A/HRC/24/24
8.
As far as civil society is concerned, the following NGOs replied: Agence de
diffusion du droit international humanitaire en Afrique Centrale; Amnesty International
Austria; Association Points-Coeur; Center for Citizenship Education, Slovenia; Cyprus
Human Rights Centre; Democracy and Human Rights Education in Europe; Human Rights
Education Associates; Human Rights Education USA; Institute of Human Rights of the
National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan; Netherlands Platform on Human Rights
Education; New Humanity; Soka Gakkai International; and U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Wuhan
University School of Law (China) also replied, as well as five individuals.
9.
It is recalled that the first phase (2005–2009) of the World Programme for Human
Rights Education (2005–ongoing) was dedicated to the integration of human rights
education into the primary and secondary school systems, and the second phase (2010–
2014) focuses on human rights education in higher education and human rights training for
teachers and educators, civil servants, law enforcement officials and military personnel.
Civil servants, “depending on national laws and governmental structures, may include
officials and policymakers from government ministries and departments, diplomats,
teachers, employees of local government and municipalities as well as fiscal and economic
agencies, public health professionals and social workers”.1
II. Responses from Governments
10.
The Government of Argentina provided an extensive response prepared as a
cooperative effort among various governmental actors and other institutions. It indicated, as
suggested target sectors for the third phase, law enforcement officials, security and military
forces, and civil servants as well as municipalities, the provincial government and the
general public, to reach out to the grass-roots level. With respect to thematic areas, it
highlighted the need to reflect on human rights violations during the past military
dictatorship, in particular with a view to empowering students and youth to become
political actors; the revision of school textbooks to combat stereotypes concerning
vulnerable groups; the prevention of institutional violence and torture, social violence, in
particular in sports, and gender-based violence. The response further provided information
on human rights education initiatives undertaken by different national actors.
11.
The Government of Armenia stated that the focus sectors of the first and second
phases of the World Programme should also be targeted in the third phase, as related work
has not yet been completed. Armenia mentioned the following thematic areas for the third
phase: human rights and protection mechanisms at the national and international levels;
rights and responsibilities; genocide education; international human rights law;
environmental education; gender education; and electoral law. In terms of target sectors, it
listed rural community members; local self-government bodies, State and civil servants, and
workers from the private sector; law enforcement officials; communities and NGOs;
secondary schools and preschools; higher education institutions; journalists; vulnerable
groups including people with disabilities; decision makers; and the business sector.
Strategies proposed for the third phase include teacher training in cooperation with
pedagogical universities; development of resources centres and information material;
governmental support to NGOs’ projects; development of new methodologies including
distance learning; peer review among countries; establishment of monitoring and evaluation
systems; and the incorporation of human rights education commitments into domestic law.
The third phase should last 10 years, from 2015 to 2024.
1
See OHCHR, World Programme for Human Rights Education, Second Phase, Plan of Action, New
York and Geneva, 2012, paragraph 37.
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