Teaching Human Rights

Human rights are those requirements that allow us to develop to the fullest extent and satisfy our basic human needs. They are ideals based on humanity’s increasing and persistent demand for dignity, respect, justice, protection and freedom for decent human existence. Concern for human rights has emerged as a central issue for humankind due to the activities of international organisations, to the intense focus of the media on human rights, the magnitude of human rights violations in the world today, and to increased awareness of human rights by peoples all over the world. The need for human rights education has been emphasised in the Universal declaration of human rights and other international documents and treaties. A growing consensus holds that human rights education can both help and reduce human rights violations and contribute to building free, just and peaceful societies. This handbook provides a framework to help teacher educators to begin with their students an exploration of a wide variety of issues inherent in the teaching of human rights.