Why Human
Rights Education?
HUMAN RIGHTS
EDUCATION declares a commitment
to those human rights expressed
in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights of 1948, the UN Covenants,
and the United States Bill of
Rights. It asserts the responsibility
to respect, protect, and promote
the rights of all people.
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION promotes
democratic principles. It examines human rights issues without
bias and from diverse perspectives through a variety of
educational practices.
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION helps
to develop the communication skills and informed critical
thinking essential to a democracy. It provides multicultural
and historical perspectives on the universal struggle for
justice and dignity.
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION engages
the heart as well as the mind. It challenges students to
ask what human rights mean to them personally and encourages
them to translate caring into informed, nonviolent action.
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION affirms
the interdependence of the human family. It promotes understanding
of the complex global forces that create abuses, as well
as the ways in which abuses can be abolished and avoided.
Human Rights Educators Network
Amnesty International USA
January 1991