Visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education Dr. Kishore Singh

Department of International Law of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) organised visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education Dr. Kishore Singh from 29 September to 3 October 2015. Dr. Kishore Singh holds a Ph. D. in international law (1977) from the University of Paris (Sorbonne). He possesses long standing professional experience in the field of the right to education, as a result of the work accomplished by him over the years at UNESCO (till 2009) including collaboration with the UN system. In June 2010, Dr. Kishore Singh was appointed by the Human Rights Council as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, and assumed his function from 2 August 2010. On 29 September Dr. Kishore Singh met Deputy Head of the Department of International Law, RUDN University, Prof. Alexander Solntsev, who informed the honourable guest on the activities of the Department, including realisation of the LL.M. Program “International Protection of Human Rights” which is taught in English. Dr. Kishore Singh has noted with appreciation the tendency of launching teaching programs in this field and stressed the key role played by Universities in raising awareness on human rights issues and spreading human rights knowledge at national level. On 30 September and 1 October Dr. Singh gave open lectures at the RUDN University on the following topics "The Right to Education in its interface with International Law," "Right to Education and Post- 2015 Sustainable Development Agenda," "Preserving Education as a public good and Safeguarding Education against Forces of Privatization." Each lecture was followed by an insightful interactive dialogue between our guest, students, PhD students and lecturers of the Department. In frames of his visit to Moscow the UN Special Rapporteur also met His Exc. Mr. P.S. Raghavan, Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation and Mr. Ryszard Komenda, Senior Human Rights Adviser to the UN Country Team in the Russian Federation. Dr. Kishore Singh and Mr. Ryszard Komenda discussed a number of issues related to the activities of the Special Rapporteur, as well as perspectives of further cooperation of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, RUDN University and Special Rapporteur within the ambit of Master programs on human rights taught in Russian and English at the Department of International Law. Dr. Singh expressed strong desire to participate in lecture series for University students on the right to education in the near future.