Special Rapporteur on the right to education

Purpose of the mandate

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education was established to examine the crucial issue of the right of all persons to access quality education without discrimination, and to provide recommendations to Governments and other stakeholders. The Special Rapporteur addresses issues of availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of education, from pre-primary to tertiary levels, including in non-formal education systems or mechanisms.  

More about the human right to education

About the mandate

The Special Rapporteur on the right to education is an independent human rights expert appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. First established in 1998, the mandate was most recently renewed in 2023 under resolution 53/7.

More about the history of the mandate and the resolutions that established it

Current mandate holder

Ms. Farida Shaheed, from Pakistan, was appointed Special Rapporteur on the right to education in 2022. She is the Executive Director of Pakistan’s leading gender justice organization, Shirkat Gah - Women’s Resource Centre. She is also an independent expert/consultant to numerous U.N., international and bi-lateral development agencies, the government of Pakistan, as well as civil society initiatives, and serves on multiple international and national advisory committees. She served as a member of Pakistan’s National Commission on the Status of Women, and as the first Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights from 2009 to 2015.

Read Ms. Shaheed’s full biography.