CIES Secretariat Florida International University

Felisa Tibbitts
Executive Director, Human Rights Education Associates
Adjunct Faculty, Harvard Graduate School of Education
ftibbitts@hrea.org

Human rights education (HRE) is an international movement to promote awareness about the rights accorded by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related human rights treaties , and the procedures that exist for the redress of violations of these rights (Amnesty International, 2005; Tibbitts, 1996; Reardon, 1995). Although there is an ongoing debate about the universality of specific rights, they are in principle accepted as standards that outline conditions for enjoying freedoms and human dignity.
         Decades ago, the United Nations and its specialized agencies formally recognized the right of citizens to be informed about the rights and freedoms contained in the documents ratified by their countries – the right to human rights education itself. Since then, numerous policy documents developed by the United Nations - affiliated agencies, international policymaking bodies, regional human rights bodies and national human rights institutions have referenced HRE, proposing specifically that the treatment of human rights themes should be present in schooling (Pearse, 1987). More recently, the right to education and human rights education has intersected with the rights-based approach to schooling, which calls for the human rights principles of participation, non-discrimination, empowerment and accountability to infuse the work of schools and schooling systems (see UNESCO/UNICEF, 2004).
         I would like to update CIES members about developments related to the international field of human rights education and encourage all members to consider how human rights norms might be integrated into the teaching and research that we each carry out.
      In 2004, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the World Programme for Human Rights Education. The World Programme aims to support existing initiatives in human rights education, building upon the achievements of the United Nations’ Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004). It provides a framework to develop and consolidate human rights education programming by everyone involved – especially at the national level. The Plan of Action for the first phase of the World Programme can be found at <http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=104
&language_id
=1&erc_doc_id=3920&category_id=43&
category_type=3&group=>. The first phase of the World Programme, which ran from 2005-2009, focused on human rights education in the formal schooling sector. Separate from the World Programme on Human Rights Education, the Human Rights Council, the highest human rights body of the United Nations, has commissioned an Advisory Committee to develop a declaration on human rights education and training. A draft declaration will be submitted to the Council in their upcoming March 2010 meeting. In order to remain updated about the ongoing work of the Advisory Committee, CIES members may want to visit the following section of the OHCHR website in order to remain updated on Advisory Committee developments: <http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/
advisorycommittee/HR_education_training.htm>.
The higher education institutions of CIES members can play a central role in preparing and motivating educators to carry out human rights education. A greater effort is needed so that education is organized in ways that help to ensure the enjoyment of human dignity and freedoms. (1) Teacher preparation. The pre-service training of teachers needs to be infused with human rights principles, standards and learner-centered methodologies of instruction. (2) The organization of schooling. The human rights framework should be applied to the organization of schooling so that educational systems and schools demonstrate principles of participation, inclusiveness, and non-discrimination in their operations.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (1966), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1981) and other treaties can be found on the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: www.ohchr.org.

During the 1990s, several important international documents on human rights education were elaborated. These were the World Plan of Action on Education for Human Rights and Democracy (Montreal, 1993), the Declaration and Integrated Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy (UNESCO, Paris, 1995), the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), and the Guidelines for Plans of Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education 1995-2004 (1995). These refer to the relevant education articles of international treaties and place informal pressure on national governments to co-operate.


	CIES Secretariat Florida International University 312 ZEB Miami, FL 33199
	Number 151 Guest Editor: Dr. Robert V. Farrell, Associate Profesor, C&I, FIU
		International Developments In The Field Of Human Rights Education Felisa Tibbitts Executive Director, Human Rights Education Associates Adjunct Faculty, Harvard Graduate School of Education ftibbitts@hrea.org Human rights education (HRE) is an international movement to promote awareness about the rights accorded by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related human rights treaties , and the procedures that exist for the redress of violations of these rights (Amnesty International, 2005; Tibbitts, 1996; Reardon, 1995). Although there is an ongoing debate about the universality of specific rights, they are in principle accepted as standards that outline conditions for enjoying freedoms and human dignity. Decades ago, the United Nations and its specialized agencies formally recognized the right of citizens to be informed about the rights and freedoms contained in the documents ratified by their countries – the right to human rights education itself. Since then, numerous policy documents developed by the United Nations - affiliated agencies, international policymaking bodies, regional human rights bodies and national human rights institutions have referenced HRE, proposing specifically that the treatment of human rights themes should be present in schooling (Pearse, 1987). More recently, the right to education and human rights education has intersected with the rights-based approach to schooling, which calls for the human rights principles of participation, non-discrimination, empowerment and accountability to infuse the work of schools and schooling systems (see UNESCO/UNICEF, 2004). I would like to update CIES members about developments related to the international field of human rights education and encourage all members to consider how human rights norms might be integrated into the teaching and research that we each carry out. In 2004, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the World Programme for Human Rights Education. The World Programme aims to support existing initiatives in human rights education, building upon the achievements of the United Nations’ Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004). It provides a framework to develop and consolidate human rights education programming by everyone involved – especially at the national level. The Plan of Action for the first phase of the World Programme can be found at <http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=104 &language_id =1&erc_doc_id=3920&category_id=43& category_type=3&group=>. The first phase of the World Programme, which ran from 2005-2009, focused on human rights education in the formal schooling sector. Separate from the World Programme on Human Rights Education, the Human Rights Council, the highest human rights body of the United Nations, has commissioned an Advisory Committee to develop a declaration on human rights education and training. A draft declaration will be submitted to the Council in their upcoming March 2010 meeting. In order to remain updated about the ongoing work of the Advisory Committee, CIES members may want to visit the following section of the OHCHR website in order to remain updated on Advisory Committee developments: <http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/ advisorycommittee/HR_education_training.htm>. The higher education institutions of CIES members can play a central role in preparing and motivating educators to carry out human rights education. A greater effort is needed so that education is organized in ways that help to ensure the enjoyment of human dignity and freedoms. (1) Teacher preparation. The pre-service training of teachers needs to be infused with human rights principles, standards and learner-centered methodologies of instruction. (2) The organization of schooling. The human rights framework should be applied to the organization of schooling so that educational systems and schools demonstrate principles of participation, inclusiveness, and non-discrimination in their operations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (1966), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1981) and other treaties can be found on the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: www.ohchr.org. During the 1990s, several important international documents on human rights education were elaborated. These were the World Plan of Action on Education for Human Rights and Democracy (Montreal, 1993), the Declaration and Integrated Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy (UNESCO, Paris, 1995), the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), and the Guidelines for Plans of Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education 1995-2004 (1995). These refer to the relevant education articles of international treaties and place informal pressure on national governments to co-operate.	This will help to ensure the full human dignity of teachers, administrators, staff and students; (3) Scholarship. Researchers should carry out rigorous studies to help clarify the content and benefits of human rights education and human rights-based approaches within the schooling sector. Human rights education together with education for democratic citizenship and education for mutual respect and understanding is vital for all our societies. It promotes equality, empowerment and participation as well as conflict prevention and resolution. In brief, they are means to develop societies where the human rights of all are respected, protected and fulfilled. These are humanistic values that all CIES members can subscribe to and can underpin in all of our work. References Amnesty International (2005). Human Rights Education: Building a Global Culture of Human Rights. Circular 25. Developed for 27th International Council Meeting, 14-20 August, pp. 13-14.Pearse, S. (1987). European Teachers’ Seminar on ‘Human Rights Education in a Global Perspective”. Strasbourg: Council of Europe, p.2.Reardon, B. (1995). Educating for Human Dignity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 4, 12. Tibbitts, F. (1996). “On Human Dignity: A Renewed Call for Human Rights Education”. Social Education. 60 (7), pp. 428-431.UNICEF/UNESCO (2007). A human rights-based approach to EDUCATION FOR ALL (New York and Paris: UNICEF and UNESCO). FURTHER READINGS Andreopoulos, G.J. and Claude, R.P. (Eds.), (1995). Human Rights Education for the Twenty-First Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Intercultural Education, (2005). Special issue on Human Rights Education and Transformational Learning. 16(2). International Review of Education (2002). Special issue on Human Rights Education. 48(3-4). Journal of Social Science Education (2006). Special issue on International Perspectives on Human Rights Education. (1). http://www.jsse.org/2006-1/index.html Lauren, P.G. (2000). The Evolution of International Human Rights. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
The Future of Comparative and Interantional Education Stephen Heyneman

Increasing Diversity in Education Abroad: A purposive tool for fairly ethnically homogenous societies Katrina Hutchison

The Madrasa Resource Centers, East Africa Salima Jaffer

The Transformation of University Life in China Robert A. Rhoads

International Developments in the Field of Human Rights Education Felissa Tibbits

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Gender and Education 2010

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