UN Council Likely to Expand Human Rights Education to All Levels of Society
HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIETY & CULTURE
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The United Nations Human Rights Council continues to implement the World Programme for Human Rights Education. In its upcoming fall session, the Council will consider various recommendations it has received for the implementation of the second phase of the World Programme. The submitted recommendations indicate that the Council will adopt a second phase plan that includes the teaching of human rights at all levels of society, not just in government-run schools. No doubt, the implementation of the second phase will better enable UN “experts” in Geneva to indoctrinate even more people in their ambiguous and anti-democratic human rights education agenda.
On August 20, 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Council (“HRC”) released a report (the “Report”) containing recommendations made by government officials, national human rights institutions, and international and regional organizations regarding the best approach for implementing the second phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education (“WPHRE”), to begin on January 1, 2010. The HRC will consider the Report at its Twelfth Session scheduled for September 14 through October 2, 2009.
As previously reported by GGW, in December 2004, in an effort to implement human rights education throughout the world, the United Nations adopted the WPHRE. The adoption of the WPHRE was an interim step taken after the failure of human rights education advocates to secure a binding international treaty on human rights education. As designed, the WPHRE was to be carried out in three phases. The first phase, running from 2005-2009, concentrated almost exclusively on teaching human rights education at the primary and secondary school levels. Based on the Report, it appears that the next phase of the WPHRE will focus on the implementation of human rights education at all levels of societies. This includes not only a continued push in national school systems and universities; but, also, training in human rights for government officials, members of the judiciary, and the national media. In short, the second phase contemplates that all members of society, not just impressionable schoolchildren, need to be indoctrinated in human rights.
Those making recommendations to the HRC explained that there was a need to train civil servants at the national level, such as policymakers, judges, law enforcement officials, and military officers, “in order to reinforce their knowledge of universal human rights principles, nurture good governance and, equip them with skills and attitudes needed to enable to protect and promote human rights on behalf of the State.” Moreover, many recommendations suggested that the media, which plays “an important role globally owing to their potential to affect social change” should also be targeted for human rights education.
Some of the more “enlightening” recommendations contained in the Report include:
• A recommendation from Morocco that “socialization with the human rights theme can begin from preschool age, which would allow for better integration of the individual in his/her environment.”
• A recommendation from Togo for “training the media as they have a significant influence on the values and behaviors of youth.”
• A recommendation from Turkey that the second phase “should target in particular experts and officials mandated with preparing and monitoring school textbooks.”
• A recommendation from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission that the focus should continue to be on primary and secondary school systems as “they provide the greatest opportunity to inform individuals of their human rights and responsibilities and create broad cultural change.”
• A recommendation from Italy that would emphasize in-depth human rights training for government officials in the justice, defense, education, judicial, and law enforcement areas.
• A recommendation from UNESCO for human rights education experts to more closely cooperate with media professionals so that there could be a necessary “change in the mindsets of societies” so that “social change” could be encouraged.
• A recommendation from the Population and Community Development Association that “ethical business behavior and corporate social responsibility training could be encouraged for companies.”
• A recommendation from the International Association of Schools of Social Work that the second phase human rights education themes including “the eradication of extreme poverty, the right to peace, and world citizenship.”
Global Governance Watch will monitor the upcoming HRC meetings on the WPHRE and issue a report on the adopted outcomes for the second phase, including their likely negative effects on individual freedom and national sovereignty.
Jim Kelly is the President of Solidarity Center for Law and Justice, P.C., a public interest civil and human rights law firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. The opinions expressed herein are his own.
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