A/HRC/26/27 attainments of students. “Universally recognized human rights values and democratic principles should be embedded in any education system.”8 B. Learning to live together 27. A ground-breaking report presented to UNESCO in 1996, known as the Delors Report, outlined four pillars of education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be.9 Those objectives provide a useful framework for the purpose of modernizing national curricula and the corresponding mechanisms for assessing the educational attainments of students. 28. Assessing the peacebuilding role of education is also important, especially in conflict situations and in the phase of post-conflict reconciliation. “Education in the twentyfirst century needs above all to teach children what is arguably the single most vital skill for a flourishing multi-cultural society - the skill of living peacefully with other people … No country can hope to establish lasting foundations for peace unless it finds ways of building mutual trust between its citizens - and the place to start is in the classroom.”10 An important consideration in assessing the educational attainments of students is whether their behaviour patterns reflect their understanding of, and commitment to, learning to live together. C. Fostering the positive values of cultural diversity 29. Education is invaluable for the preservation of the cultural heritage of humankind.11 Inculcating in students a commitment to preserving and enriching multicultural and multilingual diversity and promoting a better understanding and appreciation of the richness of cultural diversity deserves an important place in any education system.12 National curricula should aim to prepare students for the defence of cultural diversity as an ethical imperative, inseparable from respect for human dignity, as expressed in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of 2001.13 The main lines of the action plan for the implementation of the Declaration clearly provide for promoting through education an awareness of the positive value of cultural diversity and improving to this end both curriculum design and teacher education. The education provided, as well as the assessments of students, should show the importance attached to the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity and pluralism as an essential part of human-centred development. The assessment of students should demonstrate their understanding of common values shared by all humankind, with respect for people from different civilizations, cultures and religions. 8 9 10 11 12 13 See A/HRC/20/21, para. 18. Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century: “Learning: the treasure within” (1996). Education for All global monitoring report, “The hidden crisis: armed conflict and education”, (UNESCO Publishing, 2011), p. 23. This has assumed special significance as a follow-up to the proclamation of the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures by the General Assembly in resolution 67/104. For example, in Indonesia, the Law on the National Education System (2003) aims to inculcate in young minds a respect for human rights, cultural pluralism and learning to live together and promote morals, character building and unity in diversity (Bhinneka Tunggal Eka) in the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity. Article 5 of the Declaration stipulates that “all persons are entitled to quality education and training that fully respect their cultural identity”. 7