A/79/316 C. Education 34. Another common area of public life in which States have adopted special measures is education, most commonly tertiary education. Special measures in education include quotas and consideration of race in admissions criteria, as well as “softer” measures, such as scholarships and financial aid, or a combination of approaches. Research from 2014 revealed that one quarter of countries had some form of special measures in higher education, although most such measures were aimed at gender equality, rather than marginalized racial or ethnic groups. 38 35. The Special Rapporteur reminds States of the undeniable transformative potential of higher education to help to break generational cycles of poverty and social exclusion. Education can provide access to opportunities to those from marginalized racial and ethnic groups to gain economic, social and political power to challenge and dismantle systemic racism. 39 Furthermore, universities in the United States successfully argued, until 2023, for the use of affirmative action on the basis that diversity enriches the educational experience for all. 40 36. In Mexico, the federal General Education Law provides that the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and people of African descent should be prioritized, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico provides scholarships to students who self-identify as Indigenous or of African descent. Since 2004, 950 students have received support through these scholarships, comprising 53 per cent women and 47 per cent men. 41 North Macedonia provides quotas for Roma in enrolment in higher education, as well as scholarships to Roma students and free higher education to Roma women over 35 years of age in an attempt to address the intersectional discrimination faced by Roma women. 42 37. Several Latin American countries, such as Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay, have quotas in education for people of African descent, and Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan have quotas for marginalized ethnic groups. 43 Colombia also has an education loan fund for students of African descent and a scholarship programme for people of African descent in Bogotá. 44 In addition to the quotas of its National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training for people of African descent, Uruguay provides scholarships and other forms of assistance to students of African descent. 45 38. In Costa Rica, the national strategy for employability and human talent (2023 – 2027) identifies gaps in the labour market that affect vulnerable populations, such as people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples and LGBTQIA+ persons, and is aimed at prioritizing the inclusion of these populations through programmes aimed at social mobility, such as study loans for Indigenous Peoples. 46 __________________ 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 24-15073 Laura Dudley Jenkins and Michele S. Moses, eds., Affirmative Action Matters: Creating Opportunities for Students Around the World (New York and London, Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2014). A/HRC/56/68/Add.1, para. 19. See, for example, Supreme Court of the United States of America, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin et al., No. 11–345, 24 June 2013; and Camille Giraut, “From privileges to rights: changing perceptions of racial quotas in Brazil”, Ethnic and Racial Studies (2023), p. 3. Submission from Mexico City Human Rights Commission. Republic of North Macedonia, Strategy for Inclusion of Roma 2022–2030, p. 71. Gisselquist, Schotte and Kim, Affirmative action around the world, p. 10. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Afrodescendent Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: Debts of Equality (United Nations publication, 2018), p. 32. Ibid. Submission from Costa Rica, p. 11. 13/24