A/67/310 backbone for technical and vocational education and training policies and programmes, and the legal framework for promoting normative action at the national level in line with State obligations. IV. International norms and technical and vocational education and training A. International human rights standards 24. State obligations regarding the provision of technical and vocational education and training as part of the right to education are established in international human rights instruments. Under human rights law, technical and vocational education in fact “forms an integral element of all levels of education”. 23 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates, in article 26, that “Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit”. That provision implies links between technical and vocational education and higher education. 25. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights establishes the right to technical and vocational education and training as part of the rights to education and to work. In its General Comment No. 13 on the right to education, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has indicated that, whereas article 13 (2) (b) 24 of the International Covenant presents technical and vocational education as part of secondary education, article 6, paragraph 2, underscores that technical and vocational education has a wider role, helping “to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive employment”. Considering the empowering nature of education and its role in preparing for a world of work, the rights to education and to work are inextricably interrelated. 26. According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to technical and vocational education includes the following aspects: “(a) It enables students to acquire knowledge and skills which contribute to their personal development, self-reliance and employability and enhances the productivity of their families and communities, including the State party’s economic and social development; (b) It takes account of the educational, cultural and social background of the population concerned; the skills, knowledge and levels of qualification needed in the various sectors of the economy; and occupational health, safety and welfare; (c) It provides retraining for adults whose current knowledge and skills have become obsolete owing to technological, economic, employment, social or other changes; (d) It consists of programmes which give students, especially those from developing countries, the opportunity to receive TVE in other States, with a view to the appropriate transfer and adaptation of technology; and (e) It consists, in the context of the Covenant’s non-discrimination and equality provisions, of programmes which promote the TVE of women, girls, out-of-school youth, __________________ 23 24 12-46486 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 13 (1999), para. 15. “Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education”. 9