Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a terrific initiative, and it's a real pleasure and privilege to be here with so many esteemed witnesses with so much expertise.
I am the co-founder and executive director of the International Parliamentary Network for Education. The Network's purpose is to grow political leadership for education and the achievement of the sustainable development goal for education, goal 4, in particular.
I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the active participation in the network—which is a network of members of parliament from all around the world—of a number of Canadian MPs and senators, including three members of this committee, members Lake, Vandenbeld and McPherson, who have all been founding members of IPNEd and very active in its work, particularly Mr. Lake, who is a member of our global executive, in which he represents North America.
As you all know, central to the promise of the sustainable development goals is the principle that we will leave no one behind and that, consequently, the goals will not be considered delivered unless everyone benefits. We are, of course, a long way from achieving that in respect of the education goal in general and, in particular, with respect to learners with disabilities. As I know we'll hear about later, data on disability in general and on disabled learners' access to and achievement in education is poor but the UNESCO global education monitoring report estimates that in low- and middle-income countries, up to half of all children with a disability are, in fact, out of school and the vast majority of those children have in fact never been to school. So action to support the inclusion of people with disabilities in education is absolutely crucial to the fulfillment of the SDGs and, of course, to the rights of those children.
I opened by explaining IPNEd’s mission to grow political leadership for education. I want to return to that principle, affirm this committee’s work, point to its wider potential and leave you with some suggestions.
We grow political leadership on education by supporting parliamentarians to understand the opportunities and the challenges associated with educational progress. We provide them with evidence and encouragement to take actionable steps as individuals and, even more importantly, with their parliamentary peers in their own parliament, regionally and globally.
As you all know, parliaments and their members have a number of core functions, including representation, legislation, budgeting and scrutiny, and we want to ensure that parliamentarians leverage those functions to the very best effect in growing access to and improving the quality of education around the world. I'm delighted to see the initiatives being taken by the Canadian Parliament in this regard, first in the form of the unanimous adoption of Mr Lake’s motion on disability-inclusive education and now with this inquiry. You see, one of the challenges associated with disability is, as we know, invisibility. At its worst, this takes the form of the de facto incarceration of disabled people in institutions or even in their own homes. But it has many manifestations, which lead us to turn the other way and fail to acknowledge both the extent of disability in our communities and the exclusion of disabled people. So it's very powerful when parliaments use their powers to shine a light on disability and seek to address it.
With that in mind, along with the specific mandate of the International Parliamentary Network for Education, I want to draw the committee’s attention to the central importance of parliamentary action to accelerate disability-inclusive education around the world. Obviously, we have a basis for that in the form of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. There are 187 states parties to the convention. As you all know, an international convention such as this needs to be given effect through national legislation, which is the preserve of parliaments. At the heart of any legislative approach will, of course, be guaranteeing in law non-discrimination on the grounds of disability and then applying that via policy and legislation so that a clear framework exists that sets out the rights and entitlements of disabled people in respect of education and the responsibilities of duty bearers. We all understand that the best laws won't, on their own, alter a situation, but we see time and time again that the lack of laws impedes progress.
I want to close by sharing one example and a couple of quick suggestions. One of our aims at IPNEd is to amplify the work of parliaments when they take action in support of education. In appearing before you today, I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of the Government of Sierra Leone, supported by its parliament, in developing the country’s national policy on radical inclusion in schools.
It's a very ambitious policy in which the government committed to inclusive learning environments, targeted support for vulnerable learners, the engagement of families and communities, and the creation of an enabling policy environment.
In April this year, its Parliament passed the Basic and Senior Secondary Education Act, which seeks to provide a legislative basis for this and other educational policies. It includes a wide range of regulations, such as ensuring the inclusion of children with physical or learning disabilities, banning discrimination, the creation of youth advisory groups, the prohibition of corporal punishment, and protection from violence and abuse. They're all part of making education more inclusive—radically inclusive, in fact—not just for the learners with disabilities but for other vulnerable children as well.
I hope now that, having passed the act, members of Parliament in Sierra Leone will closely monitor its implementation and hold the government to account for its delivery.
I hope that we can create opportunities for members of Parliament to learn about—
