CEDAW/C/GC/36 III. Right to education: existing normative framework 8. In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to education is enshrined in a number of international and regional 6 legally binding instruments. States parties, therefore, have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the right to education, which must be justiciable in national legal systems. 9. As a human right, education enhances the enjoyment of other human rights and freedoms, yields significant development benefits, facilitates gender equality and promotes peace. It also reduces poverty, boosts economic growth and increases income, increases the chances of having a healthy life, reduces child marriage and maternal deaths and provides individuals with the tools to combat diseases. 10. Although it is recognized internationally, including by UNESCO, that education can be progressively implemented according to available resources, the aspects of national law that constitute the core of the right to education must be immediately implemented, including ensuring the right of access to public educational institutions and programmes on a non-discriminatory basis, ensuring that education conforms to the objectives set out in international standards, providing primary educat ion for all, adopting and implementing a national educational strategy that includes the provision of fundamental, secondary and higher education and ensuring free choice of education, without interference from the State or third parties, subject to confor mity with minimum educational standards. 7 11. International legally binding instruments on the right to education include the following: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (article 13); International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (article 5); International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (article 30); Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (article 24); Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 28); International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport of UNESCO (article 1); and Convention on Technical and Vocational Education of UNESCO. 12. Non-binding political commitments and global strategies reiterate the responsibilities of Governments in recognizing education as a catalyst for accelerating national development and social transformation. States are called upon to take strategic action in confronting inequalities and inadequacies in the access of girls and women to education and training. They include the following: Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, 1994; Beijing Platform for Action, 1995; World Declaration on Education for All, 1990; Dakar Framework for Action, 2000; Millennium Development Goals. 2000; and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 2015, which includes the Sustainable Development Goals and targets aimed at the elimination of all forms of discrimination against all women and girls. __________________ 6 7 17-19774 Arab Charter on Human Rights, Charter of the Organization of American States, American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, first Protocol to the Conve ntion for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers. UNESCO, “The right to education: law and policy review guidelines” (2014). Available from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002284/228491e.pdf . 3/23