United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Farida Shaheed: end-of-visit press conference

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Farida Shaheed: end-of-visit press conference

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education Farida Shaheed is visiting the United States from 29 April to 10 May 2024 to assess strengths and challenges in the implementation of the right to education.

Shaheed is meeting with federal and state officials, representatives of civil society, teachers’ unions, students’ associations, academics and other stakeholders in Washington D.C., Indiana and Colorado.

The Special Rapporteur is seeking to understand the way the federal government and state governments work together to ensure non-discriminatory access to quality education for all, especially most marginalised.

She also focuses on academic freedoms and the issue of safety in schools.

At the press conference, Shaheed will share her preliminary observations on the visit. Access is strictly limited to journalists. The expert will present a full report on her visit to the Human Rights Council in June 2025.

Farida Shaheed took office on 1 August 2022. She is a sociologist and the Executive Director of Pakistan’s leading gender justice organization, Shirkat Gah - Women’s Resource Centre. She advises various international and bi-lateral development agencies, the government of Pakistan, as well as civil society initiatives. She served as a member of Pakistan’s National Commission on the Status of Women, and as the first Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights from 2009 to 2015.

The Special Rapporteur is part of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council – independent experts who 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 salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.