Fernando, Laksiri --- "UN Decade for Human Rights Education: August Workshop" [1996] HRightsDef 19; (1996) Human Rights Defender

The UN Decade for Human Rights Education - August Workshop: Tasks for the Decade

By Laksiri Fernando

The Diplomacy Training Program (DTP) and the Australian Human Rights Information Centre (AHRIC) will be jointly holding a workshop on Tasks for the UN Decade for Human Rights Education in the Asia-Pacific Region. The workshop, to be held at the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in Sydney from 22 to 25 August 1996, has the following objectives:

1. Define the requirements of human rights education in the Asia-Pacific region;
2. Identify difficulties in and obst-acles to the promotion of human rights education in the region;
3. Discuss ways of giving particular attention to the rights of women, children and disadvantaged groups in human rights education;
4. Work out priorities and formulate strategies and action plans for future activities; and
5. Publish workshop proceedings.

Human Rights Education

Human rights education is imperative for the protection and promotion of human rights. It is a critical ingredient in the social, economic and intellectual development of all human beings and a vehicle for peace building, conflict resolution and the consolidation of democracy. Human rights education is about everyone knowing and realising their dignity and rights. To realise their full potential, all human beings, women, men and children, must be aware of all their human rights, civil and political, economic, social and cultural. Human rights education is also about the empowerment of the poor, the vulnerable, the disadvantaged and the oppressed. Knowledge of human rights strengthens civil society and enhances the processes of democratisation.

The importance of human rights education is emphasised in a number of international instruments. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in its Preamble, calls upon every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, to strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms. Article 26 declares that: Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fun-damental 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.

Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child place particular emphasis on human rights education.

In recent years, a major task of the international community has been to translate international human rights norms into national practice. The emphasis at the UN has shifted from the elaboration to the implemen-tation of international human rights standards. The path towards imp-lementation, however, is more than a little rugged. Awareness building and human rights education are necessary to strengthen universal respect for and observance of human rights. Without common understanding and awareness, there cannot be meaningful implementation of human rights standards at the national level. Human rights education is essential in the achievement of a universal culture of human rights based on the UN Charter and the International Bill of Human rights.

The UN Decade

In December 1994, the UN General Assembly proclaimed the ten-year period beginning 1 January 1995 as the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education based on a Plan of Action submitted by the Secretary-General. The General Assembly urged governmental and non-governmental educational agencies to intensify their efforts to establish and implement programmes of human rights education, as recommended in the Plan of Action, in particular by preparing and implementing national plans for human rights education.

The proclamation of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education was the culmination of non-governmental and inter-governmental efforts to build upon opportunities for international cooperation, peace and security arising out of the end of the Cold War. In 1988, the UN launched the World Public Information Campaign for Human Rights. In 1989, the Peoples Decade for Human Rights Education, a non-governmental movement, was initiated. In June 1993, the World Conference on Human Rights was held in Vienna, Austria. In its final Declaration and Plan of Action, the Conference emphasised the importance of human rights education for harm-onious relations among nations and communities and for mutual understanding, tolerance and peace between all peoples. The Conference urged Governments to declare a UN decade for human rights education in order to promote, encourage and focus educational activities.

The UN Decade for Human Rights Education has the following objectives:

1. To assess the needs and formulate strategies for the furtherance of human rights education at the international, regional, national and local levels;
2. To build and strengthen programs and capacities for human rights ed-ucation at these levels;
3. To coordinate the development of effective human rights education materials;
4. To strengthen the role and capacity of mass media in the furtherance of human rights education; and
5. To disseminate globally the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the maximum number of languages, and in other forms appr-opriate for various levels of literacy and for disabled

Tasks for the workshop

The workshop will address the tasks for human rights education in the Asia-Pacific region. These are immense given the size of and cultural complexities within the region. Difficulties are compounded by controversies over the basic concepts of human rights. While the concepts of human rights can be improved through intellectual debate, analysis and new theoretical discoveries, there can be no reversal, under political pressure, from the progress achieved so far in establishing the universality and interdependence of all human rights.

The workshop will be attended by around twenty human rights educ-ators from the Asia-Pacific region and ten participants from Australia, including indigenous human rights advocates. There will also be carefully selected resource persons and observers. The workshop will be held over four days, with plenary sessions and panel discussions.

Day One: The workshop will discuss, in its first plenary, the objectives of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education with special reference to the Asia-Pacific region. Panel discussions will consider: (1) education concerning civil and political rights in the context of democratisation; (2) education concerning economic and social rights in the process of development; (3) awareness of and respect for cultural rights in the promotion of ethnic harmony; and (4) the role of training in conflict resolution in the promotion of non violence and peace- building.

Day Two: A plenary and panel discussions will take stock of and evaluate existing human rights prog-rams in the region. There will be particular consideration of: (1) human rights training; (2) information centres; (3) materials for human rights education; and (4) services of UN organs and agencies.

Day Three: A plenary and panel discussions will assess the human rights education needs of the region, with particular attention to: (1) formal education; (2) law enforcement agencies; (3) the general public; and (4) vulnerable groups, including women, children, the poor and indigenous peoples.

Day Four: Participants will discuss strategies for the promotion of human rights education, with particular reference to the media, innov-ation in education, information technologies and the arts. The workshop will adopt a concluding statement on Tasks for the UN decade for Human Rights Education in the Asia-Pacific Region to be promoted through an agreed Action Plan.

For further information, contact:

Diplomacy Training Program
Faculty of Law
University of New South Wales
Sydney 2052 Australia
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]