A/HRC/8/10 page 18 multilateral donors, international and domestic NGOs and affected communities. Very prominent are many NGOs and of course the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies. But is this a sufficient indicator of an effective and appropriate collective response? 76. Education in emergencies enjoys a high level of awareness within the United Nations. UNESCO works in collaboration with UNHCR and UNICEF. UNHCR is responsible for refugee protection in emergencies and is the lead agency for the protection of internally displaced persons. UNICEF is the body responsible for children and adolescents. 77. UNESCO has as its mandate to contribute to peace, security and development through education and intellectual cooperation. A major effort that it has deployed since its foundation has been to ensure the right to education of persons affected by armed conflicts, through advocacy for a comprehensive understanding in the interests of peace. Although it has a wide-ranging mandate, UNESCO is painfully short of funds and other resources. 78. In addition, often at the request of Governments, UNICEF pays particular attention to internally displaced populations and to returnees and their reintegration, since it is the lead agency for assistance in the provision of primary education in post-emergency situations. 79. In general, the interventions of the agencies of the United Nations system are characterized by their concentration on primary education and by a concomitant lack of attention paid to tertiary education, particularly in fragile States. It is evident that coordination between the agencies is improving, but there is not a clear division of labour, which means that there are still gaps, confusion and duplication. 80. If the agencies of the United Nations are to fulfil their mandates more completely, they will need to be adequately financed by the Member States. Also, they will need to revitalize their coordination efforts and raise the profile of the place occupied by education as a right in emergency situations. 81. Finally, although the World Bank has made important contributions to education in emergencies, it continues to be working outside the human rights framework, a position which reflects its strategy on education, which is to concentrate on support to education in the reconstruction stages following emergencies. Also, the Bank identifies with the utilitarian concept of education as a tool for economic development, since it considers it only as a major factor in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Together with the narrow focus on primary education, this demonstrates a degree of disregard for the Education For All agenda. A. Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Education Cluster 82. The Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction the recent creation of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Education Cluster,42 since this constitutes a first step towards the inclusion of education as a priority component of the humanitarian response. 42 El Grupo Integrado de Educación fue aprobado por el Grupo de Trabajo del Comité Permanente entre Organismos en su reunión de 15 de noviembre de 2006.

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