The New Abidjan Principles: Bringing Clarity to the Human Right to Education

On February 13, a group of human rights experts from around the world adopted the Abidjan Principles on the right to education following three years of consultations, reflection and drafting.  The Abidjan Principles seek to strengthen existing efforts to ensure that everyone’s right to education is protected in the context of growing, and often unregulated private actor involvement in education.   These Principles will be the new reference point for governments, social organizations, educators and education providers when debating the respective roles and duties of states and private actors in education. 

The final text of the Abidjan Principles is expected to be published in mid-March.  Colombian scholar Esteban Hoyos Ceballos shares his experiences drafting the principles in a short post for the Oxford Human Rights Hub, available here.   According to Professor Hoyos Ceballos, “the Abidjan Principles recognize the reality of the private provision of education around the world and do not pretend to abolish that reality. They also admit the autonomy of parents and guardians to decide the educational institution that is best for their children. However, the Principles also acknowledge that there are tensions and loopholes in the international human rights law with respect to States’ obligations vis-à-vis the private providers of education. Therefore, the Principles develop a guide that, in accordance with international law, specifies the content of the right to education – in particular, States’ obligations with regard to the public and private provision of education.”