Using Human Rights Law and Mechanisms for Research and Advocacy in Education

• In Event: Inclusion, Civil Society, and the Right to Education: Advancing Peace and Equity through Advocacy and Accountability

Proposal

Education is fundamental for fostering human development and achieving lasting peace. Yet today, education is under threat: students, teachers, and schools face targeted attacks, hate speech is on the rise, and democratic freedoms are increasingly restricted. Against this backdrop, the realization of the right to education is not simply a policy aspiration but a legal obligation that anchors education as a cornerstone of peace and justice.

As a global learning partner of the Global Partnership for Education’s Education Out Loud (EOL) Fund, the Right to Education Initiative (RTE) has worked to strengthen civil society organizations’ capacity to advocate for and implement change using human rights law and mechanisms. This presentation draws on an analytical review of EOL programmatic documents, selected grantee projects, and semi-structured interviews with EOL staff and grantees to examine how human rights frameworks shape advocacy strategies.

The analysis reveals that the language used by funding agencies frames action and influences how CSOs design and implement their advocacy strategies. For example, the incorporation of human rights law in program documents enables grantees to frame demands in legally binding terms, thereby enhancing their legitimacy in national policy spaces. At the same time, gaps in human rights framing can limit CSOs’ ability to invoke accountability mechanisms.

Through the case of the GPE–EOL fund, the paper demonstrates that program design at the international level directly influences how advocacy is carried out on the ground. Importantly, it also shows how CSOs adapt and reinterpret these frameworks to local contexts, thereby playing a critical role in reducing inequalities in education. By framing advocacy in terms of rights and obligations, EOL-supported organizations not only push for more inclusive education policies but also contribute to broader social goals of justice, equity, and peace.

The paper argues that human rights law offers powerful tools for both research and advocacy in education. However, its potential is fully realized only when international and national actors create enabling conditions for CSOs to use these tools effectively. By highlighting the dynamic interplay between program design, human rights frameworks, and local advocacy strategies, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of civil society’s role in advancing inclusive education and building peaceful societies.

Authors

• Delphine Dorsi

• Juliana Lima Vaz de Carvalho Pinheiro Moreira, Right to Education Initiative