Education - A Human Right Also for Migrant Children
Tuesday, May 26 - In a new paper for 'The Right to Education Project', JRS Europe Policy and Advocacy Officer, Stefan Kessler, discusses regulations and policies in EU Member States that compromise a migrant child's right to an education - violating Member State's obligations to international and European laws.

Identifying situations in Sweden and Germany, the paper argues that the right to education for migrant children may be applied ad hoc in many cases, owing to parental discretion and subject to various constraints.

In Sweden, the reality of a migrant child attending school relies on the the willingness of the parent, as well as the policies of the regional government and the individual school. When coupled with the requirement on the local education committee to inform the police of every migrant child enrolled, the paper states that there exists “a gap between provisions in law on one hand and the reality on the other”.

Equally in Germany, school attendance for migrant children is not mandatory, with all public authorities required to report the stay of an undocumented migrant to the Aliens Department.

Kessler states that these examples come in sharp contrast to both European and International laws, citing that State Parties are committed to exercise of the rights enunciated under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and these rights come without discrimination 'of any kind' such as, inter alia, colour, national origin 'or other status'. Furthermore, under the UN Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), states are obliged to completely transpose the ICESCR into domestic law, paying particular regard for the situation of non-citizens.

The paper investigates additional European conventions and directives that further enshrine a migrant's right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of national origin or 'other status'. In this context, Kessler says, “EU Member States should [...] revise their respective policies and make sure that every migrant child whatever the status under immigration law is can in fact attend school”.

The paper originally appeared on www.right-to-education.org. 'The Right to Education Project' aims to promote social mobilisation and legal accountability, looking to focus on the legal challenges to the right to education. The project is housed by 'ActionAid International', and run in partnership with the 'Global Campaign for Education' and 'Amnesty International'.

Jesuit Refugee Service Europe will continue advocating this and other causes of migrants in destitution. We would be more than happy if other organisations working on the field of education would join us.

Download the paper here