Religious segregation of education
in Northern Ireland
124. The CESCR's concluding observations express
concern that "the educational structure in Northern Ireland
continues to be heavily segregated on the basis of religion, despite
the increased demand for integrated schools"[172]
and reiterates the recommendation made in its 1997 concluding
observations that measures should be taken to establish additional
integrated schools where there is demand for them. This reflects
the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Rights
of the Child, which also recommended increased budgetary provision
and incentives for integrated schooling in order to meet parental
demand in Northern Ireland.[173]
125. Education in Northern Ireland is primarily provided
through either Protestant or Catholic schools. Although relatively
few schools provide integrated education, there is a statutory
duty on the Department of Education to encourage and facilitate
the development of integrated education, and that measures have
recently been taken to make it easier for new integrated schools
to qualify for public funding.[174]
126. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
(NIHRC) pointed out that, in Northern Ireland, religious segregation
of education was a matter of parental preference and was not imposed
by the State. It opposed any imposition of integration,[175]
but favoured enhanced financial support for integrated education,
and expressed concern that there were families who wish to avail
of integrated education but were unable to do so. The Committee
on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) pointed out in that although
there has been an increase in funding for integrated schools in
Northern Ireland in recent years, demand had not fully been met.[176]
127. The provision of integrated or segregated education
is a complex issue both in policy and in human rights law terms.
Under the ICESCR, States Parties agree their commitment to education
that will "promote understanding, tolerance and friendship
among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups"
(Article 13 (1)). The States Parties also undertake "to have
respect for the liberty of parents … to ensure the religious
and moral education of their children in conformity with their
own convictions." The CESCR general comment on the right
to education notes the importance of the cultural acceptability
of education.[177]
Parental choice is also a component of the right to education
protected under Article 2 of Protocol 1 to the ECHR, as incorporated
under the HRA. It provides that "the State shall respect
the rights of parents to ensure such education and teaching in
conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions."
Nevertheless, where education by religious institutions is funded
by the State, the Privy Council, upholding a decision of the Supreme
Court of Mauritius and drawing on international human rights standards,
has recently affirmed the duty to ensure that such educational
provision does not discriminate against children from other religious
backgrounds.[178]
128. We agree that the unavailability of education
that is not segregated along religious lines, in Northern Ireland
or indeed elsewhere in the UK, may raise issues in relation to
education rights under the ICESCR. Both the ICESCR, and education
rights protected under the HRA,[179]
require that parents' convictions should be respected in the education
of their children. Under an education system segregated along
religious lines, however, that may not always be effectively achieved.
In particular, where education is solely provided in segregated
schools reflecting the two main religious communities, there may
be implications for the adequacy and cultural acceptability of
educational provision for children from other minority religious
or cultural groups. We recommend that the financial support
provided for integrated education should be assessed having regard
to human rights considerations under the ICESCR.
138 
