Call for inputs for the preparation of the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to the Human Rights Council resolution 57/24 “Education as a tool to prevent racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”

Operative paragraph 12 of Human Rights Council resolution 57/24 requests the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-third session a comprehensive report, accessible to persons with disabilities, including in an accessible and easy to read format, analysing relevant education-related practices and measures to prevent racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, with input from all relevant stakeholders.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) would welcome information from States, United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, regional organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and educational institutions, as specified by the resolution.

In line with the above-mentioned resolution, information is sought on education-related practices and measures to prevent racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

With a focus on identifying promising practices, as well as gaps, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations, OHCHR would welcome information about:

• How education – including systems, content, structures, teaching methods, curriculum and ways of delivery and management – prevents, addresses, or where relevant, perpetuates racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
• Efforts taken to fully and effectively implement State obligations under relevant sections of international human rights instruments, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action concerning the role of education in preventing and eliminating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
• Laws, policies, practices and measures undertaken to:
  • dismantle educational structures, systems, policies and practices that enable or perpetuate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
  • foster an enabling human rights environment within educational institutions’ ecosystems that fosters tolerance and diversity and eliminates obstacles to access to inclusive and equitable quality education for all children;
  • strengthen human rights education as a tool against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
  • identify and address discriminatory practices and disproportionate outcomes for children from marginalized racial and ethnic groups in educational settings;
  • ensure safe and inclusive educational environments – online and offline – free from discrimination, violence, harassment, bullying, hate speech and incitement to hatred based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia or related intolerance;
  • develop and/or improve human rights educational curricula, materials, programmes and techniques aimed at countering racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including those which seek to raise awareness of the histories, heritages, cultures and cultural contributions of marginalized racial and ethnic groups and accurately and accessibly reflect historical facts and combat harmful racial stereotypes;
  • effectively train teaching staff, educational administrators and other education sector workers to teach and promote human rights and combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in their teaching and interactions with students;
  • support the meaningful, safe and inclusive participation of students, parents, teachers, civil society organizations and communities affected by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and their representative organizations in the design, implementation and evaluation of educational policies, programmes and legislation addressing racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in education;
• Efforts taken to support greater representation of members of marginalized racial and ethnic groups in teaching or educational administration roles;
• Educational tools, including those using emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, employed to combat racism and promote respect for human rights, diversity and inclusivity;
• Efforts taken to systematically collect disaggregated data to assess critical indicators relating to the effectiveness of anti-racism education initiatives;
• Recent analytical reports, statistical data or surveys on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance faced by marginalized racial and ethnic groups in education.

How will inputs be used?

Please send your submission, preferably in Word and PDF format in English, French or Spanish, to the Anti-Racial Discrimination Section at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights by email to ohchr-registry@un.org, no later than Friday, 17 July 2026. Kindly refer to “Human Rights Council resolution 57/24 – Education and racism report” in the title of the submission and include hyperlinks to relevant documents providing more detailed information.

Submissions should include the full name of the person or organization submitting the information. Unless otherwise specified, all contributions received will be made available in full on the public OHCHR website. Kindly indicate if you wish to keep parts or the entirety of your submission confidential. If your submission includes names of victims and you wish for your submission to be public, please confirm that you have obtained the informed consent of these persons or their representatives, and indicate whether the names and related information are in the public domain.

The final report may not reflect all submissions received. Information that does not fall within the scope of the resolution will not be taken into account.