A/HRC/35/24
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
2 June 2017
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Thirty-fifth session
6-23 June 2017
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education:
realizing the right to education through non-formal
education*
Note by the Secretariat
The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of
the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, prepared pursuant to Council resolutions
8/4 and 26/17.
The right to education should be guaranteed throughout the lifespan — from early
childhood until adulthood and into old age. Yet, there are an estimated 263 million children
and youth not in school today. Some 775 million adults worldwide are illiterate, two thirds
of them women. The commitments made in the Sustainable Development Goals and in the
Incheon Declaration: Education 2030: Towards inclusive and equitable quality education
and lifelong learning for all require education systems to reach more learners and to
diversify the means of doing so.
The Special Rapporteur believes that non-formal education programmes provide
flexible, learner-centred means to improve education outcomes. This is particularly relevant
for girls and groups in vulnerable situations, including children with disabilities, minorities
and rural and impoverished children, who are disproportionately represented among out-ofschool populations. When designed to be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable,
such programmes enable States to fulfil the right to education of learners who are excluded
from the formal system. Furthermore, such programmes can promote holistic learning
objectives that support cultural and linguistic rights.
The Rapporteur calls upon States to recognize non-formal education as a flexible,
cost-effective mechanism that can provide quality education and that can help States to
meet their obligations in connection with the right to education.
* The present document was submitted late to reflect the most recent developments.
GE.17-08995(E)