Since its creation through Resolution 60/251 of the UN General Assembly in New York on 15 March 2005, the Human Rights Council has deemed human rights education an important issue. Article 5 of this Resolution, which lists the Council’s tasks and objectives, specifies under point a) that the Council must “promote human rights education and learning.”
However, upon examining the final reports from the first session of the UPR, human rights education (hereinafter HRE) does not appear in the vast majority of them. When it does, it is in vague terms of stereotyped formulas.
Nonetheless, States are bound to implement HRE through numerous treaties.
Human rights education is understood as the notions contained in numerous treaties as well as the manner in which they have been interpreted by different actors, particularly organs created by treaties.
a) Human Rights through a Pedagogical Intermediary: This means ensuring that all educational components and means, including syllabi, manuals, methods and the overall learning programme, are conducive to human rights education.
b) Human Rights in Education: This means ensuring that the basic rights of anyone involved in the educational system are respected and able to be exercised.
Thus, HRE is about rights through education and education through rights.
Numerous treaties exist through which States have committed themselves to implement human rights education, which is provided for in one form or another by the following treaties :
The following text was taken from Bulletin EIP-info no. 3 of the World Association of School as an Instrument of Peace:
Appropriate Guidelines for Human Rights Education
Devising effective guidelines for human rights education enables experts to measure the extent to which States have carried out their obligations. Quantitative as well as qualitative instruments allow them to evaluate the competence level of educators and the compatibility of educational values with those covering all forms of education within international instruments.
Here is a summary of guidelines that we deem well-adapted to evaluating human rights education, particularly with respect to accessibility, acceptability, adaptability and admissibility.
Accessibility is tied to the principle of non-discrimination, especially with regard to the socio-economic condition of learners, equal opportunities for male and female pupils, a sufficient number of support structures as well as costs associated with education.
Acceptability refers to high-quality and balanced pedagogical approaches and content.
Adaptability is a criterion that specifies that education should be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of a changing society while still meeting the best interests of the child.
Accountability means that governments, institutions and personnel in charge of HRE are held accountable for their action with respect to promoting and carrying out this educational aspect.