A/HRC/15/28 discrimination, post-conflict rebuilding, sustainable development and multicultural understanding. 14 22. Accordingly, the role of human rights education in higher education is fundamental. As education concerns “not only the content of the curriculum but also the educational processes, the pedagogical methods and the environment within which education takes place” 15 , human rights education in higher education should be understood as a process that includes: (a) “Human rights through education”: ensuring that all the components and processes of learning, including curricula, materials, methods and training are conducive to the learning of human rights; (b) “Human rights in education”: ensuring respect for the human rights of all actors, and the practice of rights, within the higher education system. 23. Although many factors may contribute, the integration of this approach in higher education would include action in at least the following five areas. (a) Policies and related implementation measures 16 24. The development, adoption and implementation of human rights education policies, as well as the infusion of human rights in educational policies, needs to be consistent with institutional autonomy and academic freedom, and sharing of rights and responsibilities in accordance with each State’s educational system. 25. Policy development should be participatory, involving associations of teaching personnel and other stakeholders. 26. Key features for human rights education policymaking in the higher education system may include: (a) Developing policies and legislation for ensuring the inclusion of human rights, and in particular human rights education, in the higher education system: (i) Including human rights education in education laws or adopting specific legislation on human rights education; (ii) Ensuring that all legislation is aligned with the principles of human rights education and monitoring inconsistency in legislation; (iii) Ensuring that policies are based on relevant research in human rights education; (iv) Developing policies and regulations with regard to university governance and management, including all those affecting the university culture and student life, which are consistent with human rights principles; 14 15 16 10 See final document of the 2009 UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, preamble and paras. 2-4. Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 1 (2001) on the aims of education, para 8. Policies may be defined as clear and coherent statements of commitments. Prepared at different levels of government, in cooperation with all stakeholders, they include principles, definitions and objectives and serve as a normative reference throughout the higher education system and for all actors.