A/HRC/44/39/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Koumbou Boly Barry, carried out an official visit to Qatar from 8 to 16 December 2019, at the invitation of the Government. 2. During the visit, the Special Rapporteur met with senior government officials, in particular the Minister of Education and Higher Education and the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. She spoke with officials from various ministries and institutions, including foundations such as the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and Education Above All, as well as representatives of the Central Municipal Council. She also met with the National Human Rights Committee – the national human rights institution, and with bilateral and multilateral institutions, including United Nations specialized agencies. 3. In Doha and Al Wakrah, the Special Rapporteur visited primary, preparatory and secondary schools for girls and boys, in the public and the private sectors. She also visited the First Ihsaan Charity School, and held meetings at Qatar University and the College of the North Atlantic. This allowed the Special Rapporteur to discuss issues with pupils, teachers, school principals, administrative staff, teacher trainers and academics. 4. The Special Rapporteur expresses her gratitude to the Government for its invitation and the full cooperation extended throughout the visit. She appreciates having received useful comments on her end of visit statement from the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, which functions within the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. She thanks all stakeholders for their insights, time and availability. II. General context A. 1. International legal framework and international cooperation International legal framework 5. Qatar must be congratulated for the significant progress it has made in adhering to international human rights standards. Major steps include the gradual ratification of many international human rights instruments, particularly the accession in 2018 to the two International Covenants on Human Rights; the partial and progressive lifting of problematic reservations; the recent invitation to many special procedures of the Human Rights Council to visit the country; the continued dialogue established with treaty bodies; and the growing presence of United Nations specialized agencies in the country. Qatar also demonstrates a strong commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 4 – to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. 6. Qatar is a party to a number of international human rights instruments that are key to the promotion and protection of the right to education for all, particularly the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Special Rapporteur was pleased to learn that the Government is considering adhering to the Convention against Discrimination in Education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) of 1960. 7. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the withdrawal by Qatar of the general reservations it initially made to international human rights instruments concerning any provision incompatible with Islamic law. Nevertheless, she is concerned that some of the remaining reservations and statements might have a negative impact on the enjoyment of the right to education. She understands that the withdrawal of reservations is accompanied by a process of national legislative review, and that a commission has been appointed to 3