Uzbekistan participates in Geneva discussion on children’s access to education

In Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan, in collaboration with the diplomatic missions of Sierra Leone, Armenia, Bulgaria, Colombia, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Nauru, Panama, Romania, and Gambia, organized a parallel event focused on discussing the strengthening of children’s rights to free education, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

The event was organized to exchange views on the best practices of countries worldwide in expanding access to free education, as well as to discuss the development of a new optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It is worth noting that the event was organized following the adoption, co-authored by Uzbekistan, of the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in July 2024, "On the establishment of open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Rights to Early Childhood Education, Free Pre-Primary Education and Free Secondary Education".

During the dialogue, participants highlighted that for millions of children worldwide, the cost of education remains one of the most significant barriers to access, especially at the preschool and secondary education levels.

According to UNESCO statistics, 88% of children worldwide complete primary school. However, the completion rate for secondary education lags behind, with only 59% of children globally finishing secondary school. Nearly half of all children do not receive early childhood education.

While existing international law guarantees children free and compulsory primary education, the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not impose obligations regarding preschool education and does not require states to guarantee free secondary education for every child.

In his speech, the Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan, Eldiyor Toshmatov, presented information on the extensive reforms being carried out in Uzbekistan to expand children’s access to education.

Particularly, the new Constitution of Uzbekistan, which guarantees the right to education for all, was positively assessed by participants. The Constitution also ensures free general secondary and initial vocational education.

The efforts of the Government of Uzbekistan to increase preschool education coverage for children in the years 2025-2026 were also highlighted.

It is noteworthy that the above-mentioned UN Human Rights Council resolution included recommendations from the Tashkent Declaration and commitments to take measures for transforming early childhood education and care, adopted at the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, held from November 14–16, 2022, in Tashkent.