Human rights Guiding Principles on State obligations regarding

private schools

INTRODUCTION TO THE DAY

OBJECTIVE: Get input from the various constituencies on human rights principles on the provision of education

Organisation of the day Context on private actors in education provision

The right to education and private education

Organisation and objective of the Guiding Principles

The process of developing these Guiding Principles

How the consultation will be organised today to ensure maximum participation in providing inputs and incorporating them most effectively: the golden rules

Jump into (inter)action!

What are Human Rights Guiding Principles and why do we need them?

Looking at ETOs and their Effectiveness• Please refer to the handouts on •Maastricht Principles on extraterritorial obligations

http://bit.ly/ETOPples•Effectivity of human rights Guiding Principles

http://bit.ly/2nBUqrD

1. What are human rights Guiding Principles?

2. How do you think these principles can be useful?

Why do we need principles and guidelines on private education?

1. To set standards and provide a broadly accepted normative framework to inform debates on privatisation in education

2. To provide guidance to States in addressing the issue / implementing international law

3. To provide a framework for researchers and civil society organisations to assess the role of private actors in education

What are human rights guiding principles?• Quasi-legal: authoritative interpretation of the law

• Unpack legal principles from ideology or what we think

• Concrete guidance on specific topics•E.g.: forced evictions

•E.g. Education in emergency

•E.g. business and human rights

7 golden rules to define Guiding Principles

1. Neither too abstract (have to be concrete enough) nor too precise (have to be universal enough)

2. Keep it as simple as possible, remove all the words that can be

3. Broadly accepted and backed by the law

4. It lays out States’ obligations – not private actors’ obligations

5. Keep it as a technical analysis, not a political declaration

6. This is legal language: it can be dry and grammatically challenging.

7. Remain within the scope of the Principles: here, related to State obligations and private actors – not going too broad.

Education systems that ensure social justice and

protect human dignity

Define international legally backed

standards

Clarify normative

framework / rights and obligations

Build consensus

around which a broad range of actors can

engageFacilitate research

against agreed framework

Build a strong movement / Mobilise and

raise awareness

where there are issues

Hold authorities

accountable on the basis of the

standards

Theory of change

Potential use of Principles Greater visibility to the issue, reinforce and strengthen jointly discussed and agreed upon position based on HR

Set standards and provide broadly accepted normative framework to inform debates on private schools

Help assess role of private schools in education

Provide guidance to States and simultaneously use to hold States accountable

Provide a basis for advocacy, policy development and litigation

Potential use: who could use them? All: facilitate dialogue, develop constructive human-rights compliant solutions

States: design human rights-compliant policies and plans, engage dialogue with donors and private sector

Civil society: clarify positions, advocacy campaigns

Academics: research against agreed normative framework

Lawyers, judges: reference point for legal interpretation

International institutions: build programs with States and CSOs to enhance the realisation of the right to education

Private sector: better understanding of the applicable legal framework

Process of Development

Guiding Principles

Expert Input

Country research

Consultations

(National, regional,

international)

Conceptual research

A Steering Committee +

group of “friends”

(provide guidance to process)

What are the final outputs?◦ Guiding Principles

◦ A legal commentary

◦ A series of short explainers for the public and various audiences, including a document to guide States on regulating private schools and a guide on PPPs

◦ A methodological guide to conduct research and assessment, including an assessment tool: the Privatisation Analysis Framework (PAF), together with research questions/indicators

Date Activity

January - June 2016 Development of an initial draft

March 2016 - June 2017 Development of expert background papers on key issues/themes

October 2016 - March

2017

Development of second draft

Establishment of Guiding Principles Steering Committee and Expert Group

March 2016 - September

2017

• Regional consultations:o Asia-Pacific (August 2016, September 2017)o East Africa (Nairobi, September 2016)o Southern Africa (August 2017)o Western Africa + Francophone countries (June – August 2017)o Latin America (2017)o Europe (Paris, March 2017; hosted by UNESCO)

Consultations with thematic groups:o Geneva stakeholders/DC stakeholders/World Bank/GPE/North America/EU delegationo CIES (Vancouver March 2016; Atlanta (USA), March 2017)

National consultations organised by partners:o Pakistan (May2017; hosted by FOSI-Pakistan)

July - November 2017 Online consultations

Nov. 2017 - Feb 2018 Expert review - Review of second draft / Development of third draft

End first half 2018 Validation at expert meeting

Second half 2018 Launch, dissemination, and advocacy

Time to make your insights count!Moving to groups while remembering-

Your principles, our principles

Input is distinct from endorsement

Priority on concerns over on the spot resolutions

Still very draft and not for circulation

Refer to golden rules and tips for feedback. When in doubt, feel free to ask the reference person

The golden rules to define principles

1. Neither too abstract (have to be concrete enough) nor too precise (have to be universal enough)

2. Keep it as simple as possible, remove all the words that can be

3. Broadly accepted and backed by the law

4. It lays out States’ obligations – not private actors’ obligations

5. Keep it as a technical analysis, not a political declaration

6. This is legal language: it can be dry and grammatically challenging

7. Remain within the scope of the Principles: here, related to State obligations and private actors – not going too broad