A/HRC/30/23
were cited a good practice. In the area of social media, in South Africa, the UNICEF
Techno Girl programme, which connects more than 10,000 adolescent girls in
underprivileged schools with mentors from the technological sector in order to boost
their skills and job readiness, was also cited as a good practice. States were invited to
heed the concluding recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women and to note the Committee’s upcoming general
recommendation on addressing obligations in all dimensions of the right to education.
22.
With regard to disasters and emergency settings, the panellists concurred that
even the worst situations could offer opportunities to strengthen communities and
make them more resilient and more inclusive and equal. In addition, good education
in emergencies could bring both short-term protective and long-term transformative
change. For example, the Plan International programmes for internally displaced
persons and refugees in Mali and South Sudan had allowed many girls to attend
formal and non-formal education, often for the first time. As a result, not only did
more girls have access to education but were also better prepared to participate in
decision-making, which had in turn led to a gradual change in community attitudes.
The panellists encouraged States to take preventive measures to minimize disruptions
to education during disasters, to have education sector plans based on gender-sensitive
and participatory approaches in all phases of emergency responses, and to establish a
funding mechanism for education in emergencies. They also recommended that States
pay greater attention to the human rights of children in emergencies, including girls’
right to education, and include related issues in their engagement with the United
Nations human rights system, including the treaty bodies, the universal periodic
review and the special procedures.
23.
The panellists also emphasized underlined that, in order to implement fully the
equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl, States had to remove
structural barriers to education, such as gender bias and stereotypes from curricula
and teaching and learning materials, and ensure girls’ safety in schools, including
through the provision of adequate sanitary facilities and safe drinking water, as well
as protection from sexual harassment, abuse and violence in the school environment.
They should in addition ensure the justiciability of the right to education. The
panellists encouraged States collectively to make the vision of every girl enjoying full
access to education a reality.
6
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