Education for all

Reaffirms that basic education for all is essential for achieving the goals of eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy; acknowledges the efforts of the mid-decade review of progress towards achieving the goals of education for all in identifying both continuing and emerging challenges, and stresses the need to meet those challenges and to accelerate the efforts to meet the basic needs of people of all age groups, particularly girls and women; appeals to all Governments to step up their efforts to eradicate illiteracy and to direct education towards the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms; appeals to all Governments to redouble their efforts to achieve their own goals of education for all by setting firm targets and timetables, including gender-specific education targets and programmes to combat the illiteracy of women and girls, and by working in active partnership with communities, associations, the media and development agencies, to reach those targets; appeals anew to Governments and to economic and financial organizations and institutions, both national and international, to lend greater financial and material support to the efforts to increase literacy and achieve education for all; requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the Director-General of Unesco and in consultation with Member States, to consider effective ways and means for achieving the goal of education for all, including the desirability and the feasibility of launching a UN decade to eradicate illiteracy, and to report thereon to the General Assemly at its 55th session, through the Economic and Social Council.

Adopted without vote, 70th meeting

3 p.

Adopted at the 70th plenary meeting, 12 Dec. 1997.