IN THIS ISSUE

FROM THE HREA STAFF: WORLD PROGRAMME FOR HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION


Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Although we will not have a second Decade for Human Rights Education beginning in 2005, we will have a World Programme for Human Rights Education. The sixtieth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights met in Geneva in March and April, with active lobbying from many sides regarding the need to continue some kind of global framework for HRE following the conclusion of the Decade. The Commission adopted a resolution which calls for a World Programme for Human Rights Education, and recommends that the UN Secretary-General support governments in including HRE as part of their national systems of human rights promotion and protection.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNESCO are already in the early stages of preparing a Plan of Action for the first phase of the World Programme. The first phase will take place from 2005-2007 and calls for governments to focus on integrating HRE into primary and secondary schools. The structured plan should include realistic actions to be undertaken by all actors, as well as benchmarks for monitoring progress.

At this moment, we are in the middle of an on-line Global Consultation for the first phase of the World Programme. This Global Consultation has been organised by HREA in collaboration with the Asian Regional Resource Center for Human Rights Education (ARRC), Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos (IIDH), Moscow School of Human Rights and l'Union Interafricaine des Droits de l'Homme (UIDH). The Global Consultation aims to give input to the Plan of Action for the UN General Assembly.

This is a unique and historic moment for gathering input from individuals and groups across the world. We hope that you will take this opportunity to share your point of view and to review the thoughts of others devoted to education in and for human rights: http://www.hrea.org/global-consultation/

With warm wishes from the entire HREA staff,

Felisa Tibbitts
Executive Director

TEACHING RESOURCES FOR NORTHERN IRELAND BILL OF RIGHTS


HREA has just concluded its collaboration with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in preparing two teacher manuals for introducing the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights to students. "The aim of the resource is to help familiarise young people with the values, principles and concepts associated with the proposed Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland," according to Edel Teague, Education Director of the Commission. "The collaboration with HREA allowed the Bill of Rights School Project to devise very accessible manuals for pupils and students. We look forward with great excitement to seeing the manuals used in many schools in Northern Ireland."

In addition to introducing the proposed Bill of Rights and international and regional human rights instruments, the manuals take up many of the issues of high importance to Northern Ireland. Interactive lessons using local and international examples allow pupils and their teachers to explore the topics of children’s rights, social and economic rights, group identity and the two main communities, equality and non-discrimination, and ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland.

"We want to convey the significance of the new Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, both by illustrating its conformity to international human rights standards, and by its potential impact at a local level on the issues that concern the population," explained Ellie Keen, Senior Programme Associate at HREA. The manuals will be printed during the summer of 2004 and eventually posted in electronic format on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s website.

HREA DIRECTOR ADRESSES OSCE MEETING


On 25 March Felisa Tibbitts, Executive Director of HREA, presented at a special meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. Ms. Tibbitts provided an overview of human rights education in school curricula throughout Europe. Other keynote speakers at the meeting were ambassador Christian Stroha, Director of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and professor Katarina Tomasevski, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education.

One of the priorities of the 2004 OSCE Chairmanship is human rights education and training. This meeting considered examples from the OSCE region on the integration of human rights education in school curricula, including the interrelation between human rights education and tolerance/non-discrimination. Read more >>.

DARE SEMINAR ON TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FOR DEMOCRACY (BUDAPEST, 22-24 APRIL)


The recently established Democracy and Human Rights Education in Europe (DARE) Network concluded its first year of activities with a very successful seminar for its members on information and communication technologies (ICTs). Staff members from HREA, Anywize, D@dalos, Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek, Sonnenberg Kreis e.V., and VORMEN facilitated hands-on workshops on effective use of search engines, e-learning, web design, possibilities of using ICTs in education, hate on the Internet, e-democracy, and "netiquette", among other topics. Presentations and proceedings will be made available on DARE's website later this year. HREA is represented on the Board of DARE and will be organising a European conference on the UN Decade for Human Rights Education in December as part of DARE's activities.

Distance learning course on Human Rights Monitoring

The application process has started for HREA's distance learning course "Human Rights Monitoring", which takes place from 13 September-5 December 2004. Course instructor is Krassimir Kanev (Bulgarian Helsinki Committee). Find out more about this and other upcoming distance learning opportunities.

Call for papers and registration Conference on impact of UN Decade in Europe (Soesterberg, 3-4 December 2004)

On 3 and 4 December HREA will organise a conference in Soesterberg (The Netherlands) on the impact of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education. As part of the activities of the "Democracy and Human Rights Education in Europe" (DARE) Network, participants will take stock of the accomplishments during the Decade (1995-2004) in Europe. To register or submit an outline for a paper, please vist the DARE website.

Upcoming workshop for teachers

HREA will be offering a workshop "Demystifying Human Rights" for secondary school teachers on 13 November in Boston, Massachusetts (USA). The course will overview the philosophical and historical origins of human rights and international human rights standards. Professional development credits apply for Massachusetts teachers. You can apply now.

Launch of Arabic HRE Listserv

On 4 July, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights launched the Arab Human Rights Education listserv. The aim of the list is to electronically network NGOs, educational institutions and other organisations involved in education and training for human rights in North Africa and the Middle East. The working language of the list is Arabic.

The Arab HRE listserv is part of HREA's and regional partner's efforts to facilitate communication and networking in the field through the Global Human Rights Education Network.

How You Can Help

HREA supports human rights and educational institutions in transitional democracies in developing human rights curricula and training materials. With your donations we can continue to assist our colleagues in their important work. Find out how you can contribute.

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