Education for All - Including Undocumented Children?

Abstract: Education for all, what does it mean? For me, that all children have the right to education and are given possibilities to obtain this right. Though, is that the reality for all children in practice? Several reports, national as well as international, indicate that this is not the case for undocumented children in Sweden, despite their right to actual enjoyment of the rights protected in the Convention of the Right of the Child. The Convention provides detailed guidance as to how the right is to be enjoyed. Sweden have through an amendment in the Education Act given undocumented children a legal right to education. However, it is not enough to adhere to the rights on paper if this is not given effect in practice. The aim of this thesis is to clarify what the obstacles are for these children to obtain their right to education in Sweden. I have identified several obstacles that have to be overcome in order to achieve and improve availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability in education. In addition to not providing access to individual fundamental rights of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the right to education will continue to be limited for this group of children in Sweden. I have evaluated the actions taken by Swedish authorities in order to give undocumented children right to education. The conclusion that can be drawn is that the obstacles are severe and that these children’s enjoyment of the right is dismal. Sweden’s legislative and administrative measures for implementation of the right to education in the Convention on the Rights of the Child have not given effect. Undocumented children do not enjoy the right in practice, despite their de facto legal right in the Education Act. However, children’s rights cannot only be rights on paper; they have to consist of actual enjoyment. In the final chapter of my thesis I have four recommendations on how the Government and Riksdag need to act in order to fulfil its obligations of the Convention and achieve a positive outcome concerning the right to education for undocumented children. The recommendations are: - Make the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Swedish law. - Change the police legislation and prohibit the police to collect or search for undocumented children in or in direct adherence to school. - Strengthen the Right to Information concerning undocumented children’s right to education. - Facilitate support on distance in the child’s mother tongue. The above recommendations will fulfill the obligations under the Convention and realize undocumented children’s right to education. This will include them in the concept education for all.