[hre-asiapacific] Re: Theoretical framework, legal bases and history of HRE

Dear all,

My name are Olusola Akinbode. I am the executive director of the Centre
for Human Rights and Empowerment, a Lagos based civil society group. I
also teach human rights in International Affairs and Strategic Studies at
the Lagos State University. Quickly, I want to share my thoughts on the
rationale for Human Rights Education.

Knowledge is said to be power and ignorance cannot be a defense. But the
maxim that says ignorance of the law is no defense is in itself a flagrant
violation of human rights when majority of the population of a country are
ignorant of their basic rights and the laws that protect them. It is only
an elightened citizenry that can make politics both civil and capable.
Besides perceiving justice as a public good and putting the interest of
others or the greatest good before our self interest, human rights
education generally instill in us the sense to be ethical. And ethics is
about what is right, what is wrong, what is evil?, how should relate to
one another?, how should we relate to other living things?, etc.

I have argued elsewhere that human rights is a multidisciplinary subject
with issues that have historical, legal, medical, political and
socio-cultural implications. But many are still not aware of the complex
issues of human rights; even legal practitioners who have no training in
international law or human rights law can hardly cope with the challenges
when faced with issues of human rights litigation for example

For more on my reflections on issues of human rights and governance visit
our website.

Olusola Akinbode
Centre for Human rights and Empowerment
Lagos, Nigeria
www.chrenigeria.org




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