A/HRC/17/29 York, the Rapporteur participated in a panel discussion entitled “Tackling Violence: securing quality education for women and girls”, organized on the occasion of the meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women. On 3 and 4 March 2011, he participated in the symposium of UNESCO Chairs on human rights, bioethics, peace democracy and tolerance (University of Bergamo, Italy). He also participated in a number of meetings on the Education for All (EFA) process in Paris and, from 22 to 24 March 2011, he participated in the 10th Meeting of the High-level Group on EFA in Jomtien, Thailand. II. Main areas of concern 6. The centrality of education in human development is clear. The right to education as an internationally recognized right is all the more important as it is not only a human right in itself, but also essential for the exercise of other rights. While the international community is committed to achieving the right to basic education for all, the gap between commitment and reality remains significant and, if concrete and sustainable steps are not taken, this can easily widen. Understanding and removing obstacles that impede the enjoyment of all to the right to education are urgent challenges for the entire international community. 7. Since its establishment by the Commission on Human Rights in 1998, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education has sought to identify obstacles to the right to education, and has provided conceptual and practical guidance on steps to be taken to ensure its realization. The Special Rapporteur intends to build on this work, while benefiting from the knowledge and experiences of those who are directly involved in the promotion of education at global, regional and local levels. The themes he intends to examine in the course of his mandate are highlighted below. While implementing these priorities, the Special Rapporteur also intends to give particular attention to the situation on the African continent, given the acute challenges faced by the region. (a) Update on previous report on education in emergency situations: Despite efforts and international pledges to ensure full enjoyment of the right to education in areas affected by conflict and natural disasters, these situations are still central factors in the exclusion of children from schools, and in the deterioration of education. The General Assembly requested1 the Special Rapporteur to include in his report to the sixty-sixth session an update to the report2 on the right to education in emergencies. (b) Financing education: The share of resources allocated to ensure the provision of education is frequently unstable and insufficient, deeply affecting the realization of this right. The Special Rapporteur will pay attention to legal and institutional mechanisms that ensure the provision of adequate resources for education. He also intends to look at innovative forms of financing education and to assess how the human rights normative framework may guide State action in these areas. (c) Justiciability of the right to education: The protection of the right to education requires judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms that ensure rights holders’ capacity to claim their rights at national, regional and global levels. The Special Rapporteur intends to examine the jurisprudence and enforcement mechanisms for protecting the right to education. (d) Establishing minimum quality standards for education: The impact of recent expansion of enrolment in schools in many countries is seriously compromised by the 1 2 4 See resolution 64/290. A/HRC/8/10.