A/HRC/35/6 33. Some delegates highlighted the need for human rights education and training programmes to be implemented within the context of the 2030 Agenda and for linkages to be built between human rights education programmes and the Sustainable Development Goals to ensure complementarity and coordination at all levels. The Minister of Education of Costa Rica urged States to ensure cooperation in order to improve the potential for innovative ideas and the achievement of the Goals, and stated that the Government of Costa Rica was committed to adopting an integrated approach to achieving the Goals so as to bring together the efforts of local and international actors. The Secretary for Human Rights of Brazil stated that human rights education was essential for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, which pledges to promote inclusive and just societies, and that international cooperation was a key element for fostering the necessary dialogue between global, regional and local spheres. The representative of the European Union stated that human rights education was key for development and crucial for building inclusive and participatory societies based on social justice and solidarity. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions highlighted the key role that national human rights institutions could play in the monitoring and data-collection processes relating to target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals. D. National human rights education and training 34. Delegates drew attention to the significance of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training in reaffirming the duty of States to promote human rights education. The representatives of many States highlighted national human rights education initiatives and programmes, in particular in the context of the third phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, which focuses on strengthening the implementation of human rights education in primary and secondary school systems and in higher education; human rights training for teachers and educators, civil servants, law enforcement officials and the military; and promoting human rights training of media professionals and journalists. They stressed the need for all States, together with the international community, to take full advantage of the third phase of the World Programme, and expressed their readiness to share national experiences and tools and to provide assistance. 35. The representatives of many States described their experiences in relation to national human rights education programmes and initiatives in primary and secondary schools. For example, the representatives of Ecuador, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, the Congo, the Russian Federation, Switzerland, Thailand and Viet Nam mentioned that their Governments had included human rights education in their school systems. Paraguay had a National Human Rights Education Plan that outlined a nine-year strategy for transforming the public education system in the country. In Kyrgyzstan, human rights education started in preschool, with a programme called “Learning the Environment”, which provided all children with an “equal start in life” by teaching them about their human rights and responsibilities in interacting with their peers and with adults. This was followed by mandatory courses on human rights principles and protection mechanisms in secondary school. In Switzerland, education for sustainable development and human rights had been integrated into regional school curricula. Through the “Our Rights” project developed by the Government of Slovenia, which was based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, since 2005, more than 185,000 children in 26 countries had learned about their rights. Teaching materials of the project were now available in 22 languages. 36. Universities in Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Thailand and Viet Nam had also integrated human rights into their curricula as stand-alone courses and in courses on political science, law, humanities and civic values. In Kyrgyzstan, introductory training on human rights was mandatory for those pursuing careers in education. Pursuant to the National Education Act (1999), universities in Thailand had not only increased the number of human rights courses they offered to students, but had also established research centres on human rights. In the Russian Federation, a consortium of Russian institutions for higher learning, in collaboration with OHCHR, offered a Master’s programme on human rights. 8