Right to education The right to education is a right essential to everyone; for minorities and indigenous people, however, ‘it is also instrumental as a precondition for the full enjoyment of many other rights, such as the right to participation, expression, association, etc.’184 In its General Comment on the right to education, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) introduced essential features of education: availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability (the so-called 4As).185 The CESCR explained that availability requires functioning educational institutions and programmes; accessibility entails open access to education without discrimination: thus, education should be accessible within physical or technological reach, economically affordable and equal without any discrimination; acceptability concerns the form and substance of education; finally, adaptability requires flexible education which can be adjusted according to changing social needs. This part of the guide reviews international guarantees and the jurisprudence of international and regional courts on the right to education, with the main focus on access to education, including education in a minority language. The right to education in international and regional instruments The right to education is guaranteed by a number of international instruments. Thus, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that everyone has the right to education.186 Furthermore, the ICESCR recognizes everyone’s right to education in a very detailed Article 13.187 Similarly, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) upholds this right in respect to children.188 The International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries guarantees the right to education of indigenous people specifically.189 Furthermore, the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (CDE) reinforces this guarantee by forbidding any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference based on inter alia language.190 The CDE defines the concept of ‘education’ broadly to include all types and levels of education, and governs access to education, standard and 20 quality of education, as well as the conditions under which it is offered.191 At the regional level, Article 2 of Protocol 1 (P1-2) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) also establishes that ‘[n]o person shall be denied the right to education’. Recently, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union introduced the right to education in Article 14. This guarantee is largely modelled on P1-2 ECHR and Article 13(2) ICESCR. It provides for free compulsory education for all192 and the freedom to establish private schools.193 Furthermore, the AfrCH includes the right to education as a matter of principle in Article 17(1).194 In the Inter-American context, the InterAmerican Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man addresses the right to education in Article XII, as well as Article 13 of Additional Protocol to the ACHR in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.195 Regarding specifically minorities, Article 27 of the ICCPR is a universal minimum standard. Although Article 27 ICCPR does not specifically refer to education, educational needs of minorities are central to the protection of their identity and equal treatment. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (UNDRIP) is more explicit in this regard and refers to education in Article 4(4). Furthermore, the FCNM196 requires states to guarantee access to education in Article 12, to recognize the right of national minorities to set up and to manage their own private educational and training establishments in Article 13, and to provide education in and of minority languages in Article 14. Another important instrument which has an extensive provision on education is the European Charter for Minority Languages (Languages Charter): Article 8 offers a long list of possibilities for education in regional or minority languages: the higher the number of members of a linguistic minority, the higher protection they may claim from a state. However, states can pick and choose from the Charter’s provisions, taking into consideration their national circumstances: it is sufficient to accede to 35 out of 68 Articles of the instrument. Moreover, the Languages Charter aims to protect neither human rights nor minority rights. The main purpose of the instrument is to promote linguistic diversity. In addition, the (non-legally binding) OSCE Hague Recommendations regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities clarify the content of MINORITY GROUPS AND LITIGATION: A REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL JURISPRUDENCE