[hr-education] HRE Content and Methodologies in a Nutshell

Dear Listserv Members,

I have been teaching human rights education for the past ten years.  In the
process I have been trying to define its core elements and
characteristics. I would welcome comments on the following from
colleagues engaged in human rights education.

Many thanks,

Paul Martin
E-mail: jpm2@columbia.edu
_____________________________________
Human Rights Education: Content and Methodologies in a Nutshell
J. Paul Martin, Columbia University

Assumption:

Human rights education is very diverse on account of extensive
content and diversified target groups, circumstances, normative
interpretation, population needs and program goals. Nevertheless
field experience shows definite common elements.

Core Content:

The Cognitive

To deal with this diversity, I follow the lead of Henry Shue and
emphasize basic/core content, namely those human rights which are
necessary to enjoy (not just have) other rights, namely rights to
liberty, subsistence and security.   The UDHR and its associated
treaties provide a comprehensive list of rights and a shorter list of
responsibilities.   Other core/essential cognitive elements include:

-background conceptual and historical information on growth of the
ideas and struggles that underpinned the human rights movement,
as well as on the roles played by moral and legal principles,

-an understanding of the existing international regime, its
institutions, standards, laws, obligations and actors,

-linkages between the international and domestic human rights regimes,
-the strategies used to enforce human rights, effect remedies and
prevent future abuses, and

-the ways in which all these impinge on the students' lives.

The Attitudinal

The attitudinal content of human rights education benefits from the
formulations of international treaties.  The UDHR, for example,
speaks of the recognition of the inherent dignity and equality of
human beings, of preventing disregard and contempt, and of promoting
respect for human rights, as well as of "acting towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood."   Defining the right to education
Article #26.2 of the UDHR says that education "shall promote
tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial and religious
groups."

These and other attitudes describe the frames of mind necessary to
realize human rights, to make sure that the ideals have an impact in
real life.  The human rights regime exists for a very practical
reason, namely to prevent, reduce and eliminate human suffering and
abuse of human beings.  Addressing attitudes is thus an essential
part of human rights education.

Two core areas of attitudinal content can be extrapolated from both
the documents and from day-to-day experience in promoting human
rights. They are:

-the desire or sensitivity that places a premium on fairness and
justice for all, seeing others as equals, taking their interests as
equally important, and

-Awareness of and responsiveness to (empathy, compassion etc. towards)
those suffering human rights abuses  ("acting towards one another in
a spirit of brotherhood"), especially those unable to help themselves.

The Skills

Responding to human rights abuses assumes many skills common to other
human endeavors, notably conflict management, language abilities,
mediation and negotiation skills, professional integrity and honesty,
information management, communications, government and media
relations, the three most critical skills in the promotion and realization of
human rights are:

-Critical thinking, notably the ability to distinguish between facts,
propaganda and "spin," cause effect analysis, early and accurate
detection of patterns and causes of human rights abuse, recognize and
define situations of detrimental discrimination,

-Mobilization, motivation, education and training of potential
collaborators, and

-Advocacy and lobbying (whether by the victims themselves or third parties).

Teaching Methodologies

Content must be reinforced by teaching methods and the atmosphere in
the classroom.   Thus mutual respect and a concern for fairness and
justice must be explicit in relationships between teacher and
students as well as among the students themselves, that is, again in
the words of the UDHR, "acting towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood."

Equally important is to be continually linking classroom learning with
real life processes outside the classroom.  [Teaching about due
process, for example, requires students seeing the inside of
courtrooms as well as police stations, and meeting with the
respective officials.  Empathy can be illustrated by eliciting
student responses to accounts of abuse close to home or through
visits to the classroom by those who have suffered abuse or work on
their behalf.]  Overall, participatory and experiential learning as
well as lecture methodologies are needed to maximize the learning in
human rights education.
_________________________________________________

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