An Introduction to Human Rights Education

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-2/HRE-intro.htm

“Article 26

“ Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights , Article 26

Where, after all, do universal rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the worlds of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.

-Eleanor Roosevelt,
The Great Question, 1958

Liberty does not consist in mere declarations of the 
rights of man. It consists in the translation of those 
declarations into definite action.

-Woodrow Wilson
Address
July 4, 1914

Here is target language on the topic. Feel free to use it while evaluating the value of the Human Rights Education.

• to lack the language to effectively advocate for rights

• acquire their knowledge direct experience

• human rights guaranteed in the UDHR

• effective strategy to prevent human rights abuses

• responsibility to promote human rights

• the skills of negotiation, mediation, and consensus building

• based on respect and the equality and dignity of all people

• provides a basis for conflict resolution and the promotion of social order

• internalize human rights values

• integrate human rights values into the way the people live

• recognizing that the enjoyment of human rights

• vulnerable to human rights abuses

• being challenged to think about what it all means for them personally

Pre-reading activity

1. Think about the Human Rights Education. How do you understand it? Why should any individual be aware of his /her rights?

2. What is “empowerment”,” universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of human rights”?

3. Why is "human rights literacy" so important? Why are people who do not know their rights more vulnerable?

Human Rights Education as a Human Right

Education in human rights is itself a fundamental human right and also a responsibility: the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) exhorts "every individual and every organ of society" to "strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms." The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) declares that a government "may not stand in the way of people learning about [their rights]."

Although news reports refer to human rights every day, "human rights literacy" is not widespread in the United States. Students of law and international relations or political science may study human rights in a university setting, but most people receive no education, formally or informally, about human rights. Even human rights activists usually acquire their knowledge and skills by self-teaching and direct experience.

When Americans say, "I’ve got my rights," they usually think of those civil and political rights defined in the US Bill of Rights, which includes freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, and the right to a fair trial. Few, however, realize that social, economic, and cultural rights such as health care, housing, or a living wage, are also human rights guaranteed in the UDHR.

People who do not know their rights are more vulnerable to having them abused and often lack the language and conceptual framework to effectively advocate for them. Growing consensus around the world recognizes education for and about human rights as essential. It can contribute to the building of free, just, and peaceful societies. Human rights education is also increasingly recognized as an effective strategy to prevent human rights abuses.