Committee on the Rights of the Child

Day of General Discussion

"The right of the child to education in emergency situations"

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified international human rights instrument, with 193 States Parties.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child, the body of independent experts responsible for reviewing progress made by States parties in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, during its 46 th session, decided to devote its 2008 Day of General Discussion (DGD) on 19 September 2008 to articles 28 and 29 of the Convention dealing with the right to education, focusing upon the education of children in emergency situations .

The purpose of the Days of General Discussion is to foster a deeper understanding of the contents and implications of the Convention as they relate to specific articles or topics. Representatives of Governments, United Nations human rights mechanisms, United Nations bodies and specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions as well as individual experts and children are welcome to take part.

The right to education is set out in articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and a number of other international instruments. The 2008 Day of General Discussion is intended to provide States and other actors with more comprehensive guidance as to their obligations to promote and protect the right to education as outlined in articles 28 and 29.

Given the complexity of the concepts and issues involved as well as the concerns raised and experiences gathered to date in the Committee's efforts to address these issues, it is proposed that participants to this meeting be divided in two working groups on the following themes (please see the outline for more details on the two working groups and their respective sub-themes):

Working Group 1: Continuation and/or reconstruction of the educational system

Working Group 2: Content and quality of education provided for children in emergency situations

The Committee holds a day of general discussion each year. Past themes are listed below. Click on the title to view the recommendations: