Adopting a purely literal interpretation, it would seem reasonable to assume that imparting basic information about ‘the main categories of human rights, duties, obligations and responsibilities’, 134 ‘the main international declarations and
conventions’,135 the values ‘conducive to human rights’,136 and ‘the institutions
established for their implementation’137 would suffice for compliance with the
agreement to educate about human rights, but it is ‘a much wider concept than the study of legal and constitutional texts and mechanisms’.138
Rote learning of specific rights, instruments and protection mechanisms in insolation is therefore unlikely to be sufficient. Education that enables learners to better understand where human rights come from, why they are important and how they may affect their lives is more likely to be what is envisaged by this element of the tripartite framework; a suggestion supported by the international HRE provisions. Whilst the requirement that learners are taught basic information about the human rights framework does underpin nearly all of the relevant provisions, most extend beyond an obligation to provide only factual knowledge and instead prescribe deeper and contextually relevant understandings of human rights.
The Vienna Declaration, for example, mandates HRE that addresses concepts such as ‘peace, democracy, development and social justice’;139 and UNESCO’s 1995
Declaration and Framework of Action stresses the importance of education concerning ‘the ethical, religious and philosophical bases of human rights, their historical sources, the way they have developed and how they have been translated into national and international standards’.140 The World Programme category of
‘knowledge and skills’ includes contextually relevant analysis of human rights that takes into account the historical and social circumstances of the country at issue,141
134 Council of Europe, ‘Recommendation (R(85)7)’ (n 83) at 3.1, (i).
135 Ibid at 3.1, (iv); see also Tibbitts, F., ‘Understanding What We Do: Emerging Models for Human
Rights Education’ (2002) 48 International Review of Education 159-171 at 163.
136 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, ‘General Comment No.1’ (n 22) at 6-7, para 19. 137 UNESCO, ‘Final Document’ (n 58) at para 3(ii).
138 Stobart (n 31).
139 UN General Assembly, ‘Vienna Declaration’ (n 12) at Part II, para 80; see also UNDHRET,
preamble.
140 UNESCO, ‘Integrated Framework’ (n 65) at 10, para 17.
and consideration of ‘chronic and emerging human rights problems’ with a view to better understanding their solutions.142
A number of the regional HRE initiatives similarly emphasise the need for contextually relevant education about human rights. For example, the concept of
knowledge of human rights is stated in the 1984 CoE publication as requiring learners to:
know what Human Rights are, according to the major contemporary statements…know the main categories of Human Rights…know the main concepts associated with Human Rights…know how to recognise an issue as a Human Rights issue, and how they might act on Human Rights questions.143
The subsequent 1985 Recommendation reiterates a requirement for HRE to address both the ‘people, movements and key events’ associated with human rights, and ‘the historical and continuing struggle for human rights’.144
Whilst it is important for learners to be equipped with fundamental knowledge about human rights,145 deeper understanding of the complexities associated with their
realisation is also necessary, for to teach human rights in a vacuum is ‘a travesty of what HRE should be about’.146 Without understanding the struggles, obstacles and
misconceptions that have plagued the human rights movement, learners will be unlikely to be able to contextualise their knowledge in this area and to consider how that knowledge could be used to effect genuine change. And without recognition of the varied understandings and interpretations of human rights internationally,147 they
will be equally unlikely to fully grasp the importance of the universality and common humanity at the root of the human rights movement. It is perhaps for these reasons that David Shiman advocates that HRE should include both knowledge of rights violations and an understanding of how human rights can contribute to the peaceful
142 UNESCO & OHCHR, ‘Plan of Action’ (n 73) at 14, para 8(c). 143 Lister, Teaching and Learning About Human Rights (n 29) at 4, para (i). 144 Council of Europe, ‘Recommendation (R(85)7)’ (n 83) at 3, para 3.1. 145 Howe & Covell, Empowering Children (n 20) 30.
146 Spencer, S., ‘The Implications of the Human Rights Act for Citizenship Education’ in Osler (ed),
Citizenship and Democracy in Schools (n 6) 19-32 at 25.
resolution of conflicts,148 and that Claudia Lohrenscheit considers comprehension of
the inherent struggles and controversies underpinning human rights to be an integral component of HRE.149
The provision of effective education about human rights therefore arguably requires that learners are not only able to identify specific rights, documents and legal processes, but also that they can translate this basic knowledge into practical competency in recognising human rights issues. Ensuring that HRE knowledge is ‘applied to the common everyday experiences within a culture and understood within that context’ equips learners with a better understanding of what human rights situations look like,150 and is likely to prevent the topic seeming abstract and
irrelevant. And encouraging learners to view HRE not as ‘the discrete, theoretical concepts of some abstraction known as ‘human rights’ but as the integral aspects of their lives’ is, in turn, likely to be important for safeguarding purposes.151
Safeguarding refers generally to measures taken with the aim of protecting children from harm or abuse,152 and includes enabling learners to identify when their rights are
not being met.
These suggestions are further supported by academic commentators in the field. Rahima Wade draws upon her empirical research with primary school-aged learners in the USA to emphasise the role that HRE must play in building bridges ‘between
148 Shiman, D. ‘An Introduction to Human Rights Education’ in Flowers, N. (ed), Human Rights Here
and Now: Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Part 2 (available at:
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-2/HRE-intro.htm [last accessed 23 March 2013]); see also Ramey, S., ‘Fighting for a Society That Respects Each Person’s Dignity’ (2012) 24(1) Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice 54-60 at 56.
149 Lohrenscheit, C., ‘International Approaches in Human Rights Education’ (2002) 48 International
Review of Education 173-185 at 176; see also UNESCO, ‘Malta Recommendation’ (n 60) at para 2.5; Fritzsche (n 4) at 165-166; & Amnesty International, Our World, Our Rights: Learning About Human Rights in Primary and Middle Schools (2010) at 7.
150 Brabeck, M.M. & L. Rogers, ‘Human Rights as a Moral Issue: lessons for moral educators from
human rights work’ (2000) 29(2) Journal of Moral Education 167-182 at 170.
151 Stone, A., ‘Human Rights Education and Public Policy in the United States: Mapping the Road
Ahead’ (2002) 24 Human Rights Quarterly 537-557 at 540; see also Baxi (n 107); UNESCO & OHCHR, ‘Plan of Action’ (n 73) at 14, para 8(i); & UNESCO, ‘Strategy on Human Rights’ (n 4) at 8, para 26.
152 According to the most recent Government guidance in this area, it involves: ‘protecting children
from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes’. See HM Government, Working together to safeguard children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (March 2015) at 5.
the abstract notion of rights and…children’s life experiences’,153 and R. Brian Howe
and Katherine Covell stress its importance for providing learners with ‘the knowledge and critical awareness necessary to understand and question…the denial of their rights’.154 Abraham Magendzo, in discussing the findings of his empirical
study into incorporating HRE into formal school curricula, further observes that it is only when learners become ‘aware of the conflicts generated as a result of the contradictions between a discourse of respect for human rights and the school, family and social realities where they are violated’ that they will acquire true human rights ‘knowledge’.155
The overlap with education through and for human rights is therefore significant, for if learners are unable to recognise an issue as one involving a denial of rights, then what use is the fostering of rights respecting learning environments and empowerment? These processes cannot contribute to the building of a broader human rights culture if learners are ill-equipped with the knowledge necessary to recognise a human rights issue in the first place.
Human rights are therefore ‘more than content, as they are suffused with values, conflicts and ideals’.156 The provision of education about human rights thus further
requires that learners are equipped with an understanding of the values that lie at their root. Indeed, this is an express requirement of the tripartite framework as formulated in UNDHRET. What UNDHRET does not do, however, is explain the nature of these underlying values, and this is in fact a rather difficult task. The international framework provides little by way of guidance: the instruments themselves do not explicate what constitutes a human rights value, and scant further guidance can be gleaned from accompanying explanatory documents.
Only a suggested reasonable interpretation based upon the content of the instruments and accompanying guidance can be offered. It was through such
153 Wade, R.C., ‘Conceptual Change in Elementary Social Studies: A Case Study of Fourth Graders’
Understanding of Human Rights’ (1994) 22(1) Theory and Research in Social Education 74-95 at 85; see also Henry, C.P., ‘Educating for Human Rights’ (1991) 13 Human Rights Quarterly 420-423 at 421.
154 Howe & Covell, Empowering Children (n 20) 33; see also Hart, R.A., Children’s Participation: From
Tokenism to Citizenship (UNICEF Innocenti Essays No.4, 1992) at 6.
155 Magendzo, A., ‘Tensions and Dilemmas About Education in Human Rights in Democracy’ (1994)
23(3) Journal of Moral Education 251-259 at 253.
interpretation that the values referred to in the quantitative survey for this research were arrived at: equality, justice, non-discrimination, dignity, freedom, fairness, tolerance, respect for others and solidarity. Perhaps with the exception of solidarity, 157 these values are commonly found within key human rights
instruments.158 Article 29(1) of the UNCRC promotes the values of respect,
tolerance and equality; Article 13(1) of the ICESCR mandates education addressing dignity, respect, freedom and tolerance; and Article 4 of UNDHRET emphasises the importance of respect, freedom, tolerance, non-discrimination and equality.159
Audrey Osler also identifies non-discrimination, mutual respect and tolerance as the principles ‘of the UN, as specified in the UN Charter and UDHR’,160 and François
Audigier suggests that human rights values are centred on freedom, equality and solidarity.161 Teresa Ravazzolo, too, deems dignity, equality, justice and solidarity to
be human rights principles.162
These values have also been identified within explanatory documents accompanying the international instruments. In General Comment No. 1, for example, the Committee on the Rights of the Child elaborates upon the requirements of Article 29(1) of the UNCRC by emphasising that education in this area should promote a culture infused with appropriate human rights values.163 Whilst the document does
not specifically clarify the nature of these values, it does state that the Article protects ‘the core value of the Convention: the human dignity innate in every child’,164 and
157 Solidarity is, however, included within the preamble to the UNCRC, which states that children
should be fully prepared to live ‘in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity’, and is one of the central components (along with dignity, freedoms, equality, citizens’ rights and justice) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2012/C 326/02 at Title IV, Articles 27-38). It is also a concept that is frequently referenced in the academic scholarship as an important human rights value: see e.g. Brabeck & Rogers (n 150) at 173; Fritzsche (n 4) at 164; UNESCO, ‘Integrated Framework’ (n 65) at 5, para 3.2; & Osler, A., ‘Human Rights Education, Postcolonial Scholarship, and Action for Social Justice’ (2015) 43(2) Theory & Research in Social Education 244-274 at 250.
158 See Appendix 1 for the prevalence of the listed survey values within the UDHR, the core human
rights instruments and UNDHRET.
159 The World Programme also emphasised the importance of tolerance and equality: see UN General
Assembly, ‘Revised Draft Plan of Action for the First Phase (2005-2007) of the World Programme for Human Rights Education’ (2005) (A/59/525/Rev.1) at para 3.
160 Osler, A., ‘Children’s Rights, Responsibilities and Understandings of School Discipline’ (2000)
15(1) Research Papers in Education 49-67 at 56.
161 Audigier, F., Basic Concepts and Core Competencies for Education for Democratic Citizenship (Council of
Europe, Strasbourg 2000) (DGIV/EDU/CIT (2000) 23) at 22.
162 Ravazzolo, T., ‘Human Rights and Citizenship’ in Osler, A., H. Rathenow & H. Starkey, Teaching for
Citizenship in Europe (Trentham Books, Stoke-on-Trent 1995) 15-22 at 18.
163 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, ‘General Comment No.1’ (n 22) at 2, para 2. 164 Ibid at 2, para 1.
further refers to the importance of promoting respect for differences, non- discrimination and tolerance.165
Other explanatory documents similarly restate and emphasise the importance of the values included within the main instruments and initiatives, without further discussion of their meanings. In General Comment No. 13: Implementation of the ICESCR, for example, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights highlights the importance of dignity and freedom when discussing the aims of education,166 but provides no further clarification on the nature of the values
underpinning human rights. And whilst the draft documents preceding UNDHRET’s adoption in 2011 discussed various aspects of the scope and application of HRE,167 they did not elucidate the meaning of ‘the values that
underpin’ human rights as expressed within the final wording of Article 2(2)(a) on education about human rights.
The international framework is thus vague on values. Some suggestion is offered within the instruments and accompanying guidance as to the meaning and nature of the values underlying human rights, but there is not enough information to reach a definitive conclusion. Only a reasonable interpretation can therefore be offered on the basis of the scant information that is provided and, as will be suggested throughout this thesis, the ambiguity surrounding human rights values may contribute to problems in educational practice.
The requirements for the provision of effective education about human rights are thus ostensibly both comprehensive and complex. And they are furthermore applicable at each level of formal education, including within primary schooling. It seems reasonable to suggest that a basic understanding of human rights, together with their governing legal documents, protection mechanisms and underlying values, provides the foundation upon which additional elements of HRE ought to be built.168
165 Ibid at 3, para 4 and 5, para 11.
166 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ‘General Comment No. 13’ (n 49) at 2,
para 4.
167 See e.g. UN Human Rights Council, ‘Working Paper on the Draft Declaration’ (n 18) at 9-11. 168 Howe & Covell, Empowering Children (n 20) 30; see also UNESCO, ‘Contemporary Issues in Human
Rights’ (2011) at 52; Hopkins, K., ‘Amnesty International’s Methods of Engaging Youth in Human Rights Education: Curriculum in the United States and Experiential Learning in Burkina Faso’ (2011)
These further elements seek to locate HRE within a culturally and contextually relevant setting by enabling learners to see how human rights are relevant and applicable to their own lives.