short note on education for human rights

What is Human Rights Education?

Human Rights Education is all about equipping people with the knowledge, skills and values to recognize, claim and defend their rights. Various Human Rights organizations and representatives have defined human rights education in their own ways. Here are some of the most prominent definitions:

“ Education, training and information aimed at building a universal culture of human rights . A comprehensive education in human rights not only provides knowledge about human rights and the mechanisms that protect them, but also imparts the skills needed to promote, defend and apply human rights in daily life. Human rights education fosters the attitudes and behaviours needed to uphold human rights for all members of society. ” (United Nations World Programme)

“ Through human rights education you can empower yourself and others to develop the skills and attitudes that promote equality, dignity and respect in your community, society and worldwide. ” (Amnesty International)

“ Human rights education builds knowledge, skills and attitudes prompting behavior that upholds human rights. It is a process of empowerment which helps identify human rights problems and seek solutions in line with human rights principles. It is based on the understanding of our own responsibility to make human rights a reality in our community and society at large. ” (Navi Pillay, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights)

“ Human rights education means education, training, dissemination, information, practices and activities which aim, by equipping learners with knowledge, skills and understanding and moulding their attitudes and behaviour, to empower them to contribute to the building and defence of a universal culture of human rights in society, with a view to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. ” (Council of Europe)

Why is Human Rights Education Important?

Human Rights Education is important for many reasons. Below are some of the most frequently mentioned reasons why human rights education is important.

• Human Rights Education is crucial for building and advancing societies
• Human Rights Education empowers people to know, claim and defend their rights
• Human Rights Education promotes participation in decision making and the peaceful resolution of conflicts
• Human Rights Education encourages empathy, inclusion and non-discrimination

Often abbreviated as “HRE,” human rights education is also an essential tool for human rights awareness and empowerment. Many teachers don’t label their curriculum as “human rights education,” but they include features of HRE. Educational frameworks that consider non-discrimination, gender equality, anti-racism, and more help build an understanding and respect for human rights. Students learn about their rights, history, and their responsibility as citizens of the world.

In 2011, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration for Human Rights Education and Training . It called on countries to implement human rights education in every sector of society.

Here are ten more reasons why human rights education is important:

#1 It enables people to claim their rights

This is the most obvious benefit of HRE. In the “Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,” Article 6 states that everyone has the right to know about their rights. By receiving that education, people can identify when rights are being violated and stand up to defend them.

#2 It teaches young people to respect diversity

When young people are exposed to human rights education, it teaches them to respect diversity from an early age. This is because no matter the differences between people – race, gender, wealth, ethnicity, language, religion, etc. – we all still deserve certain rights. Human rights also protect diversity. The earlier people learn about this, the better it is for society.

#3 It teaches history

Understanding history through a human rights lens is critical to a good education. If human rights weren’t included, lessons would be incomplete. Learning about human rights through history challenges simple and biased narratives. It teaches students the origins of human rights, different historical perspectives, and how they evolved to today. With this foundation in history, students better understand modern human rights.

#4 It teaches people to recognize the root causes of human rights issues

By recognizing the roots of problems, people are better equipped to change things. As an example, it isn’t enough to know that homelessness is a human rights issue. To effectively address it, people need to know what causes homelessness, like low-paying jobs and a lack of affordable housing. Studying history is an important part of identifying the roots of human rights issues.

#5 It fosters critical thinking and analytical skills

HRE doesn’t only provide information about human rights. It also trains people to use critical thinking and analyze information. Many human rights issues are complicated, so one of HRE’s goals is to teach people how to think. Students learn how to identify reliable sources, challenge biases, and build arguments. This makes human rights discussions more productive and meaningful. Critical thinking and analysis are important skills in every area of life, not just human rights.

#6 It encourages empathy and solidarity

An important piece of human rights education is recognizing that human rights are universal. When people realize that and then hear that rights are being violated elsewhere, they are more likely to feel empathy and solidarity. The violation of one person’s rights is a violation of everyone’s rights. This belief unites people – even those very different from each other – and provokes action.

#7 It encourages people to value human rights

When people receive human rights education, what they learn can shape their values. They will realize how important human rights are and that they are something worth defending. People who’ve received human rights education are more likely to stand up when they believe their rights (and the rights of others) are being threatened. They’ll act even when it’s risky.

#8 It fuels social justice activities

If people didn’t know anything about human rights, positive change would be rare. When people are educated and equipped with the necessary skills, they will work for social justice in their communities. This includes raising awareness for the most vulnerable members of society and establishing/supporting organizations that serve basic needs. With HRE, people feel a stronger sense of responsibility to care for each other. Believing in social justice and equality is an important first step, but it often doesn’t move far beyond a desire. HRE provides the knowledge and tools necessary for real change.

#9 It helps people support organizations that uphold human rights

Knowing more about human rights and activism helps people identify organizations that stand up for human rights. It also helps them avoid organizations (e.g. corrupt corporations) that directly or indirectly disrespect rights. These organizations are then forced to change their practices to survive.

#10 It keeps governments accountable

Human rights education doesn’t only encourage people to hold organizations accountable. It encourages them to hold governments accountable, as well. Human rights experts say that HRE is critical to government accountability. Armed with knowledge, skills, and passion, citizens have the power to challenge their governments on issues and demand change. HRE also helps provide activists with resources and connections to the global human rights community.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

copyright information

The Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development

Building more peaceful, just, and sustainable societies starts with education. It influences all aspects of our daily lives and our overall prospects while being impacted by our health and environment. In the global landscape of worsening climate change, democratic backsliding, persistent inequalities, rising discrimination, hate speech, violence and conflict, it can be a tool to address and prevent these problems in the future. And it can also be a long-term investment with increasing returns if shaped and deployed effectively.

The new UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development, which is commonly referred to as the Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development is a landmark guidance document that defines what needs to evolve in and through education to accomplish these goals. 

• What you need to know about UNESCO’s new Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development

available in English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish

Its purpose, history, content and potential to bring about necessary change

Learn more about the 1974 Recommendation - the document that preceded and informed the text as we know it now

What is in the new Recommendation?

Major ideas and concepts that should be infused into the content and context of education to bring about lasting peace

Knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviors individuals should obtain throughout the education process to live together on this planet

Spheres where education stakeholders can put the guiding principles in practice to make a change, from laws and policies to curricula development, teaching practices, learning environments and assessment

Education plays a transformative role in shaping a peaceful future for all

This is the core message of the new UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development. Learning must be transformative, and help empower learners with the necessary knowledge, values, attitudes and skills and behaviours to become agents of peace in their communities. Education in all its forms and dimensions, in and out of schools, shapes how we see the world and treat others. 

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How to Get Holocaust Education Right

“Educate them about the Holocaust.”

That’s the rallying cry for many of those who feel shocked by skyrocketing antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses and K-12 schools. Learning about the Final Solution, the reasoning goes, steers young Americans against bigotry.

As the grandson of Auschwitz and Buchenwald survivors and an educator and documentary filmmaker who often tells Holocaust-related stories, I used to subscribe to this notion. But I’ve come to realize that despite being embedded in K-12 social studies, world history, and English literature curricula throughout the country, Holocaust education has failed to uproot hate and ignorance.  

Social media, where teens spend about five hours a day on average, teem with “ Holocaust denial and distortion ,” as well as antisemitic and Islamophobic conspiracy theories. The latest, for instance, falsely blames the Jews for Congress’ TikTok crackdown . No wonder K-12 schools’ incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia have skyrocketed , even before the Israel-Hamas War erupted and broke the hydrant of hatred wide open.

Read More: Who Needs Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2024?

In recent weeks, a flood of Israel-Hamas War-related hostility has forced an increasing number of university administrations around the country—such as Columbia, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Southern California—to summon the police in an attempt to quell student protests. Columbia moved all classes online on the eve of Passover, suspended some protesters , and threatened to expel those who’d occupied a campus building. USC revamped its commencement plans. And although most protests have played out as legitimate political activism reminiscent of the 1960s student movements, some have reportedly crossed the line into antisemitic and Islamophobic vitriol and violence.

On campuses and schoolyards, Jews and Muslims have suffered physical and psychological harm—from being jabbed in the face by a flagpole and requiring hospitalization to being called “terrorists” and needing mental-health counseling. The U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office has been investigating several universities and school districts.

Holocaust education, in its foundational intention, was supposed to nip much of this in the bud. Taught at elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the country since the 1970s, it’s been positioned for wide impact. Twenty-six states require the instruction of the Holocaust. Most of the other states have funded commissions and councils to advance opportunities to educate students about the Nazis’ murder of 6 million Jews and millions of people with disabilities, homosexuals, and Romani people, among other groups.

Read More: The Holocaust Began Not With Concentration Camps, But With Hateful Rhetoric. That Part of the Story Cannot Be Forgotten

Historically, conservatives and liberals alike have embraced Holocaust education. The 2020 Never Again Education Act passed by a 393-5 vote at the U.S. House of Representatives and unanimously at the U.S. Senate. Further setting Holocaust education up for success, nonprofits ranging from USC’s Shoah Foundation in Los Angeles to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, have been supporting teachers for decades. Organization like Pittsburgh-based Classroom Without Borders have taken educators to the sites of Nazi death camps in Eastern Europe. On May 5, March of the Living is sending teachers and students, as well as the chancellors and presidents of SUNY (State University of New York), Towson, and other universities, to Poland. Stateside, 85 Holocaust museums and memorials have hosted countless school field trips.

Yet, Holocaust education has fallen far short even of its fundamental goal to raise awareness. Polls show young Americans lack “basic knowledge” about the Holocaust. About two-thirds know nothing or very little about Auschwitz and grossly underestimate the number of Jewish victims.

Alarming conversations I’ve had with students make it impossible for me to ignore these statistics. Following a university screening of a rough-cut of one of my documentaries, “ Cojot ,” two freshmen sheepishly told me they’d “never heard of this.” I assured them few have heard of French business consultant Michel Cojot’s quest to kill his father’s Nazi executioner.

Shaking their heads, the freshmen said they’d “never heard about any of this.”

They were talking about the Holocaust.

The encounter sent me on a mission of my own: help fulfill Holocaust education’s promise. I started by contemplating what knowledge, insights, and skills their students must obtain to put antisemitism and Islamophobia in the rearview mirror.

A couple of observations informed my thinking about the knowledge part of the equation: Traditional Holocaust education’s emphasis on disseminating historical facts has generated disappointing results and, in the long run, even A-students retain only a fraction of the information they absorb in school. They ofttimes memorize a lesson, regurgitate it on a test, then discard it from their brains.

So I focused on insights and skills, which tend to be stickier. An understanding of how democracies function and malfunction can stay with children and adolescents for life, sharpening their worldview and lending them a moral compass. Critical thinking, fact-finding, and active listening can boost empathy and productive civic discourse, enabling students to better navigate the present, past, and future.

In building this approach, I combined old methods in a new way. For a pedagogical anchor, I turned to practitioner inquiry, also called action research. This well-regarded yet underutilized professional development (PD) mechanism helps K-12 teachers examine and improve their practice. I hypothesized that although it was rarely if ever used in such a way, practitioner inquiry would upgrade Holocaust education when fitted with four lenses: contextual responsiveness, which enables educators to make their lessons relevant to the here and now; trauma-informed, which steers them away from age-inappropriate material and assists them in identifying and coping with trauma in their classrooms and schools; apolitical educational equity, which values every child and adolescent; and asset-based, which directs teachers’ attention to their students and communities’ strengths. 

To test this properly, I founded the nonpartisan, pedagogically orientated Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State . It provides PD programs in five states and counting to K-12 educators, many of whom know what but not how to effectively teach difficult topics.

The first rule of the initiative—to borrow a phrase from David Fincher’s “Fight Club”—is you do not have to talk about the Holocaust. Research my colleagues and I have conducted indicates the effective instruction of any difficult topic, be it slavery or evolution or gender, can get at the Holocaust’s underlying causes.

Participants in the initiative’s programs, who represent various roles, disciplines, and grade levels, choose a difficult topic from their curriculum or community. They learn to teach it confidently by conjuring up compelling questions, finding credible sources, collecting and analyzing data, examining the findings with experts and colleagues, drawing up an implementation plan, and applying it in their classrooms and schools. Thus, they meet their students where they are in authentic ways.

Our participants, who include nearly as many music and biology as social studies and English teachers, empower their students to come up with their own guiding questions and seek the truth and its implications for themselves. To teach in this unconventional manner, educators must shift from acting as sages on the stage to setting the stage for their students’ experiential learning.

This mindset change typically requires a mind-twisting effort. Why would teachers—already overburdened meeting state, district, and parental expectations—add this to their trays? Their motivations range from resetting the tone in their classroom to removing the perception of indoctrination to redefining student success. A longtime elementary school teacher, for instance, aimed to make her Civil War lessons more thought-provoking. “I was interested in ways to help my students think for themselves,” she told me. And a mid-career middle-school teacher sought to instill empathy in her seventh-graders. Referencing Jim Crow and Nazi propaganda, she challenged her students to investigate her thesis that “if you spend enough time talking negatively about people, you start to believe it.”

She tasked her students with logging “everything they said and heard in one day.” The hands-on assignment opened the seventh-graders’ eyes and, eventually, hearts. They reported hearing numerous hurtful judgements and “conversations about fighting,” the middle-school teacher said. “The data collected were overwhelmingly negative.” In the following weeks, the students “wanted to talk about it more” and grew to “understand why they do what they do and reassess what they say about each other.”

Much of K-12 looks far into the future. Ace biology or math now and become a doctor or coder later. Difficult topics inquiry offers students immediately useful takeaways. The empathy and active-listening skills they develop can enrich their inner and social lives. The two-way respect they forge with peers and adults can bolster their communications and self-esteem.

To give students a brighter outlook, individually and collectively, and fortify our democracy, we must reinvent how we teach difficult topics. We must trust students to chart a constructive course for themselves and society. This will forge a sense of control that can propel students on journeys of discovery, during which they learn to conduct primary research, triangulate the information they gather, seek multiple perspectives, and dialogue and debate with classmates. Ultimately, too, it would prompt our next generation to wonder why any student ever chose echo-chamber scorn over face-to-face, heated-yet-respectful civic discourse.

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