Summary

The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 56/5, decided to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the rights to early childhood education, free pre-primary education and free secondary education, with the mandate of exploring the possibility of, elaborating and submitting to the Council a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child with the aim to: (a) explicitly recognize that the right to education includes early childhood care and education; (b) explicitly state that, with a view to achieving the right to education, States shall: (i) make public pre-primary education available free to all, beginning with at least one year; (ii) make public secondary education available free to all; (c) recall that States shall promote and encourage international cooperation in matters relating to education; and (d) consider a provision that would allow for States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to incorporate all reporting on their obligations under the optional protocol into their reports submitted under article 44 of the Convention, eliminating the need for an initial or other separate reports.

In accordance with the resolution, the Chair-Rapporteur of the working group presents the following progress report to the Council. This report is a follow-up to the first session of the working group, held from 1 to 3 September 2025. It also follows an informal consultation held on 12 December 2025. This consultation was dedicated to examining the possibility of elaborating an optional protocol. Experts guided this process, which ensured the meaningful participation of children.