It's Time to Teach Human Rights

Sixty years ago the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Framed by the Human Rights Commission chaired by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the declaration upheld that lasting global peace and security depended on the recognition of the basic equality of all persons. The 30 articles in this declaration constitute the first global compact that recognizes the interdependence of individuals and nations across the globe in their work to achieve these rights as a cornerstone of global civility and peace.

As a result of the power of this visionary concept, and of the leadership of the global institutions that were created to work on behalf of those rights, the world changed dramatically in the subsequent 60 years. For example, because of article 23, which defines the universal right to education, most children around the world who did not have the opportunity to enroll in a school prior to 1948 gained such access as UNESCO mobilized governments and international institutions to support the most dramatic educational expansion in the history of humanity.

Human rights have become increasingly important as a moral compass to help negotiate differences in this flat world. Understanding human rights is an essential component of global competency.

Helping students develop global competency is vital, so they can invent a future that appropriately addresses the global challenges. Whether these are the challenges of collectively improving the living conditions of the global poor, of achieving sustainable forms of human environmental interaction, of addressing health epidemics, or of creating the conditions for lasting peace and security, few schools around the world today are equipping students with the skills and habits of mind necessary to collaborate with others across national boundaries. These are, without a doubt, complex issues and their resolution can involve multiple options, some controversial. Preparing students to deal with such complexity is at the heart of global education, absent today in most schools around the world.

The development of global values can be achieved by drawing on the well-established knowledge base in human rights education, to discern how they are upheld, and by teaching students to value these rights and to act toward the achievement of these rights.

Beyond direct instruction, the context of education is a fundamental component of global citizenship education. This includes the opportunities students have to get to know and collaborate with others of diverse cultural, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds; the climate in the school regarding relationships among staff, students, parents, and other members of the community; and the social norms that govern those interactions. Only in this context can students learn to appreciate human rights, not just to know them.

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of one of the most remarkable creations in human history, let us teach human rights so that our students can indeed, as stated in the first sentence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, understand that respect for human rights and human dignity "is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world."

-- Professor Fernando Reimers directs the International Education Policy Program at the school and cochairs the Global Education Advisory Board within the Massachusetts Department of Education.

photo by Tanit Sakakini