A/HRC/42/23 2. Teaching and learning processes and tools 26. Acknowledging that human rights education for youth is necessarily context-specific and needs to tackle specific learning needs of youth, and in an age-sensitive manner, in this section the plan of action offers general guidance on content and methodologies, as well as tools and resources.18 27. With regard to content, in line with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, human rights education fosters knowledge, skills and attitudes empowering young people to exercise their rights and respect and uphold the rights of others. Competencies in these areas include: 19 (a) Knowledge: young people are aware of and understand: (i) The history of human rights and their evolving nature linked to human struggles for freedom, equality, justice and dignity; the inalienability, universality, indivisibility, interrelatedness and interdependence of human rights; (ii) The close relationship between human rights, peace and sustainable development – the three pillars of the United Nations; (iii) The human rights principles of participation and inclusion; equality and nondiscrimination, including gender equality; accountability; and freedom from violence; (iv) The relevance of human rights to the daily life of youth at the individual, community and society levels; (v) Human rights issues of particular relevance to youth at the local and national levels, in relation to pertinent international human rights documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Youth 2030 strategy; (vi) State obligations in relation to human rights; definitions of rights holders and duty bearers; human rights legislation; mechanisms for protection and complaint procedures available when human rights are violated at the local, national, regional and international levels; (vii) Human rights, international humanitarian law and protection during armed conflict; prevention of and accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity; (viii) Critical global challenges (poverty, climate change, etc.) and their relationship with human rights; human rights violations and their root causes, both globally and locally, and factors contributing to supporting or undermining human rights (e.g., political, legal, cultural/social, religious and economic); (ix) Current and historical human rights issues and movements – in their country, region and globally – and individuals and groups, including women, young people and groups in situations of exclusion or vulnerability, who have advanced the human rights cause; (b) Skills: young people are able to: (i) Analyse historical and contemporary political, legal, economic, cultural and social processes from a human rights perspective and using human rights language; (ii) Identify important human rights issues in relation to key areas of life for themselves and others (e.g., educational and work settings, family and community); 18 19 10 For more details, see the respective plans of action of the previous phases. This list is non-exhaustive and draws from the “core competencies” section of the guidelines on human rights education for secondary school systems developed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2012.