GWI Written statement to HRC29

GWI has submitted a written statement in advance of the 29^th Session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC). The Session will take place at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, on 15 June to 3 July 2015. Entitled “The Full Realisation of the Right to Education for Girls and Women”, GWI’s statement emphasises that the human right to education is often unrealised and inaccessible for many girls and women worldwide. Poverty and illiteracy are significant hurdles facing girls and women in their pursuit of equal access to quality education, in particular secondary education. Other barriers include: harmful practices that specifically target girls and adolescent young women including early, forced and child marriages; unsafe school premises or transportation to and from school; a lack of suitable and safe sanitation facilities; necessity to travel significant distances to reach schools, particularly in rural areas; suspended or dangerous conditions to access education in times of armed conflict; and curricula and teaching methods that do not meet the specific linguistic or other needs of girls from certain at-risk groups, including ethnic, indigenous and disabled backgrounds. GWI has made numerous recommendations in its statement. In particular, GWI urges all stakeholders and policy makers, especially within the fields of education and international development, to adopt, implement, accelerate, and adequately finance measurable plans of action to increase access to, and completion of, all levels of education for all people. This includes full multistakeholder, multilateral commitment to implementing the post-2015 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 4 (education) and Goal 5 (gender equality).