The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Vernor Muñoz, will present a report on the human right of girls to education to the new Human Rights Council. The report will address the underlying socio-cultural causes of the denial of the right to education for girls, focusing on the concept of patriarchalism and its attendant discriminatory behavior. Muñoz goes on to detail the negative impact of the notion of education as a service, not a human right, on the right to education of all people, and especially of girls. Practical obstacles to girls' education are addressed, including early marriage, pregnancy, child labor, and armed conflict. Muñoz emphasizes the importance of girls completing the education cycle as well as being assured equal access, and discusses the differences between equal access and total equality. Other highlighted themes include: girls' education and the economy; universal primary education and its impact on gender balance; sex education; girls in situations of marriage, pregnancy, or motherhood; and girls in armed conflict situations. Finally, Muñoz provides 25 recommendations to country governments that will support the goal of ensuring the human right to education of girls.
Compiled from: "Girls' Human Right to Education", United Nations Association of Australia, 7 April 2006.