Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/71 United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education

The Commission on Human Rights,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Reaffirming article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in accordance with which education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Recalling the provisions of other international human rights instruments, including article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which reflect the aims of the aforementioned article,
Taking into account its resolution 1993/56 of 9 March 1993, in which the Commission recommended that knowledge of human rights, both in its theoretical dimension and in its practical application, should be established as a priority in education policies,
Believing that every woman, man and child, to realize their full human potential, must be made aware of all their human rights, civil, cultural, economic, political and social,
Believing also that human rights education constitutes an important vehicle for the elimination of gender-based discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities through the promotion and protection of the human rights of women,
Convinced that human rights education should involve more than the provision of information and should constitute a comprehensive lifelong process by which people at all levels of development and in all societies learn respect for the dignity of others and the means and methods of ensuring that respect in all societies,
Convinced also that human rights education and information contribute to a concept of development consistent with the dignity of women and men of all ages which takes into account particularly vulnerable segments of society such as children, youth, older persons, indigenous people, minorities, rural and urban poor, migrant workers, refugees, persons with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome infection and disabled persons,
Bearing in mind the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in June 1993 (A/CONF.157/23), in particular Part II, paragraphs 78 to 82, thereof,
Recalling the responsibility of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to coordinate relevant United Nations education and public information programmes in the field of human rights,
Recalling also General Assembly resolution 49/184 of 23 December 1994, in which the Assembly proclaimed the 10-year period beginning on 1 January 1995 the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, welcomed the Plan of Action for the Decade (A/51/506/Add.1, appendix), and requested the High Commissioner to coordinate the implementation of the Plan of Action,
Noting General Assembly resolution 54/161 of 17 December 1999, in which the Assembly urged all Governments to contribute further to the implementation of the Plan of Action, in particular by establishing, in accordance with national conditions, broadly representative national committees for human rights education responsible for the development of comprehensive, effective and sustainable national plans of action for human rights education and information,
Bearing in mind that, according to the Plan of Action for the Decade, during the year 2000 a mid-term global evaluation of progress made towards the achievement of the objectives of the Decade shall be undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in cooperation with all other principal actors of the Decade, and that the High Commissioner shall report to the General Assembly on the results of the evaluation,
Welcoming the initiative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to launch the second phase of the project "Assisting Communities Together", supported by voluntary funds and designed to provide small grants to grass-roots and local organizations carrying out practical human rights activities,
1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Plan of Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, 1995-2004 (E/CN.4/2000/93);
2. Welcomes the steps taken by Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to implement the Plan of Action as indicated in the report of the Secretary-General;
3. Urges Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to contribute to the mid-term global evaluation of progress made towards the achievement of the objectives of the Decade to be undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner in 2000, by providing appropriate information on steps taken in this regard;
4. Urges all Governments to contribute further to the implementation of the Plan of Action, in particular by establishing, in accordance with national conditions, broadly representative national committees for human rights education responsible for the development of comprehensive, effective and sustainable national plans of action for human rights education and information, complementary to other national plans of action already defined (such as general human rights plans of action or those relating to women, minorities and indigenous issues), in accordance with the guidelines for national plans of action for human rights education (A/52/469/Add.1 and Corr.1);
5. Also urges Governments to encourage, support and involve national and local non-governmental and community-based organizations in the implementation of their national plans of action;
6. Encourages Governments to consider, within the national plans of action mentioned above, the establishment of public access human rights resource and training centres capable of engaging in research, the gender-sensitive training of trainers, the preparation, collection, translation and dissemination of human rights education and training materials, the organization of courses, conferences, workshops and public information campaigns and assistance in the implementation of internationally sponsored technical cooperation projects for human rights education and public information;
7. Also encourages Governments, where such national public access human rights resource and training centres already exist, to strengthen their capacity to support human rights education and public information programmes at the international, national, regional and local levels;
8. Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to support national capacities for human rights education and information through its technical cooperation programme in the field of human rights, including the organization of training courses and the development of targeted training materials for professional audiences, as well as the dissemination of human rights information materials as a component of technical cooperation projects;
9. Also encourages the Office of the High Commissioner to further develop its Web site, in particular with respect to the dissemination of human rights education materials and tools;
10. Requests the High Commissioner to continue implementation of and to expand the "Assisting Communities Together" project and to consider other appropriate ways and means to support human rights education activities, including those undertaken by non-governmental organizations;
11. Encourages Governments to support further through voluntary contributions the education and public information efforts undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner in the framework of the Decade;
12. Requests human rights treaty-monitoring bodies to consider adopting a general comment on human rights education and to place emphasis, when examining reports of States parties, on the obligations of States parties in the area of human rights education and information, and to reflect this emphasis in their concluding observations;
13. Invites the specialized agencies, especially the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and relevant United Nations programmes and funds to contribute, within their respective spheres of competence, to the implementation of the Plan of Action and to cooperate closely with the Office of the High Commissioner in that regard;
14. Urges the relevant organs, bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, all human rights bodies of the United Nations system, as well as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to provide training in the human rights of women for all United Nations personnel and officials;
15. Calls upon international, regional and national non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations, in particular those concerned with women, labour, development, food, housing, education, health care and the environment, as well as all other social justice groups, human rights advocates, educators, religious organizations and the media, to undertake specific activities of formal, non-formal and informal education, including cultural events, alone and in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in implementing the Plan of Action;
16. Requests the Secretary-General, through the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to submit to the Commission the recommendations of the mid-term global evaluation report to be presented by the High Commissioner to the General Assembly;
17. Decides to continue consideration of the question of human rights education at its
fifty-seventh session under the same agenda item.

66th meeting
26 April 2000

[Adopted without a vote. ]