Adopted on December 14, 1960, by theGeneral Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Entry into force: May 22, 1962, in accordance with Article 14
The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, at its eleventh session, held in Paris from 14 November to 15 December 1960.
Recalling that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the principle that no discrimination should be made and proclaims the right of all to education,
Considering that discrimination in education constitutes a violation of rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Considering that, in accordance with its Constitution, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization aims to establish cooperation between nations in order to ensure the universal respect of human rights and equality of educational opportunities,
Aware that, consequently, it is incumbent upon the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with due respect for the diversity of national education systems, not only to prohibit all discrimination in education but also to strive for equality of opportunity and treatment for all in that sphere,
Having received proposals on the different aspects of discrimination in education, a question which constitutes item 17.1.4 of the agenda of the meeting,
Having decided at its tenth session that this matter should be the subject of an international convention, and that this question should be the subject of an international instrument, it has adopted by 14 votes against 0, with 26 abstentions, the following Convention:
Hereby adopts this Convention this fourteenth day of December 1960:
Article 1
1. For the purposes of this Convention, “discrimination” means any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic condition or birth, which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality of treatment in education and, in particular:
a) Excluding any person or group from any level or type of education;
b) Limiting any person or group to a substandard level of education;
c) Subject to the provisions of article 2 of this Convention, to institute or maintain separate systems or establishments of education for persons or groups;
d) To place a person or group of persons in a situation incompatible with human dignity;
2. For the purposes of this Convention, the word “education” shall be taken to refer to all types and levels of education, and shall include access to education, the standard and quality of education, and the conditions under which it is given.
Article 2
In the event that a State admits them, the following situations shall not be deemed to constitute discrimination, within the meaning of Article 1 of this Convention:
a) The establishment or maintenance of separate educational systems or institutions for pupils of the male and female sex, provided that these systems or institutions offer equivalent facilities for access to education, provide a teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard and of the same standard of general educational facilities, and allow pupils to follow the same curriculum or a curriculum of equivalent content;
b) The establishment or maintenance, for religious or linguistic reasons, of separate educational systems or establishments which provide an education in conformity with the wishes of the parents or legal guardians of pupils, if attendance at such systems or establishments is optional and if the teaching provided therein is in conformity with such standards as may have been laid down or approved by the competent authorities, in particular for education of the same level;
c) The establishment or maintenance of private educational establishments, provided that the aim of these establishments is not to secure the exclusion of any group, but to add to the opportunities of education available to all, and provided that they are conducted in conformity with the aims of the State, and that the teaching given in them is in conformity with such standards as may have been prescribed or approved by the competent authorities, in particular for education of the same level.
Article 3
In order to eliminate or prevent any discrimination within the meaning of this Convention, the States Parties undertake to:
a) Repeal all legislative provisions and abandon all administrative practices which involve discrimination in the field of education;
b) Adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to ensure that no discrimination is practised in the admission of students to educational establishments;
c) Not to admit, with regard to tuition fees, the award of scholarships or any other form of aid to students, nor in the granting of permits and facilities which may be necessary for the continuation of studies abroad, any difference in treatment between nationals by the public authorities, except those based on merit or need;
d) Not to admit, in the aid, whatever form the public authorities may provide to educational institutions, any preference or restriction based solely on the fact that students belong to a particular group;
e) To grant, to foreign nationals residing in their territory, access to education on the same conditions as their own nationals.
Article 4
The States Parties to this Convention further undertake to formulate, develop and apply a national policy aimed at promoting, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practices, equality of opportunity and treatment in the sphere of education and, in particular, to:
a) Make primary education compulsory and free, generalise secondary education in its various forms and make it accessible to all, make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity, ensure that all are able to fulfil the obligations, prescribed by law, of attending school;
b) Maintain in all public establishments of the same grade teaching of the same level and equivalent conditions as regards the quality of teaching provided;
c) Encourage and intensify, by appropriate methods, the education of persons who have not received primary instruction or who have not received it in its entirety, and allow them to continue their studies according to their aptitudes;
d) Ensure that, in the preparation for the teaching profession, there are no discriminations.
Article 5
1. The States Parties to this Convention agree:
a) That education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. That it shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, all racial and religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace;
b) That the freedom of parents or, as the case may be, of legal guardians, to choose for their children educational establishments other than those maintained by the public authorities, but which respect the minimum standards that may be laid down or approved by the competent authorities, and to give their children, according to the methods of application determined by the legislation of each State, religious and moral education in accordance with their own convictions; that, furthermore, no individual or group should be obliged to receive religious instruction incompatible with their convictions;
c) That members of national minorities shall be recognized as having the right to carry on their own educational activities, including the establishment and maintenance of schools and, in accordance with the policy of the State concerned, the use and teaching of their own language, provided however that:
i) This right is not exercised in such a manner as to prevent members of the minorities from understanding the culture and the language of the community as a whole and from taking part in its activities, nor to impair the national sovereignty;
ii) The level of education in such schools shall not be lower than the general level prescribed or approved by the competent authorities;
iii) Attendance at such schools shall be optional.
2. The States Parties to this Convention undertake to take all necessary measures to ensure the application of the principles set forth in paragraph 1 of this article.
Article 6
The States Parties to this Convention undertake to give the fullest consideration to the recommendations that may be adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the purpose of defining the measures to be taken to combat the various aspects of discrimination in education and to achieve equality of opportunity and treatment in that sphere.
Article 7
The States Parties to this Convention should, in periodic reports submitted to the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, at such dates and in such a manner as the Conference shall decide, indicate the legislative or administrative provisions which they have adopted and such other measures as they have taken to give effect to the present Convention, including measures taken to formulate and develop the national policy referred to in Article 4, the results achieved and the obstacles encountered in its application.
Article 8
Any dispute between two or more States Parties to this Convention concerning its interpretation or application which is not settled by negotiation shall be referred, at the request of any party to the dispute, to the International Court of Justice for a decision, unless the parties concerned agree on another mode of settlement.
Article 9
No reservations shall be admitted to this Convention.
Article 10
This Convention shall not affect any rights enjoyed by individuals or groups under agreements concluded between two or more States, provided that such rights are not contrary to the letter or spirit of this Convention.
Article 11
This Convention has been drawn up in Arabic, English, French and Russian, each of these texts being equally authentic.
Article 12
1. This Convention shall be submitted to the Member States of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for ratification or acceptance, in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures.
2. Instruments of ratification or acceptance shall be deposited with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Article 13
1. This Convention shall be open to the accession of any State not a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization which is invited to accede to it by the Executive Board of the Organization.
2. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Article 14
This Convention shall enter into force three months after the date on which the third instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession has been deposited, but only with respect to the States which shall have deposited their respective instruments of ratification, acceptance or accession on that date or previously. It shall enter into force with respect to each of the other States three months after the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession.
Article 15
The States Parties to this Convention recognize that it applies not only in their metropolitan territory but also in all non-self-governing territories, trust territories, colonial territories or any other territories whose international relations are the responsibility of a State Party. State Parties undertake to consult, if necessary, with the government or other competent authorities of those territories, before or at the time of ratification, acceptance or accession, in order to obtain the application of the Convention to those territories, and to notify the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of the territory to which the Convention shall apply, such notification to take effect three months after its receipt.
Article 16
1. Any State Party to this Convention may denounce it in its own name or on behalf of any territory for whose international relations it is responsible.
2. The denunciation shall be communicated by an instrument in writing, which shall be deposited with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
3. The denunciation shall take effect twelve months after the date on which the instrument of denunciation is received.
Article 17
The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization shall inform the Member States of the Organization, the non-member States referred to in Article 13 and the United Nations of the deposit of any instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession referred to in Articles 12 and 13, as well as of the notifications and denunciations provided for in Articles 15 and 16 respectively.
Article 18
1. This Convention may be revised by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. However, any revision shall bind only such States as may become Parties to the revised Convention.
2. In the event that the General Conference adopts a new convention which constitutes a total or partial revision of this Convention, and unless the new convention provides otherwise, this Convention shall cease to be open for ratification, acceptance or accession as from the date on which the new revised convention enters into force.
Article 19
In accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, this Convention shall be registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations at the request of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Done at Paris, on 14 December 1960, in two authentic copies, signed by the President of the eleventh session of the General Conference, and by the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, copies which shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and of which certified copies shall be transmitted to all the States referred to in Articles 12 and 13, as well as to the United Nations.
The foregoing is the authentic text of the Convention duly adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization during its eleventh session, which was held in Paris and concluded on 15 December 1960.
In faith whereof the undersigned, duly authorized thereto, have signed this Convention.