E/C.12/1999/10 page 16 21 See the Committee’s General Comment 3, para. 9. 22 See the Committee’s General Comment 3, para. 9. 23 There are numerous resources to assist States parties in this regard, such as UNESCO’s Guidelines for Curriculum and Textbook Development in International Education (ED/ECS/HCI). One of the objectives of article 13 (1) is to “strengthen the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms”; in this particular context, States parties should examine the initiatives developed within the framework of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education - especially instructive is the Plan of Action for the Decade, adopted by the General Assembly in 1996, and the Guidelines for National Plans of Action for Human Rights Education, developed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to assist States in responding to the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education. 24 On the meaning of “compulsory” and “free”, see paragraphs 6 and 7 of General Comment 11 on article 14. 25 In appropriate cases, such a fellowship system would be an especially appropriate target for the international assistance and cooperation anticipated by article 2 (1). 26 In the context of basic education, UNICEF has observed: “Only the State … can pull together all the components into a coherent but flexible education system”. UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 1999, “The education revolution”, p. 77. 27 According to article 7 (2), “(e)ach Member shall, taking into account the importance of education in eliminating child labour, take effective and time-bound measures to: (c) ensure access to free basic education, and, wherever possible and appropriate, vocational training, for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour” (ILO Convention 182, Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999). 28 See the Committee’s General Comment 3, paras. 13-14. 29 See the Committee’s General Comment 2, para. 9. -----