| In this issue
- From the HREA staff: Good practices in human rights education
- HREA and ICAP complete facilitator's manual for violence prevention education programme
- HREA partners with Asia Pacific Forum to enhance capacity of national human rights institutions
- New publication: Human Rights Education in the School Systems of Europe, Central Asia and North America: A Compendium of Good Practice
From the HREA staff: Good practices in human rights education
Dear Colleagues and Friends of HREA,
 A new practical tool to promote human rights education is now available. Human Rights Education in the School Systems of Europe, Central Asia and North America: A Compendium of Good Practice aims to support the successful teaching and learning of human rights values and competencies. It was developed by HREA under the guidance of the publishers OSCE/ODIHR, Council of Europe, OHCHR and UNESCO and includes 101 exemplary practices from 35 countries in Central Asia, Europe and North America.
This is the first publication that has been co-sponsored by these inter-governmental agencies, reflecting the high priority placed on this field. All of the agencies have been engaged in human rights education. The Compendium presents resources developed by the agencies in their support of human rights education. What the Compendium demonstrates is the breadth of practice already in place, ranging from national education laws that reference human rights to participatory, self-evaluation practices in training teachers to carry out human rights education in their classrooms.
"Education on human rights is vital for a democratic society as it promotes equality, empowerment and participation as well as conflict prevention and resolution," said Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, director of ODIHR, at the launch of the Compendium in Warsaw on 2 October.
We hope that this resource will contribute to a better understanding of how human rights education can enhance the human rights culture of schools and the commitment of learners and teachers to a 'human rights way of life'. An example of a good practice included in the Compendium is featured in this newsletter.
With very best wishes from the HREA Board and staff,
Felisa Tibbitts
Executive Director
HREA and ICAP complete facilitator's manual for violence prevention education programme
A new life skills curriculum for youth that incorporates human rights within a violence-prevention and responsible alcohol consumption ethic was completed in July. HREA's role has been to provide ongoing technical advice and support for the project, in collaboration with the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP), a not-for-profit organisation, supported by major producers of alcohol beverages. The manual is available in both English and Spanish.
The key objectives of the Violence Prevention Education Programme are:
• to enhance understanding of the intersection between toxic masculinity and other unhealthy learned behaviors, such as interpersonal violence and problem drinking;
• to challenge, on the basis of international human rights law, assumptions about personal identity, gender roles, and power imbalances that lie at the root of much interpersonal violence and reckless behaviour;
• to empower young people and key persons in a position to protect them to prevent, avoid, and defend against violence and reckless behaviour;
• to foster in both potential targets and possible perpetrators of violence life skills that facilate respect for one's own dignity and human rights a well as the dignity and equal rights of others.
"We are thrilled to have brought the manual to this stage and for the first time we have a life skills curriculum that integrates a human rights approach within a violence prevention education programme", says HREA's Felisa Tibbitts, who has worked with ICAP and writers from Instituto Mexicano de Familia y Población (IMAFAP) on the project. Piloting of the facilitator's manual will be taking place in El Salvador and Kenya beginning in January 2010.
HREA partners with Asia Pacific Forum to enhance capacity of national human rights institutions
| | |  Twenty-five staff members of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in Afghanistan, Australia, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea and Thailand are participating in an 11-week e-learning course facilitated by HREA for the Asia Pacific Forum (APF). The course is familiarising participants with the nature, functions and roles of NHRIs. National human rights institutions have emerged as essential partners in the task of protecting and promoting human rights and increasing their capacity is critical to realise this task. The course harnesses on-line communication technologies like on-line chat sessions and webinars with guest experts. The course facilitates interaction between students from ten countries across Asia, who also benefit from the expertise of the instructors and invited guests.
The Foundation Course is part of a collaboration between HREA and APF to meet the specific training needs of APF members. HREA will provide online courses that will complement the APF's existing training programmes and provide a 'blended' learning experience for participants, which involves both distance learning and in-person training. HREA will offer another 11-week course for APF members on the international human rights system starting in February 2010.
The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions is the leading regional human rights organisation in the Asia Pacific. Established in 1996, it is a member-based organisation that supports the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions in the region.
New publication: Human Rights Education in the School Systems of Europe, Central Asia and North America: A Compendium of Good Practice
 The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR), the Council of Europe, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have jointly published Human Rights Education in the School Systems of Europe, Central Asia and North America: A Compendium of Good Practice. HREA was retained to develop the Compendium under the guidance of these partners.
Designed for primary and secondary schools, teacher training institutions and other learning settings, the new tool, which collects 101 exemplary practices from Central Asia, Europe and North America, is a valuable resource for teachers and education policymakers.
It provides resource materials relevant to key elements for successful human rights education, including 1) laws, guidelines and standards; 2) learning environment; 3) teaching and learning tools; 4) professional development for educators, and 5) evaluation.
The collection demonstrates creative approaches to human rights education and aims to facilitate networking and exchange of experience among education professionals. The practices can be adapted to local conditions anywhere in the world.
Below is an example of a good practice included in the Compendium:
Crimes of War - What the Public Should Know: Educator's Guide
Intended Audience: Upper secondary school and university students (ages 16-22) and their teachers.
Purpose: The Educator's Guide was developed to make the reality of war crimes more accessible to youth, young adults and future decision makers in a classroom learning environment.
The assumption is that if students and their teachers know the depth of the horrors of war - the same wars that are often described in mainstream media as "precise", "modern", or "just" – they would take a more active role in deciding when, where and why to go to war, and in influencing the way those wars are fought.
Description: The Educator's Guide accompanies the second edition of Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know, composed of case studies written by prominent field journalists. The Educator's Guide was developed in co-operation with the Crimes of War Project (publisher of the second edition) and the United States Institute of Peace.
In the Educator's Guide, there are eight thematic chapters: weapons, violence against civilians, child soldiers, sexual violence, terrorism and torture, genocide, international courts and tribunals, and humanitarian intervention. Each of the thematic chapters is linked to case studies contained in the second edition of Crimes of War, as well as United States national education standards. The chapters include the following elements:
• an essential question;
• learning objectives;
• methodology;
• background information on the theme;
• discussion questions (organized from simplest to most complex);
• extension activities (that can be used for additional class work or homework);
• ways that learners can take action; and
• additional film, Web and print resources for the classroom.
In addition to thematic, case study chapters, the Educator's Guide contains a Glossary of Terms and a "Background and Key Concepts" section that presents the history of international humanitarian law and key concepts of the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols.
In order to strengthen students' sense that they can do something positive in addressing crimes of war, each chapter provides an "action" section with practical activities, such as participating in awareness raising and action campaigns. Furthermore, two of the chapters address justice mechanisms for addressing crimes of war: courts and humanitarian intervention.
Strengths: The Educator's Guide supports educators in addressing the themes of crimes of war and international humanitarian law, which are rarely addressed in school settings. While making use of journalistic case studies to engage students, the lessons also provide historical and technical backgrounds necessary for understanding the themes.
The resource is designed for flexible use by teachers. For each thematic issue, educators can choose from a range of related case studies in the second edition of Crimes of War. The discussion questions are organised from simplest to most complex thinking so that those most suitable for the students can be selected. The reference section of each chapter links teachers with original sources and multi-media tools that can be used to enhance the lesson.
Adaptability: The Educator's Guide is intended for use in cross-national settings and was written to be culturally nonspecific, with regional examples from Europe, Africa and Asia. The second edition of Crimes of War is available in English and Arabic, and a French edition, as well as additional translations, are forthcoming.
Availability: The Educator's Guide can be downloaded at http://www.hrea.org/crimesofwar. Two sample chapters, "Weapons" and "Violence Against Civilians: Sieges and Sanctions", are included in the Compendium Annex. The main text, Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know (second edition), can be found on-line in English and Arabic at http://www.crimesofwar.org/thebook/book.html.
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