Attack on the child’s right to education: reinforcing resilience using the human rights-based approach in Cameroon

Abstract

This work demonstrates how states such as the Republic of Cameroon can use the HRBA to realise the child’s right to education. Cameroon is party to many conventions that protect the right to education as is outlined in human rights instruments and explicitly so in Articles 13 and 14 of the 1966 ICESCR. The country has undertaken to provide quality education in a non-discriminatory manner but is experiencing challenges that restrain the progressive realisation of this right. Our research sought to find out how international law protects the child’s right to education, to what extent this right is justiciable in Cameroon and how to use the HRBA to provide education for every child. The legal methodology is used to answer these questions exploiting human rights and humanitarian laws, to obtain primary sources of data from the African regional and from international treaties, national legislations, judicial decisions and policy papers. We also use secondary sources such as books, the most recent cycle reports on Cameroon prepared by committees of different UN treaty bodies and other reports. It is verified and affirmed that reinforcing the HRBA would be the most effective method of realising the child’s right to education in Cameroon. Keywords: The child, Right to education, Justiciability, Human rights-based approach, Equality and non-discrimination, Cameroon