Our global network of contributors to the AI & Human Rights Index is currently writing these articles and glossary entries. This particular page is currently in the recruitment and research stage. Please return later to see where this page is in the editorial workflow. Thank you! We look forward to learning with and from you.
[Insert statement of urgency and significance for why this right relates to AI.]
Sectors #
The contributors of the AI & Human Rights Index have identified the following sectors as responsible for both using AI to protect and advance this human right.
- [Sector Code] [Sector Name]
- [Sector Code] [Sector Name]
- [Sector Code] [Sector Name]
- [Sector Code] [Sector Name]
AI’s Potential Violations #
[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could violate this human right.]
AI’s Potential Benefits #
[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could advance this human right.]
Human Rights Instruments #
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) #
Article 26
- Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
- Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
- Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) #
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with a view to achieving the full realization of this right:
- (a) Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all;
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) #
G.A. Res. 44/25, Convention on the Rights of the Child, U.N. Doc. A/RES/44/25 (Nov. 20, 1989)
Article 28
- States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
- (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) #
Convention Against Discrimination in Education, Dec. 14, 1960, 429 U.N.T.S. 93.
Article 4
The States Parties to this Convention undertake furthermore to formulate, develop and apply a national policy which, by methods appropriate to the circumstances and to national usage, will tend to promote Equality of opportunity and of treatment in the matter of education and in particular:
- (a) To make primary education free and compulsory; make secondary education in its different forms generally available and accessible to all; make higher education equally accessible to all on the basis of individual capacity; assure compliance by all with the obligation to attend school prescribed by law;
- (b) To ensure that the standards of education are equivalent in all public educational institutions of the same level, and that the conditions relating to the quality of the education provided are also equivalent;
- (c) To encourage and intensify by appropriate methods the education of persons who have not received any primary education or who have not completed the entire primary education course and the continuation of their education on the basis of individual capacity;
- (d) To provide training for the teaching profession without discrimination.
Last Updated: March 14, 2025
Research Assistant: Elikemuel Rodriguez
Contributor: To Be Determined
Reviewer: To Be Determined
Editor: Tanya de Villiers-Botha
Subject: Human Right
Edition: Edition 1.0 Research
Recommended Citation: "X.B. Right to Free and Compulsory Primary Education, Edition 1.0 Research." In AI & Human Rights Index, edited by Nathan C. Walker, Dirk Brand, Caitlin Corrigan, Georgina Curto Rex, Alexander Kriebitz, John Maldonado, Kanshukan Rajaratnam, and Tanya de Villiers-Botha. New York: All Tech is Human; Camden, NJ: AI Ethics Lab at Rutgers University, 2025. Accessed March 18, 2025. https://aiethicslab.rutgers.edu/Docs/x-b-primary-education/.