Refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons, and asylum-seekers.

Overall, the estimated number of international migrants has increased over the past five decades. 281 million people were living in a country other than their countries of birth in 2020, more than double the figure in 1990 and over three times the estimated number in 1970 (IOM, 2020). At the end of 2020, some 55 million people were living in internal displacement (IDMC). This number is set to rise exponentially as the effects of climate change cause devastating impacts across the globe and the massive numbers of refugees displaced by the recent crisis in Ukraine are added to the tally. UNHCR (2021) estimates that close to half of all refugee children (47%) remain out of school. When people are displaced from their homes and communities, their right to education becomes at risk. Barriers to education are numerous and varied but may include a lack of identity papers; lack of exam or course certificates; distance to school; cost of education; xenophobia, intolerance, language barriers and incompatible curricula, among others. A range of international treaties protect these vulnerable groups’ right to education. The RefugeeConvention guarantees the right to public education of refugees in article 22. The CADE prohibits different treatment based on ‘social origin’, ‘economic condition’ or ‘birth’ and requests States to offer ‘foreign nationals resident within their territory the same access to education as that given to their own nationals’ in article 3. General Comment No. 20 (2009) of the CESCR clarifies that the Covenant rights apply to everyone, including non-nationals, such as refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, migrant workers and victims of international trafficking, regardless of legal status and documentation in General Comment No. 13 (1999). Similar rights arise in the InternationalConvention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families(articles 30 and 45) and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (article 22). The Global Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications was adopted by UNESCO in 2019 and aims to reduce the obstacles faced by displaced persons who require recognition of their qualifications to access higher education or continue their studies in another region or country. Soft law instruments such as the 2016 New York Declaration and pursuant Global Compacts for Safe,Orderly and Regular Migration and for Refugees commit States to provide inclusive education and facilitate access. The Education 2030 Incheon Declaration explicitly commits States in paragraph 11 to develop more inclusive, responsive and resilient education systems to meet the needs of children, young people and adults in the context of conflict and crisis, including internally displaced persons and refugees.

It is encouraging to observe that many States have made impressive advancements in their education offering for refugees. This figure 5 shows the percentage of Member States that had taken different measures. Among the innovative measures reported by States to protect the right to education of these vulnerable groups, the Democratic Republic of Congo reported that annual action plans will now include measures to adapt education to the new needs generated by a crisis or natural disaster, including offering psychological support for traumatized children and facilitating access to education for displaced persons and refugees by waiving fees. Italy has removed the requirement for residence documentation to enroll in school and in Sweden, asylum-seekers have the same right to education as residents in law.

Impressive international and regional cooperation has been illustrated by the Quito process. Thirteen Member States from Latin America and the Caribbean have united to articulate regional coordination with regard to the flow of human mobility of Venezuelan citizens. UNESCO is supporting the Ministries of Education to guarantee learners’ right to education in the context of Venezuelan displacement. However, there is still work to be done. The right to education of migrants and refugees is still not fully enshrined in many national legal frameworks and is often not comparable to the rights enjoyed by citizens. States must be guided by the strong network of protection proffered by the international instruments above and develop policies and programmes for people on the move in line with the principals of the 4As framework. As the lack of official documentation is a large barrier to the participation of refugees, migrants and IDPs in education systems, States should consider ratifying the recent Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications (2019) and legislate for the recognition of qualifications for people on the move. There would also be a benefit to education rights being strengthened for those that are on the move for reasons relating to climate change (UNESCO, 2020a). The Special Rapporteur on the right toeducation, in 2011, confirmed that emergencies do not relieve States from their obligation to take all appropriate measures to ensure the realization of the right to education of all persons in their territories including non-nationals, refugees or internally displaced groups, and that ‘ensuring financial support for primary education so that it continues to be available during emergencies, making secondary education available without discrimination and promoting access to higher education on the basis of capacity are nothing more than the fulfilment of a human rights obligation’ (para. 67). With this perspective in mind, the existing international legal framework could be reinforced by explicitly protecting the right to education of people fleeing the effects of climate change and natural disaster alongside the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers. Recognizing that the majority of climate displaced persons are predicted to remain within their country of origin (UNESCO, 2020a), more attention must be paid to IDPs, who remain largely invisible in international and national legal frameworks. Although they remain within their country of origin and can avail of their rights as citizens, IDPs have specific needs, vulnerabilities and barriers to education and are therefore deserving of laws and protections that deal with their unique situation. A positive example can be found in Bangladesh’s ‘National Strategy on the Management of Disaster and Climate Induced Internal Displacement’ (2015). In addition to providing an official definition of a climate-induced internally displaced person, this strategy sets out a comprehensive and realistic rights-based framework that respects, protects and ensures the rights of climate-induced internally displaced persons in different stages of displacement. Paragraph 2.2.7 specifically “Ensure[s] the rights to education of climate-induced internally displaced persons especially children and youths. No climate-induced internally displaced student will be denied access to a school on grounds that they have no school records (children can be tested to find their eligibility for appropriate grade)”. Finally, it must be recognized that over 85% of refugees are hosted in developing countries and that the largest host countries simply cannot keep up with demand for services alone – international 

 cooperation is vital and global solidarity is imperative to work together for the common good of all peoples in every country