It’s time to demand the right to public education! #EducationBeforeProfit #AbidjanPrinciples

We all have a right to quality, free, inclusive

public education

In June and July 2021, international, regional, national and local NGOs are mobilising to raise awareness of the Abidjan Principles, a landmark text that summarises the standards on the right to education, and to counteract the adverse impacts of unprecedented commercialisation of education.

The Abidjan Principles: A reference text to address the negative impact of education commercialisation

In the context of the rapid expansion of private-sector involvement in and the negative impact of the commercialisation of education, a reference text was developed by a group of 57 of the most qualified experts on the right to education.

Adopted in February 2019 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, “The Abidjan Principles” compile and interpret existing human rights law and standards to provide guidance on how to put them into practice. They do not create new law, but compile existing standards from treaties, constitutions, and jurisprudence.

The Abidjan Principles are the most efficient tool protecting the right to education as they unpack and offer guidance on the States’ obligations to:

• Provide quality, free, inclusive public education;

• Effectively regulate private involvement in education; and

• Fund quality, free, inclusive public education systems.

what can you do?

Show your followers you support “Education Before Profit”

Adopt the photo frame “Education Before Profit” on your social media accounts!

Change your frame here!

Note!! We can also change the frame for you!

Just get in touch with us at info@abidjanprinciples.org and we’ll help you out!

July 2021 - Advancing the right to free and quality public education: global awareness and advocacy action led by GI-ESCR and partners

As part of GI-ESCR and partners advocacy and awareness raising efforts for States’ recognition of the Abidjan Principles, 4 Nigerian media published an article on The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) urging the Nigerian government to remove every obstacle to free and quality public education by supporting the Abidjan Principles.

Read the articles on our media coverage page here!

Follow #AbidjanPrinciples

Follow the hashtag #AbidjanPrinciples on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc…)

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The Abidjan Principles in a nutshell

Watch this short animation summarising the main challenges affecting the right to education and explains why all states should implement the Abidjan Principles as a means to protect and fulfil this fundamental right.

Watch the full playlist here

The 10 Overarching Abidjan Principles

Access the text of the Abidjan Principles

(available in English, French, Arabic and soon in Spanish)

browse through the leaflet

Click on the image to read about the key elements of the Abidjan Principles

Overarching Principle 1. States must respect, protect, and fulfil the right to education of everyone within their jurisdiction in accordance with the rights to equality and non-discrimination.

Overarching Principle 2. States must provide free, public education of the highest attainable quality to everyone within their jurisdiction as effectively and expeditiously as possible, to the maximum of their available resources.

Overarching Principle 3. States must respect the liberty of parents or legal guardians to choose for their children an educational institution other than a public educational institution, and the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct private educational institutions, subject always to the requirement that such private educational institutions conform to standards established by the State in accordance with its obligations under international human rights law.

Overarching Principle 4. States must take all effective measures, including particularly the adoption and enforcement of effective regulatory measures, to ensure the realization of the right to education where private actors are involved in the provision of education.

Overarching Principle 5. States must prioritize the funding and provision of free, quality, public education, and may only fund eligible private instructional educational institutions, whether directly or indirectly, including through tax deductions, of land concessions, international assistance and cooperation, or other forms of indirect support, if they comply with applicable human rights law and standards and strictly observe all substantive, procedural, and operational requirements.

Overarching Principle 6. International assistance and cooperation, where provided, must reinforce the building of free, quality, public education systems, and refrain from supporting, directly or indirectly, private educational institutions in a manner that is inconsistent with human rights.

Overarching Principle 7. States must put in place adequate mechanisms to ensure they are accountable for their obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil the right to education, including their obligations in the context of the involvement of private actors in education.

Overarching Principle 8. States must regularly monitor compliance of public and private institutions with the right to education and ensure all public policies and practices related to this right comply with human rights principles.

Overarching Principle 9. States must ensure access to an effective remedy for violations of the right to education and for any human rights abuses by a private actor involved in education.

Overarching Principle 10. States should guarantee the effective implementation of these Guiding Principles by all appropriate means, including where necessary by adopting and enforcing the required legal and budgetary reforms.

Supporters

Here are the core supporters of the action. A whole range of other organisations and actors are also supporting it with us altough their name may not be mentioned here below.