Clarifying The Legal Framework of ECCE Rights: Key components and obligations – Expert workshop meting report

The past two years (2021-2023) have been marked by important progress in the area of ECCE and reflection on the implications in terms of normative framework and related rights implementation. UNESCO brought together 40 key actors in ECCE for three high-level meetings resulting in the Global Partnership Strategy for Early Childhood (GPS) in 2022. This led to the Second World Conference on ECCE (WCECCE) in November 2022 in Uzbekistan. The international community gathered at the WCECCE also discussed ECCE rights and normative framework during a specific session based on the analysis of a Thematic Report produced for the event entitled ‘Building and strengthening the legal framework on ECCE rights: achievements, challenges and actions for change’(hereafter, ‘Thematic Report’).

This paper unfolds the various parameters related to ECCE rights areas that would need to be considered while reflecting on how to better strengthen enforcement of ECCE through the normative framework. In that regard, with the adoption of the Tashkent Declaration states committed to “Examine the feasibility of supporting and enshrining the right to ECCE in a legal international instrument including in the context of the Evolving Right to Education Initiative led by UNESCO”. This workshop meeting report, summarising discussions with ECCE experts, strengthens this discourse and takes it forward.