[hr-education] First UNESCO Chair in Human Rights in USA

October 17, 2001

STORRS, Conn. ­ The University of Connecticut has received the first
and only UNESCO chair in human rights in the United States.

	Amii Omara-Otunnu, an associate professor of history, executive
director of the Institute of Comparative Human Rights, and executive
director of the UConn-ANC Partnership, has been named as the first
holder of the chair.

	The chair is particularly significant in light of the fact that the
United States is not among the 185 member states of UNESCO, having
withdrawn from the organization during the 1980s.

	The chair, awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization, is intended to promote research,
education, information and documentation in the field of human
rights. It will serve to facilitate collaboration between
high-level, internationally recognized researchers and teaching
staff at UConn and other institutions in the United States and other
countries, particularly South Africa.

	"That UNESCO has selected the University of Connecticut to receive
this chair, from among hundreds of prominent research universities,
is a mark of distinction for the institution as a whole and
particularly for the many members of our community whose work is
focused heavily in the area of human rights," said President Philip
E. Austin. "Notable among them, of course, is Professor Amii
Omara-Otunnu himself, who spearheaded our partnership with South
Africa's African National Congress and is an internationally
recognized leader in this area."

	The award of the chair was announced by Rudolf Joó, director of
UNESCO's Division of Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Tolerance,
during the University's second annual Comparative Human Rights
Conference Oct. 16.

	"UConn brings simultaneously the national and local perspective ­
the United States and Connecticut ­ and at the same time a
perspective through its cooperation with the ANC," Joó said.

	As the UNESCO chair in human rights, Omara-Otunnu will disseminate
human rights information to the university, as well as across the
state, nation and globe. He will also develop models and strategies
for cross-national and cross-cultural dialogue on issues of race
relations, democratic pluralism, and peace.

	Omara-Otunnu will also head an Institute of Comparative Human
Rights, which will be associated with the chair.

	In the past, approaches to human rights have generally been
developed from the standpoint of a particular nation or culture.
Comparative human rights takes into account different perspectives,
but is based on the notion of a common humanity, the idea that what
the various peoples of the world have in common is more significant
than the differences.

	"To recognize our common humanity is to recognize that all of us,
regardless of social background, nationality, gender, etc., are born
with equal dignity and worth," Omara-Otunnu said. "The concept of
comparative human rights seeks both to transcend the ethnocentrism
of human rights dialogue and avoid the pitfalls of cultural
relativism when we talk about human rights," he added.

	Omara-Otunnu has led UConn's growing relationship with South
Africa, a country that has rebuilt itself on the principles of
social justice since the end of apartheid and that is widely
considered a leader in the field of human rights. He was
instrumental in establishing and is the executive director of the
University of Connecticut-African National Congress Partnership, a
collaborative initiative with South Africa's former leading
anti-apartheid organization and current ruling political party.

	He also founded and directed UConn's Center for Contemporary
African Studies and established the University's linkage with the
University of Fort Hare, South Africa's oldest and most illustrious
historically black institution of higher learning.

	"The criteria for selection of the network of UNESCO chairs are
extremely rigorous," Joó said. "We consider that Professor
Omara-Otunnu's great experience in the field of human rights as well
as in other fields, in particular in peaceful conflict management
and conflict prevention, will permit him to successfully guide the
activities of the chair."

	Omara-Otunnu's longstanding involvement in and commitment to
international human rights began during his days as a student leader
at Uganda's Makerere University, where he spoke out against human
rights abuses committed by dictator Idi Amin. Because of his stand,
Omara-Otunnu was twice forced into exile from Uganda.

	Omara-Otunnu has a bachelor's degree in social studies from Harvard
University, a master's degree in political science from the London
School of Economics, and a bachelor's degree in law and a doctorate
in history from the University of Oxford in England.

	UNESCO is one of several subsidiary specialized agencies that
operate under the auspices of the United Nations. Headquartered in
Paris, UNESCO was established in 1946 with the purpose of
contributing to international peace and security in the world by
promoting collaboration among nations through education, science and
culture.

	The UNESCO chairs program, launched in 1991, is intended to
strengthen international cooperation between higher education
institutions and programs. There are 53 UNESCO chairs in human
rights.


University Communications Office, University of Connecticut, Storrs,
CT 06269-4144, USA

EDS: 	University of Connecticut receives
	first UNESCO human rights chair	in U.S.		

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Amii Omara-Otunnu	(860) 486-0647 (office)
Allison Thompson 	(860) 486-3530 (office)
			(860) 875-2554 (home)



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