Education for Sustainable Development and Human Rights

Abstract

Education is one of the key drivers and enablers of sustainable development, and as such it has been prominent in sustainable development agenda. In spite of the progress made, significant challenges relating to education remain, which are among other things reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals. The education is not only a catalyzer of progress in the society, it is also one of the fundamental human rights. Furthermore, it is considered that enjoyment of the human rights is one of the prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development and that the human rights are one of the tools for the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development. Thus, it is necessary to examine the education for sustainable development from the perspective of the fulfillment of the human rights. Therefore, the paper examines the education for sustainable development from a human rights perspective, and particularly in the context of implementation of Sustainable Development Goals. The focus of the paper is threefold. Firstly, it focuses on the analysis of the obligations of the States in ensuring the education for sustainable development, as it is argued that under the international human rights and environmental law the States have an obligation to ensure education for sustainable development. Secondly, it analyzes the education for sustainable development as a part of the right to education. The third focus of the paper is to examine the education for sustainable development as a part of human rights education. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations on the education for sustainable development in the context of human rights and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.