Social & Hummanitarian, last resolution

RESOLUTION 1.2

Committee: Social & Humanitarian

Topic Area A: Governmental undertakings in order to achieve the provision of primary education worldwide.

Sponsored by: Portugal

Submitted by: USA, Japan, Afghanistan, Austria, Italy, Venezuela, Ireland, Georgia, China, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, U.K., Belgium, Luxembourg, Zimbabwe, Finland, Poland, Portugal


The Social and Humanitarian Committee,

A. Recalling, that the MDG (Millennium Development Goals) wants to ensure that by 2015, children all over the world, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling,

B. Further recalling, article 26 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states all children have the right of education,

C. Recalling General Assembly resolutions 59/113 A of 10 December 2004, 59/113 B of 14 July 2005 and 60/251 of 15 March 2006, as well as Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/61 of April 2005 and Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights resolution 2006/19 of 24 August 2006, concerning the World Programme for Human Rights Education, the Plan of Action for its first phase (2005-2007); the resolution 6/24 of 28/09/2007 and the annual report of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights of 27 August 2008,

D. Bearing in mind that more than 1.5 million school-age refugee children live in developing countries and that at least 1 in 5 refugee children is not part of the formal education system,

E. Emphasizing that the federal Ministry of Education is responsible for funding and supervising primary and secondary education, which is administrated on the provisional level by the authorities of the respective provinces,

1) Expresses the need for continuous actions at the international level to support national efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, in particular universal access to the basic education for all, by 2015;
2) Raises domestic spending on education from 5 to 10 per cent of national budgets, while giving priority to basic education;
3) Encourages relevant organs, bodies or agencies of the United Nations system, as well as all other international and regional intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, within their respective mandates, to promote and technically assist, when requested, the national implementation of the Plan of Action;
4) Recommends that the principal educational objective of primary education is to provide all children with a basic and well-balanced general education that promotes social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development;
5) Invites all states to adopt the necessary measures to close the gap between the school-leaving age and the minimum age of employment by raising the minimum age of employment, to discourage children from giving up school;
6) Recommends to be given from the UN and the NGO’s more scholarships, particularly for low-income families;
7) Urges governmental and non-governmental organizations to financially support countries that have policies in place but are not on track to achieve universal primary education;
8) Calls upon all States to focus on improving quality and performance levels of basic education;
9) Invites all to implement lifelong learning schemes to provide culturally, socially and economically appropriate education;
10) Also recommends to provide children with transportation to and from school, when needed and offer free meals and health services at school;
11) Calls upon all members of the United Nations on Human Rights Education in the School System and, in particular, the Unites Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to work hard and faster so thus they complete their first phase activities (2005-2009) of the World Programme for Human Rights Education at the end of 2009;
12) Asks the countries that have a high standard of living to support financially the ones that are in need.