Co-submitters are any delegates who have either participated in the construction of this resolution (e.g. merging, contributing clauses) or alternatively have signed that they would like to see this resolution debated in committee.

Forum: HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Question of: Improving access to education for refugees
Main Submitter: Fiji
Co-submitters: Cambodia, Chile, Czech Egypt, France, Ghana, Iran, Ireland, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA,

Aware that more than half of the world's school-age refugee children do not have access to education,

Notes that Education is a basic human right, enshrined in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1951 Refugee Convention,

Acknowledges that according to UNHCR:
"At primary level, 63 percent of refugee children are enrolled in school, compared to a global level of 91 per cent.
At secondary level, 24 per cent of refugees are in school, compared to 84 per cent of secondary-age children worldwide."
that only three in every 100 refugee children continue on to higher level education,

Emphasising the uncertified parallel systems based on refugee camp persist as a temporary, which reduce a student's chances of progressing to a formal school and university due to not being able to adapt to a regular school curriculum,

Having considered that according to UNESCO, child marriage would fall by 14 per cent if all girls completed primary school; with finished secondary school, the percentage would be expected to drop by 64 per cent,

Alarmed that the education of refugees became more challenging when the refugee population grew by 30 percent in 2014 and is predicted to continue increasing, which the UNHCR expects the need for 12,000 additional classrooms and 20,000 additional teachers annually,


1. Requests UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) to work with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) to establish a program for:
a. young refugees (under 16 years old) that allows active and qualified personnel of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to back up their studies and future consultation and explanation of occupations at the discretion of the hosting country, and would be free and compulsory for all students,
b. providing classes of the official language to refugees of a broad-ranging age (specifically adults) with the intention of a better adaptation in their new country, as well as the creation of adult education programmes to promote education among older refugees and supply them with new skills in order to increase their employability,
c. community centres of areas with high refugee/immigrant populations and refugees who are separated by age and language groups to be taught by teachers competent in both language of refugee and country who would be paid by the UN;

2. Urges pressure on national governments and international institutions, regarding the Convention on the Rights of the Child to prioritise sustainable long term financial assistance and provide adequately fund for the education of refugees at school and university by National Education Systems in host countries;

3. Calls for the creation of a UN sub-body to be called the United Nations Refugee Education Agency (UNREA) that would work in conjunction with the UNHCR to:
a. protect and restore refugees' basic right to education, giving them the knowledge and skills to live productive, fulfilling, and independent lives,
b. provide mental health programs for refugees at schools such as, but not limited to access to extra-curricular activities such as sports and music to counter social isolation;

4. Further requests to international institutions and related countries to provide and replenish insufficient educational facilities and teacher personnel, particularly in LEDCs, through funds to schools, which would be funded by the UN sub-body, to provide refugees with all the necessary schoolbooks, stationery, digital technology, and uniform, as well as covering the cost of transport to and from school and offering free school lunches, as well as increasing school infrastructure;

5. Asks for support and training for teacher trade unions on how to respond to the impact of the refugee crisis in their countries to improve their education systems to guarantee the non-discriminatory and universal right to education without exclusions;

6. Further asks for the provision of places in classes of nearest schools to refugees, for refugees, in order to aid the integration of refugees with other citizens to prevent ghettoisation;

7. Suggests the creation of a widespread international media campaign to expand the awareness and understanding of the issues of refugee education issues, which would be extending the work undertaken by UNICEF in "School in a Box" and "Back to Learning" and in collaboration with host states and the UNHCR that would involve the use of social media, if culturally acceptable;

8. Recommends the UN to create a mass media and educational program to help educate civilians of the global population to understand and sympathise what refugees have been though, through the means of biodegradable leaflets and pamphlets, billboards, radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, talks in all levels of education with the aims of informing the general public on the lives and struggles experienced by refugees;

9. Further recommends the creation of a UN supported scholarship fund to work in conjunction with departments of educations in member nation whose distribution is to be overseen by the UNAER;

10. Further calls for the expansion of school systems currently in place in refugee camps through the building of more educational facilities and hiring of more teachers, so that class sizes are limited to 30 students, each student is guaranteed at least 6 hours in class each school day and strongly suggests the creation of a biannual review involving experts on the topic, NGOs involved and member nations to:
a. encourage the collaboration of all to review the current state of the issue and continue to improve on solutions for the issue
b. review new information on the education of refugees and ensure that the education of refugees internationally is in line with these clauses;

11. Encourages the establishment of national online schools where necessary that would serve to make sure those who are located in a rural area or otherwise do not have access to education are able to continue their schooling, achieved with actions such as:
a. employing teachers for the online classes that speak the languages of the regions that the refugees are coming from
b. creating an online voluntary support system for the students affected by the crisis in forms such as;
i. group counselling sessions
ii. one-on-one counselling meetings
c. supplying students that do not have sufficient access to technology with necessary devices such as computers, funded by the UN
d. ensuring that classes are held that teach the students how to speak the language of that region to encourage integration into that country;

12. Proposes the creation of a website to help refugees find places in preschools, primary schools and secondary schools for their children with fundraisers on the page where people can donate to foundations that support education for refugees, and the provision of teacher training to make sure each child's language is understood and there is the correct quantity of qualified teachers in order to teach all different levels of education in different situations.