UN discussions advance possible global agreement recognising early childhood education as a right

Governments, experts, civil society organisations and child advocates are gathering in Geneva from 31 August to 2 September 2026 to advance discussions on a possible international agreement that would explicitly recognise early childhood care and education as part of every child’s right to education.

The United Nations Human Rights Council’s open-ended intergovernmental working group is considering a proposed Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) covering early childhood care and education, free public pre-primary education and free public secondary education.

If developed and ultimately adopted, the protocol could represent a significant change in international education law by making clearer that the right to education begins during early childhood, not only when a child enters primary school.

The discussions are also relevant to countries such as Australia, where early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy continues to evolve amid affordability pressures, workforce shortages and increasing recognition of the importance of children’s earliest years.

The proposed Optional Protocol is intended to explicitly recognise that the right to education includes early childhood care and education.

It would also seek to establish that governments should make public pre-primary education available free to all children, beginning with at least one year, and make public secondary education free and accessible to all.

The proposal would expand upon the education provisions already contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognises children’s right to education and requires countries to make primary education compulsory and available free to all.

At its upcoming second session, the working group will consider Revision One of the draft Key Principles intended to guide the possible development of the protocol.

The revised principles follow consideration of a zero draft shared with UN Member States and other stakeholders in April 2026, together with consultations conducted between the working group’s formal sessions.

The principles are expected to help shape the potential scope, obligations, implementation arrangements and monitoring mechanisms of any future protocol.

Importantly, the process remains at a formative stage. No Optional Protocol has yet been agreed, and the Geneva meeting will not itself create new international obligations.

A defining feature of the initiative is its commitment to the meaningful participation of children.

Child advocates representing different geographic regions will contribute directly to the Geneva discussions, present perspectives gathered through regional consultations they co-led and share children’s reflections on the draft Key Principles.

Their participation reflects the broader principle contained within the Convention that children should have opportunities to express their views on matters affecting them and that those views should be given appropriate consideration.

It also recognises that children’s lived experiences can provide valuable insight into the practical, financial and social barriers limiting access to education.

The three-day session will be organised around four thematic areas:

• the scope and objectives of a possible Optional Protocol;
• its substantive provisions and the obligations it could place on participating countries;
• implementation and monitoring, including international cooperation and children’s participation; and
• working arrangements for a possible future drafting phase.

The session will include opening remarks from UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Awa Dabo, as well as contributions from Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child Sophie Kiladze and UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education Farida Shaheed.

The working group is chaired by Ambassador Samuel U.B. Saffa, Sierra Leone’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

For Australia, the proposed protocol adds an important international dimension to the continuing national debate about access, affordability, quality and government responsibility for early childhood education.

Explicitly recognising early childhood care and education as part of the right to education would strengthen the argument that early learning should be understood as more than a workforce support or discretionary family service.

Instead, it would position early education as an entitlement belonging to the child.

Over time, such an international standard could influence Australian policy discussions in several areas, including:

• universal and affordable access to early childhood education;
• the availability of free preschool programs;
• sustained public investment in early learning;
• equitable access for children experiencing disadvantage, disability or geographic isolation;
• mechanisms for monitoring progress and government accountability; and
• the meaningful participation of children in decisions about education policy.

The proposal does not, however, create any immediate requirement for Australia to change its existing ECEC funding or delivery arrangements.

Any protocol would first need to be drafted, negotiated and adopted internationally. Australia would then need to decide whether to sign and ratify the instrument before being bound by its requirements.

At the conclusion of the Geneva session, the Chair-Rapporteur will prepare a summary of the discussions, together with conclusions and recommendations to inform future deliberations of the Human Rights Council.

These outcomes will help determine whether the process moves into a formal drafting phase and what principles would guide the development of an Optional Protocol.

Although the proposal remains some distance from becoming international law, the discussions represent an important shift in how early childhood education is being positioned globally.

If eventually adopted and widely ratified, the protocol could become one of the most consequential international education agreements in decades, formally embedding early childhood care and education within the global framework of children’s rights. 

Read the full media release here.