174 civil society organisations from around the world have today (1st August 2017), released a statement calling on investors to cease support for Bridge International Academies, a company running over 500 commercial private schools in the Global South with the support of international donors and investors.
The Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER) submitted comments to the Draft General Comment on State Obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in the context of business activities.
Please see link: Written submissions 2017
The 15 organisations endorsing this statement take note of the decision taken by the High Court of Uganda sitting in Kampala on Friday 4th November which confirms that the process followed by the Ugandan Government to decide to close schools run by Bridge International Academies (BIA) was fair and legal.
Report prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for Uganda's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) November 2016
The Ugandan Minister of Education and Sports, Hon Janet Museveni, formally announced on Tuesday during a session of the parliament that the Government will soon close the schools operated by the largest and most controversial chain of commercial private schools worldwide, Bridge International Academies (BIA), which runs 63 nursery and primary schools in Uganda. Hon Museveni indicated having based her decision on technical reports from the Ministry that revealed that the schools did not respect national standards, in particular that “material used could not promote teacher pupil interaction” and that “poor hygiene and sanitation […] put the life and safety of the school children in danger”.
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In a landmark report, which has just been published, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed its concerns that in some cases the UK’s development aid “has been reportedly used for activities in contravention of economic, social and cultural rights in the receiving countries.” This is the second time within less than a month that UN experts have spoken out on the legality of UK development aid under international law.
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The United Kingdom (UK)’s controversial support for commercial, low-cost private schools in developing countries has been questioned by a UN Committee on children’s rights.(1) The UK Department for International Development’s support for the for-profit primary and pre-primary school chain, Bridge International Academies (BIA) was singled out as a particular concern.
The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a landmark resolution on the protection of human rights defenders working to promote economic, social and cultural rights by a resounding vote.
The Norwegian-led resolution, developed in close consultation with civil society and sponsored by over 60 States from all regions, was adopted by a vote of 33 Member States of the Human Rights Council to just 6 against. Eight States in the 47-seat Council abstained.