** UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY WELCOMES EDUCATION COMMISSION FINDINGS AND ENCOURAGES ACTION ON EDUCATION
The United Nations General Assembly this week adopted two resolutions welcoming the Education Commission’s report and encouraging states to consider its recommendations.
On Monday, the General Assembly approved a text from its Third Committee – which focuses on social, humanitarian, and human rights issues – entitled Literacy for life: shaping future agendas. The preamble of the resolution recognizes that “substantial and efficiently spent investments are needed to improve the quality of education in order to enable millions of people to acquire literacy skills for decent work” (PP6). The operative part of the text “takes note with appreciation of the report of the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity, and calls upon Member states and other stakeholders to consider implementing the considerations contained therein” (OP5).
And on Wednesday, the General Assembly adopted a resolution of its Second Committee – which deals with issues relating to economic growth and development – on the Second United Nations decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017). In this resolution, the General Assembly reiterated the role of substantial and efficiently spent investments in improving the quality of education and enabling millions of people to acquire skills for decent work. It also expressly “takes note with appreciation of the report of the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity, and the recommendations contained therein, as appropriate” (OP35).
The resolutions represent a significant development in the Commission’s efforts to highlight and advance the report’s findings through the UN system. In addition to strengthening global accountability, the second phase of the Commission’s work will also focus on supporting pioneer countries, establishing a Multilateral Development Bank Investment Mechanism, catalyzing strategic initiatives, and spreading the Commission’s key messages.
Commenting on the resolutions, Commission Chair Gordon Brown said:
“We welcome the UN’s recognition of the Commission’s report, which proposes the largest expansion of educational opportunity in history.
“Despite the irrefutable case for investment in education, and despite the promises made and remade by generations of leaders, education has not been sufficiently prioritized by governments to even come close to ensuring this universal right.
“Education can wait no longer – evidence is clear that it is now, more than ever, an imperative for social and economic progress.
“We look forward to working with the UN in the second phase of the Commission’s work to hold governments accountable for the promise of education and opportunity.”
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