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	Good education is part of the glue that holds society together by Education International, agencies   Good education is part of the glue that holds society together, by Fred van Leeuwen.   As the world marked International Human Rights Day, it does so in what are trying times around the globe. Amid an ever-increasing conflict between the rights of people and the rights of corporations, citizens are bearing witness to the fraying of democratic principles.   And when we look at the state of public education in too many countries, the situation is no different.   The United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognises the right to education. However, it sees education as being a lot more than training in skills as important as that may be. Its purpose is also to inform our societies and re-enforce the capacities of people to reflect, engage in critical thinking and adjust.   The mission of education, according to the Covenant is the:   “Development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity.” Education “shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”.   It goes on to say that “education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups …”   This Covenant was adopted 50 years ago, but it sounds as if it could have been written yesterday.   However, we are seeing eruptions of fear, hostility and of all kinds of bigotry, much of it directed at migrants, disadvantaged and refugee communities.   It is made worse by those politicians who calculate that there is more electoral benefit to be generated through fear than through fairness and responsibility.   I ask a simple, if undiplomatic question. Is the refugee “crisis” being instrumentalised to erode and undermine democratic values and democracy itself in the world? It is in that context that we need to re-read the Covenant today and reflect on the mission of education.   Education International recently held a conference to discuss education for refugees. It was a fascinating meeting that brought together teachers, education stakeholders, political leaders, and academic experts. The main focus was on how education systems can better serve refugees and support their “integration”.   Let us be modest: education on its own cannot confront all challenges, but they will not be met without it. Countering dark forces requires a political response and teachers must be part of that necessary mobilization, but we also have a role to play as educators.   But, that requires a philosophy of education that considers the whole child, one that includes critical thinking and discussion on global citizenship, social justice and human rights.   It will be ignored, at best, by those who think that nothing has value that cannot be measured. And, it will not even be in the same universe with those who see education as a profit centre for shareholders rather than as a vital mission for society.   Good education is, in fact, part of the glue that holds society together. And, without it, particularly in the fast-moving world of today, we will be scattered in all directions by powerful and destructive centrifugal forces.   But, sound education, including civic education, is not only the right thing to do because of our concerns about larger society or even because of the values we serve. It is also good education and provides value to home and host populations. As John Dewey, the American educator and philosopher said early in the last century.   “The intermingling in the school of youth of different races, differing religions, and unlike customs creates for all a new and broader environment.”   http://bit.ly/2hqRX0e http://educationincrisis.net/themes/privatisation http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/12/08/when-public-goes-private-as-trump-wants-what-happens/   * June 2015: Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Kishore Singh - Protecting the right to education against commercialization: http://bit.ly/2hkjFsG http://bit.ly/1CZvICV http://bit.ly/2gr5QeO   Dec 2016   The world is facing a crisis if countries do not increase their education budgets and get more children into school, warns Julia Gillard, chair of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a global education funding agency.   There are 260 million children and adolescents out of school globally. This is attributed largely to poverty with parents unable to afford to send their children to school but also other factors such as discrimination based on ethnicity, caste or religion.   Recent data forecasts that by 2030, half of the 1.6 billion young people in the world will not have secondary level skills, and will not be easily absorbed into a job market which is demanding higher skill levels.   Ms. Gillard, says this is a crisis not just for the individual child who misses out on school, but also at the global economy level.   "One of things we have learned is that we can overcome these problems if we try. This isn''t the equivalent of saying let''s go to Mars. This isn''t something that no human being hasn''t done before," said Gillard in an interview. "It''s not that at all. We can solve all these problems and be on track to have a learning generation with every child in school."   Ms Gillard says it is imperative that both domestic and overseas financing be made available as one of the first efforts to get children into school.   She said 20 percent of government budgets, or six percent of gross domestic product, would be an indication that a country was trying to make a real difference to the education of children, yet many countries are failing to achieve that level. Low and middle income countries expenditure on education was $1 trillion in 2015, but should be almost three times that, at $2.7 trillion by 2030.   Ms Gillard said foreign aid was also meagre, with only three percent of overseas assistance going towards education.   The GPE has raised an average of $525 million annually over the last two years, she said, but it requires $2 billion a year to do its work - advising developing nations on quality education plans, providing technical assistance and funds.   "The reality is that it has always been a tough environment to raise money for education. Education is a pretty patient investment in quite an impatient world. People want to see quick results. It takes years to educate a child," she said.   "But if this continues, we will see a generation which simply doesn''t have the skills and capacities to make a life for themselves and the next generation of children will be less likely to survive infanthood, less likely to be vaccinated and less likely to go to school themselves."   * The 2016 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM Report) is both masterful and disquieting says Jeffrey D. Sachs, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Sustainable Development Goals.   This is a big report: comprehensive, in-depth and perspicacious. It is also an unnerving report. It establishes that education is at the heart of sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yet it also makes clear just how far away we are from achieving the SDGs. This report should set off alarm bells around the world and lead to a historic scale-up of actions to achieve SDG 4.   The GEM Report provides an authoritative account of how education is the most vital input for every dimension of sustainable development.   Better education leads to greater prosperity, improved agriculture, better health outcomes, less violence, more gender equality, higher social capital and an improved natural environment.   Education is key to helping people around the world understand why sustainable development is such a vital concept for our common future. Education gives us the key tools – economics, social, technological, even ethical – to take on the SDGs and to achieve them.   These facts are spelled out in exquisite and unusual detail throughout the report. There is a wealth of information to be mined in the tables, graphs and texts:   http://gem-report-2016.unesco.org/en/home/ Visit the related web page
	Nelson Mandela was a firm supporter of the ICC and the mechanisms of international justice by UN News, agencies Africa Group for Justice and Accountability (AGJA) South Africa   28 October 2016   Expressing regret over the intention of three African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for strengthening the Court from within its processes.   “Deterring future atrocities, delivering justice for victims, and defending the rules of war across the globe are far too important priorities to risk a retreat from the age of accountability that we have worked so hard to build and solidify,” said Mr. Ban.   “The world has made enormous strides in building a global system of international criminal justice, with the International Criminal Court as its centrepiece,” he added, recalling the ground-breaking convictions secured by the ICC and other international tribunals.   In his remarks, the UN chief said that these and other gains have also been accompanied by setbacks and shortcomings such as prosecutions taking many years and not all countries accepting the Court''s jurisdiction.   “Even some of those that do [accept the ICC''s jurisdiction], do not always support the Court fully,” he noted.   He also noted the concern raised that the Court has convicted only Africans despite evidence of crimes in other parts of the world, and stressed that such challenges are best addressed not by diminishing support for the ICC, but by strengthening it from within.   South Africa (24 October) and Burundi (yesterday) have informed the Secretary-General, who is the depository of the Rome Statute of the ICC, of their intent withdraw from the Court.   According to a UN spokesperson, official communication from Gambia – the third country which, according to reports, is intending to withdraw – has not been received.   “I regret these steps, which could send a wrong message on these countries commitment to justice,” said the Secretary-General this morning. According to ICC, the withdrawal will only come into effect one year after the official notification.   24 October 2016   UN Secretary-General hopes South Africa will ‘reconsider’ decision to withdraw from International Criminal Court. (UN News)   United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has regretted the decision of the South African Government to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and expressed hope that the country will reconsider its decision before the withdrawal takes effect.   In a statement issued by his office today, the UN chief also recalled the “significant role” played by South Africa in the establishment of the ICC, including as one of the first signatories of the Rome Statute.   According to ICC, the withdrawal will only come into effect one year after notification to the Secretary-General, who is the depositary.   He further expressed his belief that the ICC is central to global efforts to end impunity and prevent conflict as well as his confidence that the UN Member States will continue to further strengthen the Court, thus helping deter future atrocities across the globe.   Further, the statement noted: “The Secretary-General also hopes that States that may have concerns regarding the functioning of the Court seek to resolve these matters in the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute.”   The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the international treaty that founded the Court. Comprising a Preamble and 13 Parts, it establishes the governing framework for the Court.   The Statute sets out the Court’s jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and – as of an amendment in 2010 – the crime of aggression. In addition to jurisdiction, it also addresses issues such as admissibility and applicable law, the composition and administration of the Court, investigations and prosecution, trials, penalties, appeal and revision, international cooperation and judicial assistance, and enforcement.   The Rome Statute was adopted at the Rome Conference on 17 July 1998 and entered into force on 1 July 2002. http://bit.ly/2f94ntj   Oct 2016   Africa Group for Justice and Accountability: Statement on African state withdrawals from the International Criminal Court   The Africa Group for Justice and Accountability (AGJA) notes with deep concern the continued reports of African states withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC). In recent days, Burundi, South Africa and The Gambia have all signalled their intention to withdraw.   While the AGJA respects the sovereign rights of states to join and withdraw from the ICC, it urges all states to work within the Rome Statute system and continue their support for the Court.   African states have been at the vanguard of international criminal justice, and were indeed critical in ensuring that the ICC became a reality. Their efforts and their commitment are needed more than ever today. The AGJA welcomes the initiative of a growing number of states, including Botswana and Senegal, which have expressed their concern regarding South Africa’s and Burundi’s intention to withdraw from the ICC and have encouraged states to remain committed to the Court.   The AGJA notes that The Gambia has made important contributions to the development of international criminal justice. Fatou Bensouda, the current Prosecutor of the ICC, is a Gambian national. Africa Group member Hassan Bubacar Jallow, formerly Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, also hails from The Gambia.   The AGJA calls on The Gambia and all other states considering withdrawal to reconsider and recommit themselves to the Rome Statute.   “Withdrawals from the ICC constitute a serious obstacle to the rights of victims to justice and the duty of states to ensure accountability for mass atrocities. They close an important recourse to justice and undermine the global fight against impunity,” said AGJA member Jallow. “All efforts should be deployed to encourage states to remain members of the ICC and resolve their concerns within the Rome Statute system,” he added.   The Africa Group reiterates its view that concerns held by states regarding the ICC should be addressed by the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), where Member States can work together in a co-operative spirit to build a strong, effective and representative Court. The ASP will meet from 16-24 November 2016 in The Hague.   In line with its Kilimanjaro Principles for Justice and Accountability, the AGJA continues to offer its expertise, mediation and facilitation to African states, the African Union, the ICC and all other relevant actors.   * The members of the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability:   Dapo Akande (Nigeria), Professor of Public International Law, University of Oxford; Femi Falana (Nigeria), Human rights activist and lawyer; Hassan Bubacar Jallow (Gambia), Former Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals; Richard Goldstone (South Africa), Former Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia; Tiyanjana Maluwa (Malawi), H. Laddie Montague Chair in Law, Pennsylvania State University School of Law; Athaliah Molokomme (Botswana), Attorney General of Botswana; Betty Kaari Murungi (Kenya), Independent Consultant on Human Rights and Transitional Justice; Mohamed Chande Othman (Tanzania), Chief Justice of Tanzania; Navi Pillay (South Africa), Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic), Former Transitional President of the Central African Republic; Fatiha Serour (Algeria), Director of Serour Associates for Inclusion and Equity; Abdul Tejan-Cole (Sierra Leone), Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa   http://www.wayamo.com/africa-group-for-justice-and-accountability/ http://bit.ly/2egfWPX   * South Africa, together with other so-called “like-minded nations” played an important role in encouraging other Southern African states to rectify the Rome Statute. President Nelson Mandela, together with his administration, was a firm supporter of the ICC and more generally on furthering the mechanisms of international justice: http://bit.ly/2dFL48f http://bit.ly/2eO5Jqf Visit the related web page
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