“The United Nations Human Rights Council, composed of 47 member states, is the principal body of the United Nations responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights throughout the world, as mandated by the UN General Assembly. At the time of the creation of the Council in 2006, it was already clear to the international community that human rights education should be one of the priorities of this new body,” said the Chairman of the UN Rights Council in his video message to the participants of the Global Forum on Human Rights Education human Federico Villegas.

He shared his historical perspective on human rights education.

“We are living through three world-defining events: the effects of a pandemic, climate change and a war in the heart of Europe with global implications. All of these events affect human rights, but a human rights approach is also the best way to overcome these events and prevent them from happening again in the future. The answer to this question is strong human rights norms and institutions for conflict prevention.”

“What better way than human rights education to recognize the value of diversity, enrich society and prevent conflict? What could be better than human rights education to protect the rights of the most vulnerable and achieve sustainable development? What could be better than education in the field of human rights to restore the social fabric of society after conflict and prevent conflicts?”, - said the President of the UN Human Rights Council.

Federico Villegas also welcomed the high representation at the Global Forum in Samarkand of “many important stakeholders, decision makers, practitioners, academics and civil society representatives from Central Asia and beyond, as well as staff from the UN and other intergovernmental organizations.”

Press service of the National Human Rights
Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan