[hr-education] Re: First phase of the World Programme for HRE

Dear Colleagues,

In line with my initial message on the World Program for Human Rights
Education (WPHRE) issue as well as my earlier message on the special
procedures issue I now share some thoughts on the discussions so far.

Experience shows the need to work with whatever opportunities and
resources are available. Considering the usually politicized (or wrong)
view of human rights and human rights education among governments as well
as sections of the public, strategies for the promotion of human rights
education have to be varied and flexible.

In the Asia-Pacific, subscription to international initiatives such as the
UN Decade and now WPHRE has not been very positive. But still there are
initiatives worth recognizing. In line with the UN’s campaign for
the development of national action plans on human rights in general and
human rights education in particular, several countries (17 countries at
least out of more than 30 countries in the region) in the Asia-Pacific
have action plans on human rights/human rights education made by either
national human rights commissions or the government. They all have human
rights education provisions. Several plans refer to the UN Decade. Several
plans were drafted with the support and active participation of civil
society.

The question is: how far have these plans been implemented? Aside from
funding difficulties and the low priority of human rights education within
the government system, has the civil society been able to maximize the
opportunity provided by these action plans (and the existence of
institutions which support them)? Sometimes governments say they have no
funds for human rights education and yet they continue to do trainings,
come out with publications and even hold conferences on other education
issues every year. Whether or not human rights educators have used these
opportunities to promote human rights education is not clear.

In addition, there are national action plans for other issues (women,
children, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, Eduction For All,
etc). with components similar to/supportive of human rights education.
Surely, those members of the civil society involved in these issues are
working to get the plans implemented, but are they also strongly working
on the human rights education component?

It seems that there is a need to create/recreate a human rights education
constituency at national level (and also regional and international
levels) to keep us reminded of the need to continue pushing for greater
support from government for human rights education. While there are clear
constituencies for issues regarding women, children, indigenous peoples,
environment, EFA, and development, the human rights education constituency
has not gotten off the ground it seems or failed to continue flying if it
has lifted off already.

Take the case of UN Decade for Education in Sustainable Development (ESD).
There is a strong environment and development constituencies at various
levels (national, regional and international) that support the Decade,
supplemented by government and UN (such as UNESCO and UNU) support. There
are funds made available, there are activities being held. It is likely to
do more than the UN Decade for HRE or the WPHRE.

In sum, while we cannot force governments to come out strongly on
supporting human rights education we can get some things done by working
on whatever opportunities are available (and on which governments are more
supportive). But we also need to get organized -- to make a human rights
education constituency that will be able to negotiate/pressure
governments, as well as promote the development of human rights education.
This constituency consists (similar to the list in the first phase plan of
action of WPHRE) of a variety of institutions (NGOs, NHRIs,
teacher/student unions, human rights research centers, regional
inter-governmental organizations, etc.).

In HURIGHTS OSAKA, we try to get at least three institutions involved in
our activities -- NGOs, MOEs, and NHRIs (and sometimes human rights
centers -- university-based or otherwise). We consider them key in human
rights education in schools. We try to get them to work together at the
national level. We continuously promote the WPHRE through publications and
workshops in the same manner that we promoted the UN Decade for HRE for
almost the whole duration of the decade period.

The job is never done. But there is no illusion that it will be done in a
short period of time.

Regards, 

Jeff Plantilla 
HURIGHTS OSAKA 






======== Global Human Rights Education listserv ======= 
Send mail intended for the list to <      >. 
Archives of the list can be found at:
http://www.hrea.org/lists/hr-education/ 
**You are welcome to reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this
item, but please retain the original and listserv source.