- 5
- Dec
Implementation of international instruments on human rights education: best practices, challenges and prospects
On the first day of the plenary session of the Global Forum "Education in the field of Human Rights", which began its work on December 5 in Samarkand, the UN Declaration on Education and Training in the Field of Human Rights and the processes of implementation of the UN World Education Program in the Field of Human Rights since 2005 were discussed.
Principles and approaches to effective human rights education were discussed in detail. Also, taking into account contemporary problems, the development of technologies in the field of human rights education in different regions of the world and the achievements, lessons and conclusions in the same field were analyzed.
The first session dedicated to the global approach to this topic was attended by the regional representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Human Rights Education in Central Asia v.b. Fabio Piana moderated.
In the context of the reforms related to the establishment of New Uzbekistan, the principle that "a person, his rights, freedoms, especially his value, is the most important value" is being recognized in our country. In this regard, the principle of "state-society-man", which has been in effect for years, was changed to the principle of "human being-society-state" in the development strategy of New Uzbekistan.
Education in the field of human rights is one of the priorities of the state policy on the formation of human rights culture in Uzbekistan. This is clearly confirmed by the adoption by the Oliy Majlis of the National Action Program on the implementation of the provisions of the UN Declaration on Education and Training in the field of Human Rights in 2019, and the fact that the "Roadmap" for the implementation of this National Action Program was fully completed by December 2021.
Also, within the framework of the National Strategy of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Human Rights, the task of introducing training courses on human rights for higher educational institutions is defined. Work in this regard continues consistently.
In accordance with the Decree of the President of Uzbekistan dated June 7, 2021, the National Commission for the implementation of the fourth stage of the World Education Program in the field of human rights was established in the Republic of Uzbekistan. At the same time, the project of the National Education Program in the field of Human Rights was developed with the participation of the members of the National Commission.
On the other hand, Elena Ippoliti, coordinator of the Human Rights Education and Training Department of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, analyzed the state of implementation of the UN's initiatives in the field of human rights education on a global scale, while Devendra Kumar Singh, Secretary General of the National Human Rights Commission of India, in the field of human rights made a report on the achievements, existing problems and prospects in the implementation of the declaration on education and upbringing.
Paulina Tandiono, a junior employee of the Department of Education and Training in the field of Human Rights of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights observed the implementation of the fourth phase of the UN World Education Program in the field of Human Rights in 2020-2024. The next session of the Global Forum looked at regional approaches to human rights education. This session was moderated by Mirzatillo Tillaboev, the first deputy director of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
American Councils on International Education President and CEO David Patton - Perspectives on Expanding Access to International Education Eva Pastrana, Head of Justice and Human Rights Education at the Council of Europe Online - A European Approach to Human Rights Education Human Rights at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation the chairman of the independent permanent commission, Khoji Ali Achikgyul, reflected on the attitude of the international organization he belongs to in this field. Also, the leading researcher of the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center, Jefferson Plantilla, spoke online about the exemplary experiences gained in the field of human rights education in this region.
Valery Fadeev, chairman of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights under the President of Russia, interpreted the main documents of the UN in the field of human rights from the point of view of modernity.
In addition, on the first day of the Global Forum, parallel sessions were held in different halls on the topic "Principles and approaches of formal education in the field of human rights: global, regional and national experience". Taking into account the development of technologies, Internet resources and the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape of the world, best practices, innovative, gender and inclusive approaches to formal and informal education in the field of human rights were discussed, and new initiatives in the same direction were presented.
In particular, in the 1st parallel session, the principles of education in the field of human rights for children and youth, approaches and modern threats were analyzed. Experts focused on discussing the impact of modern technologies, the Internet, and the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape of the world on the young generation.
What are the principles of human rights education in higher education institutions, the approach and modern threats? During the 2nd parallel session, the participants of the global forum focused on the same topic, focusing on the risks related to the coronavirus pandemic, technology development, Internet resources and geopolitics.
Also, in the 3rd parallel session, the issue of providing education in the field of human rights for representatives of the legal profession - judges, prosecutors and lawyers was discussed. The existing principles and approaches in this regard were studied in different countries of the world.
The work of the last, i.e. 4th parallel session, was dedicated to providing non-formal education in the field of human rights for civil society. In this process, it was emphasized that it is necessary to take into account issues such as gender equality, inclusion, and migration.
The speakers of all parallel sessions openly shared their experiences of using online and offline teaching methods, as well as the results achieved and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the results of the discussion, the groups developed recommendations for inclusion in the final document of the global forum "Samarkand Action Plan for the Development of Human Rights Education (2023-2025)".