to discussions on institutionalised racism; and increasingly, textbooks and curricula were coming under scrutiny because of the effect they could have on marginalised groups, including on people of African descent, especially women and girls. An education that empowered only boys to seek leadership and managerial positions, or empowered some ethnic groups over others, was potentially damaging. However, education that had the right content and ideological orientation could be a counterforce to colonial-type educational content and focus. It had long been argued that education was a key component of development, a needed investment in nation building, and a means of empowering a nation’s people by developing their minds.
For colonised and formerly colonised peoples, especially people of African descent, it was critical to avoid a type of education that disempowered. A race without authority and power was a race without respect. Education was the medium by which a people were prepared for the creation of their own civilization and the advancement and glory of their own race. Past generations had long understood the liberating potential of education, and they were clear that education should promote a truly free society and not confine peoples solely to colonial-style agricultural and industrial education. Their philosophy was articulated clearly by Bob Marley, who sang, “we refuse to be what they wanted us to be, [because]… we are what we are”. Such a liberating narrative of self, which could only be achieved through an anti-imperial, postcolonial education, allowed those affected by the triple effects of colonialism, slavery and patriarchy to be anchored to a more empowering past.
PETRA HEUSSER, Geneva Hub on Education in Emergencies, said she would discuss why education in emergencies was a lifesaving measure. Save the Children had found that almost one in three children cited education as their top priority in an emergency. By the end of 2024, one in six children (over 473 million) were living in or fleeing conflict zones, and more than 242 million had schooling disrupted by climate change. Over 85 million children in emergencies were out of school, more than the entire population of Germany, in particular displaced children, minorities, those with disabilities, and girls. In these contexts, education was not only life-sustaining but lifesaving. When children were out of school, they faced heightened risks, such as recruitment into armed groups and gangs, child labour, early marriage, trafficking, and other violations that threatened their safety.
Schools and learning spaces saved lives by providing safe spaces supervised by trusted adults, lifesaving knowledge, mental health and psychosocial support, and referral pathways, allowing trained staff to identify children in need, including survivors of gender-based violence. Maternal education was one of the strongest predictors of child survival. If all women completed secondary education, child mortality could fall by 49 per cent, saving three million lives annually.
Education was also vital for addressing the climate crisis, which threatened the right to life. Integrating climate action into curricula equipped children and youth with the knowledge and skills to anticipate risks, protect themselves, and help their communities adapt and survive. Incorporating education early in humanitarian planning brought immense benefits. For example, school feeding programmes addressed hunger and malnutrition, clean water and sanitation facilities in schools prevented disease outbreaks, and vaccination campaigns and health education reached children efficiently through schools. Schools reached large numbers of children quickly and were among the most effective platforms for delivering multi-sectoral aid.
Yet, education was often the first service disrupted in crises, and one of the last restored. Even before this year’s global aid crisis, less than one third of humanitarian education funding needs were met in 2024. In 2025, the situation had worsened: schools were closing, teacher salaries went unpaid, and dropout rates were rising. The long-term consequences were devastating.
MARIA LUCIA URIBE TORRES, Executive Director of Arigatou International, said today, children and youth lived in an increasingly globalised world, where the potential for learning and collaboration around common issues of concern among peoples of different cultures and beliefs was enormous. Yet, they also lived in a world that was increasingly in the grip of religious fundamentalism and extremism, negative stereotypes, and fear of the other, violence and distrust. In some contexts, education excluded or suppressed religious expression, while in others, it was instrumentalised to promote a single worldview. In too many countries, schools mirrored the growing xenophobia outside their walls. If all did not address the wider societal narratives that dehumanised the “other”, they risked undermining the very purpose of education.
Arigatou International had been working since 2022 with the Ministries of Education of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya, Mauritius, Nepal and Seychelles to integrate ethics education into their education systems, contributing to intercultural and interfaith learning and promoting global citizenship competencies. Its monitoring showed that learners in these countries had developed friendships across cultures, religions and backgrounds; and demonstrated greater self-awareness, emotional regulation and empathy. Ms. Uribe Torres shared examples of programmes in Nepal, Indonesia and Kenya, which showed that when children were provided with the spaces to learn from one another and express their beliefs, thoughts and ideas without fear of being discriminated against, they learned to respect and to coexist. This was how extremism and violence against the other based on religion or belief was prevented, and was how peaceful societies were built from the ground up.
Ms. Uribe Torres recommended integrating interfaith and intercultural learning into national curricula across all subjects. This required policy alignment but also political will and championing from Ministries of Education and partners. She also called for training and support for teachers, who needed the skills to guide dialogue, manage sensitive conversations, and help children think ethically and critically; this remained an under-resourced area. Ms. Uribe Torres further called for the adoption of participatory and transformative pedagogy, which helped to develop critical thinking, consciousness, imagination and empathy. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion began when schools became spaces of encounter rather than exclusion. Interfaith and intercultural learning helped children learn to live together with dignity, with respect, and with hope.
DENISE ROCHE, Advocacy Manager, Scholars at Risk Europe, said the right to education could only be enjoyed when accompanied by the academic freedom of staff and students, as enshrined in general comment 13 by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Staff and students in higher education were especially vulnerable to political and other pressures which sought to undermine academic freedom. Academic freedom was foremost about processes which promoted truth seeking and the transmission of knowledge. It was not limited to the laboratory and the classroom but included dialogue with wider society. Academic freedom was at the heart of quality education. Education should be directed at the full development of the human personality, enabling all persons to participate effectively in a free society.
Education supported research guided by evidence rather than dogma, ideology or politics. The ability to explore different world views and marginalised voices enriched education for all learners. This was a right which encouraged open dialogue, evidence-based debate and self-reflection, which were central to the development of critical thinking skills and free and informed individuals. In her report, the Special Rapporteur on education stated that academic freedom was a condition for the right to education at all levels.
Regrettably, threats to academic freedom were widespread and growing. There was an urgent need for national, regional and global responses. Attacks on academic freedom harmed entire societies, shrinking everyone’s space to think, question and share ideas freely and safely. One of the main obstacles in addressing this decline was that the world had yet to fully recognise that academic freedom was as important to a free society as an independent judiciary and a free press. Education should be a tool of empowerment, not indoctrination. Everyone should live in a world where teachers could teach truthfully, students could question freely, and everyone could think critically.
Discussion
In the discussion, speakers, among other things, said that education was a fundamental human right, which fostered values such as freedom of thought, tolerance, justice, solidarity, peace and non-discrimination. Education helped to encourage inclusive, sustainable and just development for all, and promoted cultures of peace, tolerance and dialogue. It was an important part of attaining civil rights, as it promoted equal opportunities and democracy, and it also helped to prevent poverty by increasing opportunities for the next generation. One speaker said freedom came with knowledge, responsibility and respect for the rule of law.
Education, some speakers said, encouraged youth to build peace and become human rights defenders. These speakers called on States and civil society organizations to establish formal education programmes that encouraged peace. One speaker said guaranteeing free of charge education was an investment in freedom and democracy. Speakers also addressed human rights and civil rights education, which they said helped build communities where peace and freedom of thought and religious belief could flourish. One speaker said that students’ organizations drove meaningful change and amplified marginalised voices, urging the fostering of safe environments for such organizations.
Several speakers expressed the importance of guaranteeing access to education for minority groups, including persons with disabilities, youth, women and girls, and racial and ethnic minorities. Education needed to address the challenges of these marginalised people. Governments needed to work to bridge the digital divide, prevent bias in education, and empower civil society and youth groups to support the education of minorities.
Without security, there could be no freedom or meaningful learning, one speaker said. This was why security was an important factor in promoting access to education. International cooperation in this domain was essential. Another speaker called for access to education to be guaranteed for all internally displaced persons who needed to be included in policy making on education, and dedicated funding needed to be allocated for education for this group.
One speaker raised concerns about the lack of resources available to support education in developing countries, which were hindered by high debt burdens. Facilitating high quality education globally required the equitable and fair distribution of resources. Another speaker expressed concern about education systems that censored artistic expression, weakened historic memory, and prevented mother-tongue education, and called for such systems to be reformed.
Further, a speaker expressed concerns that mandated school attendance and fixed curricula were limiting the fundamental freedoms of students, and that school budgeting in many countries was determined without the participation of students. The rights of students in schools were being neglected and this needed to be changed.
Some speakers presented measures to promote children’s access to education, including language and human rights and civil rights education. Measures were also presented that promoted access to human rights education for civil servants and members of the judiciary, among others; freedom of thought and civil participation; education systems that protected students and teachers from harassment and discrimination; access to education in disaster situations; and access to vocational skills for youth.
Closing Statements
PETRA HEUSSER, Geneva Hub on Education in Emergencies, said it was vital to ensure safe, inclusive and quality education in all crises affecting children and youth. There needed to be sustained, increased funding for education in emergencies, which should be prioritised for its life saving and life sustaining capacities. Too many classrooms were at the front line of armed conflict and violence. Political will, judicial action and community engagement would ensure that education was protected, even in conflicts or situations of armed violence. Too many classrooms were also at the frontline of climate change. It was critical to ensure education was resourced and prioritised in national climate processes.
MARIA LUCIA URIBE TORRES, Executive Director of Arigatou International, said it was clear that education could support peacebuilding but could also exacerbate divisions and fear of others. This had been seen throughout history, such as textbooks manipulated which had led to genocide. It was important to start early: children knew about prejudices from four years old, seen through examples including parents and educators. In this context, there was a need to focus attention on the whole ecosystem of the child.
DENISE ROCHE, Advocacy Manager, Scholars at Risk Europe, said any recommendations from the Social Forum should include that the continued recognition of the right to education could only be enjoyed if accompanied by academic freedom. The United Nations human rights systems should redouble efforts to address this issue in collaboration with other multilateral institutions. Everything must be done to preserve this right.
Panel Three: Education for Cultural Rights - Diversity, Memory and Belonging
Statements by the Moderator and the Panellists
MYLENE BIDAULT, Panel Moderator and Human Rights Officer, Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the panel would look at the importance of education in recognising cultural rights, viewing cultural rights as those which protected development, cultural identities, and access to and utilisation of knowledge.
ALEXANDRA XANTHAKI, Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights, said education was at the core of the exercise of cultural rights, and education itself could be considered a cultural right. Cultural rights protected the development and expression of cultural identities. They empowered individuals and groups to express their humanity, views and the meanings they attributed to their existence and development through various cultural expressions that were learned in educational settings.
Cultural rights were wide and encompassing. According to the cultural rights approach, teaching of the past needed to address more than just mainstream narratives. Students needed to be taught different values and critical skills to approach these values with respect. Cultural rights teaching encouraged students to see “others” not as others. Though this teaching, students exchanged information about who they were and their visions; this was how multi-cultural societies were formed and how cultural diversity was respected. In cultural education, children were allowed to develop and evolve their own variations of their cultures and make them their own.
Depending on how education was approached, people could enjoy or not enjoy cultural rights. Educational systems could protect and promote cultural diversity or promote an assimilationist model at odds with cultural rights, particularly regarding migrants, minorities, indigenous groups and other vulnerable groups, and understandings of their identity. Ms. Xanthaki said that, within her mandate, she saw that many violations of cultural rights occurred because of the way that educational systems were created. It was very important to consider and apply the cultural rights approach in all matters related to education.
ZONGXU XIE, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Indigenous Fellow 2024, Miao youth from China’s Guizhou and Co-founder of Vision 2061, said in his hometown in Guizhou, embroiders used a 1,000-year-old skill in embroidery to create clothes. The Village T initiative started by Vision 2061 enabled ethnic women artisans to become designer of their own stories, transmitting and innovating their culture. Education happened organically in this process, transforming heritage into active co-creation. Over the years, Village T evolved into a living curriculum of localisation, rooted in global traditions and wisdom. The second step of the journey was moving from national participation to international co-creation. A new international designer programme and cultural ambassador recruitment was being launched, inviting collaboration with creators from around the world.
The next step was international upgrading, moving from cultural tourism to a global industrial chain. In 2024, Village T presented at London Fashion week in September and participated in the Conference of Parties in Baku in November; and in June 2025, villagers presented their first show at Expo 2025 in Osaka in Japan. Each journey was not just about fashion but highlighting the connection between the past and the future. Global Village T was not just a product, but a platform where cultures met, collaborated and co-created.
CAMILLA CROSO, Executive Director of the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas, said the 2024 report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Farida Shaheed, underlined the intrinsic relation of the right to education and the right to academic freedom, and of the latter to the right to science. She underlined that academic freedom was at the heart of scientific progress, which was essential in countering both local and global crises. A series of international instruments had recognised the right to science as a human right, reinforcing that science was a public good that must be insured, especially in a global context that violated the human right to participate, benefit, and produce science. The report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, emphasised that everyone's ability to engage with science in various ways must be secured. To achieve this, she recommended creating numerous and diverse connections between scientists and policymakers, and enacting specific measures to dismantle barriers that hindered access to participation in science.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s 2024 report on the safety of scientific researchers revealed that one in five scientists working on COVID-19 and two in five on climate research had faced threats or harassment. Furthermore, a soon-to-be-launched Coalition for Freedom in the Americas’ report on scientific and climate denialism in the Americas documented how scientific denialism ranged from climate and health sciences to the humanities and social sciences, including history as well as race and gender studies, being particularly related to rising patterns of authoritarianism and democratic backsliding worldwide. The erosion of trust and the rise of scientific denialism was linked with the defunding of education systems and scientific research. Ms. Corso listed examples showing cuts to education in the United States and Brazil.
Defending the right to science was inseparable from upholding the right to education and defending the freedom and safety of educators, researchers and communicators. Ms. Corso provided several recommendations, including that States must enshrine the right to science, to education and to academic freedom in their constitutions, education and science laws, and public policies; strengthen academic and scientific research institutions and funding agencies; promote education for science literacy and ensure human rights education across all curriculum; value, protect and support scientists and educators; and strengthen multilateral initiatives and South–South cooperation.
PATRICE MEYER-BISCH, Philosopher, President of the Observatory on Cultural Rights and Diversity, Fribourg, Switzerland, said the right to education was a cultural right, and the right to participate in cultural and artistic life needed to be placed on an equal footing with the right to participate in scientific life. All needed to develop cultural resources which promoted sustainability, and shift from a neutral approach to universality to a pluralist approach grounded in culture. Education needed to be considered as a living relationship between students, teachers, organizations, and partners, and cultural knowledge was the basis of such education. To attain a greater understanding of the world, all needed to seek connections between the “materials”, that is, the ideas and knowledge, conveyed by different subjects within educational curricula; doing so would strengthen the power of education as a cultural right. All needed to break down intellectual silos and support organizations of scientific and academic communities, which in turn supported democracy.
Discussion
In the ensuing discussion, speakers, among other things, said cultural diversity was a source of strength and unity. Education promoted democracy, equality and economic development. Cultural rights allowed every community to celebrate who they were through language, art and music. It could be a powerful tool for justice, eradicating intolerance, building mutual understanding, and paving the way to be rid of violence and discrimination. Education must not erase cultural diversity but should empower it. Education must be the pathway to transmit, preserve and honour cultural heritage. Integrating traditional knowledge into school curricula helped younger generations value their heritage, and preserve languages, crafts and oral histories while strengthening their cultural identity.
For indigenous peoples, education on rights was essential to their right to land and development. Schools should promote curricula which reflected the cultures and linguistic identities of indigenous peoples, speakers said. Countries needed to save their traditional and indigenous music as part of their intangible cultural heritage. Global youth-led initiatives were helping to digitise languages, and scrutinise artificial intelligence systems for bias, a speaker noted. Diversity online was the foundation of truth, belonging and cultural rights in the digital age.
Across the world, many indigenous communities were marginalised because of their world views and cultures. Challenges remained in ensuring that education approaches were aligned with indigenous ways of learning. Too often, indigenous actors were criminalised for their identity. Education played a crucial role in preserving collective memory and transmitting cultural heritage to future generations.
War had devastated Ukraine’s scientific community, one speaker said, with Russia deliberately targeting Ukraine’s universities, laboratories and scientific facilities. Another speaker said that Azerbaijani Turks in Iran faced longstanding restrictions to their cultural rights, including that their language and culture were ignored in schools, universities and the media. One speaker highlighted the importance of the Safe Schools Declaration, a political commitment signed by many governments to protect teachers, students and educational institutions during times of armed conflict.
Speakers highlighted efforts taken to strengthen cultural rights in education systems, including giving special attention to the teaching of cultural heritage, local traditions and languages; making efforts to strengthen the educational integration of Roma and other minorities; supporting the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education; implementing projects to support indigenous education; and specific programmes in schools promoting indigenous languages and cultures, among others.
Closing Statements
ZONGXU XIE, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Indigenous fellow 2024, Miao youth from China’s Guizhou and Co-founder of Vision 2061, said people needed to consider both the present and the future, and not only advocate for the right to education but take real action in this regard. Respect for diversity and differences was the crux of a shared future.
CAMILLA CROSO, Executive Director of the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas, said it was encouraging to hear vivid examples and interventions from students. Statements had expressed a consensus on the indivisibility of all human rights and explained how culture, art and human rights went together. Humans had the capacity to be in awe of the unknown. This gave humans a sense of purpose, encouraging efforts to promote human rights and the right to education, science and culture. Love also needed to be valued as a form of radical political action for liberation and justice. It influenced how humans approached the defence of and struggle for the indivisible rights of culture, education and science.
PATRICE MEYER-BISCH, Philosopher, President of the Observatory on Cultural Rights and Diversity, Fribourg, Switzerland, said it was important to link cultural and scientific hubs. Coalitions needed to be built between cities, regions, and public and private organizations to combat violations of cultural rights. Demonstrations from such organizations helped communicate threats to culture and the environment. Education was a source of hope and the right to education was a cultural right, as it enabled the sharing of knowledge.
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not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.
HRC25.015E