Professor Wang Xigen, Dean of the Law School at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) and Director of the National Human Rights Education and Training, Institute for Human Rights Law at HUST, has been selected to join UNESCO's Group of Experts on the Preventative Action Plan for the Protection of Education from Attack.

UNESCO noted in its letter to Wang that the appointment followed a global selection process, including a comprehensive review of all nominees’ professional backgrounds, academic contributions, and practical experience.

The "Preventative Action Plan for the Protection of Education from Attack" is one of UNESCO's key global initiatives, aimed at addressing the growing incidents of violence against schools, students, teachers, and educational facilities worldwide. Through systematic preventive measures, it seeks to safeguard education security and the right to education.

The expert group’s mission is to build international consensus, provide strategic recommendations, and promote the development of more effective prevention mechanisms and policy frameworks, contributing wisdom and solutions to the global endeavor of ensuring education security.

The expert group meeting for the "Preventative Action Plan for the Protection of Education from Attack" will outline UNESCO's responsibilities, scope, and implementation in protecting education in conflict and crisis contexts. It will also review the draft of the "Theory of Change and Preventative Action Plan". After the meeting, experts will evaluate the draft, define the scope and nature of the expected feedback, and submit professional reports.

As a member of the expert group, Professor Wang will collaborate with other international experts to develop a forward-looking, coordinated, and actionable global preventive action plan to enhance the protection of educational institutions, teachers, and students in conflict and crises.

Wang has served as a senior advisor on the right to development at the United Nations since 2007, with a particular focus on the right to education as a core component of fundamental human rights. He has long been committed to researching the right to education development, especially in ensuring legal protections for the educational rights of women, children, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities.

Wang also provides consulting advice to the international community, submitting a report titled "Technology Development, and Realizing the Right to Education in the Digital Space" to the United Nations, which was adopted. His work has made significant contributions to educational equity and education rights.

Source: Law School of HUST