Tunisia: UN expert visits to assess progress on right to education

French

GENEVA (5 April 2019) – UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education Koumbou Boly Barry will visit Tunisia from 7 to 12 April to assess efforts to implement the right to education.

“My visit will focus on how recommendations from the last visit by the mandate in 2012 have been implemented, and I will evaluate Tunisia’s progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education,” said the UN expert on the right to education.

The six-day mission will include meetings with Government officials, as well as visits to primary and secondary schools and universities. The Rapporteur will also hold discussions with representatives of civil society, including NGOs.

“I will seek to provide relevant and practical recommendations aimed at promoting and strengthening the protection of human rights and helping the country to provide quality education that is inclusive and equitable for all,” Boly Barry said.

The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share her preliminary observations at 11:00 local time on 12 April 2019 in the offices of OHCHR, Rue du Lac Windermere, Immeuble le Prestige Business Center, Tour A, Les Berges du Lac 1- 1053, Tunis. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Special Rapporteur's full observations and recommendations will be presented at a forthcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council.

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Ms. Koumbou Boly Barry (Burkina Faso) took office as Special Rapporteur on the right to education on 1 August 2016 following her appointment at the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council. She holds a PhD in Economic History from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal. She is the former Minister of Education and Literacy of Burkina Faso and has consulted widely for various governments and international institutions on the right to education. Ms Boly Barry has been an advocate on gender issues in education. She also has ample knowledge and experience in training and research, is a visiting professor at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, University of Louvain La Neuve Belgium, and a lecturer at Ouagadougou University, Burkina Faso, Vitoria University, Brazil and Fribourg University, Switzerland.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page: Tunisia

For more information and media inquiries, please contact:
In Tunisia (During the visit):
Ms Teizu Guluma (+41 079 764 7374 / tguluma@ohchr.org)
Ms Samia Kamoun (+216 36 011 680 / skamoun@ohchr.org)

In Genève: Ms Mylène Bidault (+41 22 917 9935 / mbidault@ohchr.org)

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.

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