International organisations United Nations agencies The CESCR has emphasised the important role of United Nations agencies in relation to the realisation of the right to education.478 United Nations bodies, including UNESCO, the United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, ILO, the World Bank, the regional development banks and the IMF, should enhance their cooperation for the implementation of the right to education at the national level, with due respect to their specific mandates, and building on their respective expertise. In particular, international financial institutions, notably the World Bank and IMF, should pay greater attention to the protection of the right to education in their lending policies, credit agreements, structural adjustment programmes and measures taken in response to the debt crisis.479 The adoption of a human rights-based approach by United Nations specialised agencies, programmes and bodies will greatly facilitate implementation of the right to education. Financial organisations The World Bank provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for education, amongst other purposes. This assistance includes low-interest loans, grants, policy advice and knowledge sharing. The World Bank’s support for education has a dual focus:480 first, to help countries achieve universal primary education (i.e. Education for All) and, secondly, to help countries build the higher-level skills needed to compete in today’s dynamic, knowledge-driven world (which the World Bank calls Education for the Knowledge Economy). Notwithstanding these efforts, the Special Rapporteur has been engaged in a continuing dialogue with the World Bank to encourage the mainstreaming of human rights in the World 478 CESCR General Comment No. 13: The right to education E/C.12/1999/10 8 December 1999 at para 60. 479 CESCR General Comment No. 13: The right to education E/C.12/1999/10 8 December 1999 at para 60. See also CESCR General Comment No. 2: International technical assistance measures E/1990/23 2 February 1990 at para 9 which draws attention to the adverse impact of the debt burden and of the relevant adjustment measures on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in many countries. Under the approach advocated by the CESCR, the goal of protecting the rights of the poor and vulnerable is a basic objective of economic adjustment. 480 The World Bank database contains over 200 documents and reports related to education, which are mainly produced by the World Bank’s Education Group of the Human Development Network including, for example, a report on user fees in primary education: Bentaouet Kattan and Burnett User Fees in Primary Education World Bank: Education Sector Human Development Network (2004). 148