The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “every individual and every organ of society […] shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms.” With this in mind, Woven Teaching believes that all educators have a responsibility to teach about human rights – Without knowledge of our rights, how can we hope to exercise and protect them?

Human Rights Education (HRE) is a pedagogy rooted in advancing human rights through teaching that promotes cooperation, respect, and the dignity of all people. HRE can be implemented in both formal and informal education settings and with learners of all ages.

Many of the challenges that young people face in their communities, countries, and the larger world are all issues of human rights. HRE allows learners to:

• reflect on their own role and responsibilities in society; 

• develop critical thinking skills; 

• make connections across time, geography, and cultures; 

• and to envision and enact solutions to problems on individual, institutional, and global scales.

The goal of Human Rights Education is to help create a universal culture of human rights. To ensure that human rights are realized for all, HRE offers education about human rights, but also education through human rights and for human rights.

About

Human Rights Education highlights information about human rights, including the history of human rights, international human rights declarations and treaties, and contemporary human rights issues and violations. 

By studying human rights issues, learners develop the skills needed to protect their own rights and the rights of others. They learn to identify injustices and recognize the human rights violations on both a small and large scale. By exploring the stories of other groups and individuals who have taken action to defend their own rights, learners understand that they too are powerful enough to defend themselves against injustice and inequity.

Through

Human Rights Education explores not only human rights issues themselves, but also models the values of respect, cooperation and participation in community that are key to human rights.  Through interactive and participatory teaching strategies such as role play, debate, and peer teaching, values of human rights like mutual respect, thoughtfulness, cooperation, and empathy are reflected in both the content and teaching methodologies. 

For

Teaching about human rights also includes the development of agency and solidarity. HRE allows learners to understand the importance of human rights and the necessity of their recognition and defense. HRE learners are equipped to engage in movements for political, economic, cultural, and social rights–both in and outside of their communities. Learners are introduced to Human Rights Defenders and are empowered to push for and make positive change for themselves and others. Through HRE, learners recognize their own agency and the agency of others, and gain an understanding of our responsibility to respect and protect each other.

Teaching Materials

Primary Source Documents

Additional Resources

The Advocates for Human Rights
The Advocates for Human Rights implement human rights standards around the world. The organization analyzes international laws and advocates for change on a large scale. The site also includes a library of resources for educators.

Human Rights Education & Training
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) has created a library of materials to train teachers and educate youth and the public about human rights. UNHCR exists to promote and protect human rights for all people.

International Journal of Human Rights Education
The International Journal of Human Rights Education is an open-access online journal dedicated to the examination of the theory, philosophy, research, and praxis central to the field of human rights education.

Introducing Human Rights Education
The Council of Europe is Europe’s leading human rights organization. This introductory chapter to its Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People is a great place to start exploring how to bring human rights education into the classroom.

Human Rights Watch
International organization Human Rights Watch offers short videos, a reading list, and other resources. Its site also includes information about the state of human rights in countries around the world.

Voice of Witness
Voice of Witness advances human rights by amplifying voices from marginalized communities. The organization has published many collections of oral histories on different topics, and provides free curricula to use with the collections.

Write for Rights 2018 – A Human Rights Education Toolkit
International organization Amnesty International has put together this toolkit for educators to help get students involved in human rights advocacy. Students learn about different human rights violations from around the world and learn how to write persuasive letters.