Human Rights Education at Curtin University: The Interconnectionsof Education, Research and Advocacy
Caroline Fleay* and Linda Briskman**In this paper, we discuss the human rights education program provided by the Centre for Human Rights Education (chre) at Curtin
University in Perth, Australia. Although we are providing an overview of
the curriculum and the pedagogical processes, we also focus on the broader
purposes of human rights education in creating awareness that contributes
to social change. Drawing on policy examples from Australia, the interconnections of education, research and advocacy in tertiary education will be
explored.
Human Rights Education in Australia
Human rights education is often portrayed as a means of rectifying all thatis evil in society through its focus on communicating the importance ofhuman rights to the populace. Indeed, human rights education may well
be able to engage members of society on the important issue of how weshould treat one another, and promote a human rights framework as theguide to this treatment. However, for human rights education believers likeourselves, the road is a hard one and what we do within the cloisters of an
academic environment is only part of the solution. Although we focus inthis paper on prospects, there are barriers to human rights education fromoutside and within the academy.
One of the biggest problems, and this does not just include theAustralian context, is that there is not much value given to human rights
per se. Despite Australia having ratified most of the international humanrights treaties, little of the contents of these treaties have been enshrined inAustralian law. There is also the common assumption that given Australia’s
democratic system of government, it must be a strong protector of human*Lecturer, Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
**Director, Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i crights. But in many spheres we do not adhere to international human rights
norms, including realizing the rights of Indigenous peoples and asylum
seekers (Fleay 2010). One only has to hear the robust debates of the humanrights students at Curtin University to know that all is not well in Australiansociety.
Reflecting some community concerns that a greater focus on humanrights was needed in Australia, in 2009 the federal government ran a robust
consultation to establish the level of community support for introducing human rights legislation. Indeed, the level of support from those who participated in the consultation was relatively high but the government eventually
announced that it would not introduce a charter of human rights, causing
disappointment to many advocates. This means Australia stands out as the
only western country without human rights legislation. To have had a humanrights charter would have provided greater hope that human rights thinking
would develop across areas of concern in Australian society. However, thefederal government did announce an intention to introduce greater legislative scrutiny for compliance with Australia’s international human rights
obligations (Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department 2010)
The government also announced investment would be made into humanrights education, with A$12.4 million to be spent on programs to support
such education in primary and secondary schools, the community, and theCommonwealth public sector (Gillard and McClelland 2010). As the former
Australian Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, declared:
The Consultation Committee’s report noted that: “Humanrights can be protected and promoted effectively only if an understanding of and commitment to human rights have becomea part of everyday life for all in the community.” That is why weare…investing over $12 million in a comprehensive suite of education initiatives to promote a greater understanding of humanrights across the nation (Gillard 2010).
While falling short of government support for human rights legislation,
this support for legislative review and human rights education is at least
some development towards a greater national focus on human rights. But
it remains to be seen how this proceeds, and the impact this emphasis on
human rights education will have on community education programs, thepublic sector, and primary, secondary and tertiary education curriculums.

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This is the national context within which the chre at Curtin University
operates. We now turn to the work of the chre to explain our approach tohuman rights education.
CHRE: Curriculum and Pedagogical Framework
Human rights is a powerful framework for engaging with the world as it
articulates a utopian vision on how human beings ought to treat each other. Tertiary education can help to both promote, as well as critique, such aframework by engaging with students on human rights in a dialogical manner. In Australian universities we have seen some ad hoc developments ofhuman rights education programs. Some are located in law faculties while a
few others (including at Curtin University, University of Sydney and rmit)
have developed from a multi-disciplinary paradigm.
The chre at Curtin University was established in 2003 to conduct research, education and advocacy in human rights. Since this time, the chre
has engaged in education in its broadest sense, including community education, public sector consultancy and education, raising awareness about particular human rights issues, promoting understanding and debate aroundhuman rights issues, as well as education in the more formal setting of theuniversity. At the university level, the chre offers postgraduate courseworkdegrees in human rights, as well as a Masters by Research and PhD program. The chre is multi-disciplinary, drawing on research and expertisefrom disciplines and professions such as philosophy, political science, sociology, education, health sciences, social work, law, international relations,
psychology, anthropology, business and media studies. Much of the workof the chre also seeks to bridge the gap between scholarship and practice,a gap that has too often inhibited the effectiveness of both. A major focus is
to develop a sound theoretical and conceptual base for human rights practice and education, as well as undertaking research and scholarship that isgrounded in the reality of practice and people’s day-to-day experience ofhuman rights.
Accordingly, the curriculum offered by chre reflects a commitment to:• The achievement, protection and promotion of human rights;• The promotion of multi-disciplinary understandings of humanrights;228•

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The promotion of dialogue across communities, cultures, nations
and religions about human rights;• Engaging in teaching, research, consultancy and community education to realize these commitments.
We have developed a scheme to guide our education endeavours, reflecting various levels of engagement in human rights (Briskman and Fiske
2008).
First we engage students in a philosophical reflection on human rights.
We explore human rights ideas that have developed over centuries in orderto provoke students and others to think beyond their own contexts. Throughcritical reflection, students engage with such questions as whether we canconsider that human beings have certain rights, such as the freedoms ofthought and conscience and rights to adequate food, clean water and shelter,
and where these rights might stem from.
Next we explore an understanding of the political aspects of humanrights thinking, acknowledging that the causes and solutions of most humanrights issues stem from the political realm. This is beyond an understandingof party politics and instead delves into the heart of ideological beliefs andhow they are played out in politics, including those areas where there are themost rugged critiques of governments such as anti-terror laws, Indigenous
rights and asylum seeker rights in Australia.
An understanding of history is also explored. This includes, for example, understanding how the United Nations was established and how the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights came into existence, as well as theinternational human rights conventions that followed. Understandings ofthe Holocaust, the World Wars and Cold War politics are interrogated aspart of this examination. Closer to home in Australia, an understanding of
the impact of colonization on Indigenous peoples and how the Indigenous
rights and land justice movements evolved is focused on.
Then there are what might be termed anthropological questions investigated to seek out human rights perspectives and approaches from a
non-western worldview. Human rights are often seen as western constructs
with a neo-colonial agenda with little regard that human rights are vested inmany cultures and religions. Debates about universal constructions of human rights (same rights for all) as opposed to cultural relativist approaches
are explored here. This includes encouraging students to engage in contentious debates, such as those in relation to the wearing of the burqa and fe-Human Rights Education at Curtin University229

male circumcision, to develop an appreciation of multiple perspectives andto go beyond the public debates on these issues that are often polemical andunreflective.
Human rights from a legal perspective is also examined, highlighting
the development of international and domestic human rights institutions
and instruments, their prospects and limitations. This includes gaining an
understanding of the role of non-governmental organizations in the United
Nations system to demonstrate how actors other than states can contributeto human rights deliberations.
Finally, there is an emphasis on the practical throughout the chre curriculum where students are encouraged to not only understand the world
through theory, but to contemplate ways to change it. Human rights spans
both theory and practice. This approach recognizes students as change
agents and throughout the courses offered by the chre they have opportunities to engage in practice-based ways that may include theater production, media involvement or immersing themselves in a human rights campaign. For example, some students work with chre staff on a human rights
advocacy project that seeks to raise the awareness of Australian Membersof Parliament regarding gender violence, and promote the adoption of a
National Plan of Action to stop violence against women. Other students
choose to complete an internship as the final project component of the
Master of Human Rights, engaging in human rights work in the field in avariety of organizations.
The curriculum of our postgraduate courses in human rights reflects allof the above. Units are offered in human rights theory and philosophy, andhuman rights across cultures and religions, to explore a wide range of approaches to human rights as well as the major debates within the discourse.
Particular aspects of human rights theory and practice are explored in units
on human rights and development, community education and consciousness raising, human rights activism and advocacy, and human rights instruments and institutions. (See Box 1: Master of Human Rights Coursework
Units). For the Master of Human Rights, the final component of the program is project-based where students can opt to complete a dissertation, oran internship with a human rights organization.

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Box 1: Master of Human Rights Coursework Units
Human Rights Theory and Philosophy
This unit begins with a general discussion of what we mean by humanrights, followed by an examination of the foundations of conventional humanrights discourse in western philosophy. The unit then examines the developmentof the post-Holocaust human rights tradition, in particular the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and some contemporary human rights perspectives
including human rights norms and regimes and socialization theories. Critiquesof universalism are also explored from the cultural relativist, postmodern,postcolonial and feminist perspectives.
Community Education and Consciousness RaisingThis unit looks at education’s potential power to transform both personaland social-political realities. It looks at education as a tool for changing deeply
held (and sometimes denied) prejudices such as racism, sexism or homophobia.
It covers theories and examples of consciousness-raising, dialogue and nontraditional community education; techniques which can be used in working with
community groups; and theater, storytelling, problem posing education, criticalpedagogy, sentimental education, dialogue and other methods.
Human Rights and Development
This unit explores development by critiquing dominant models of economic
development and exploring the relationship of human rights to development
issues and development practice. It also focuses on colonialism and anticolonialist practice; human rights abuses of Indigenous populations in thename of “development”; Indigenous understandings of human rights andIndigenous challenges to colonialist development; human rights, development
and environmental issues; gender and development; and the role of international
financial institutions in development.
Human Rights History Across Cultures and Religions
This unit provides an overview of the development of the idea of humanrights and related concepts in a range of cultures and religions. Topics covered
include the Enlightenment tradition and human rights; non-western traditionsof human rights; the debate about cultural relativism; the role and practice ofHuman Rights Education at Curtin University

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dialogue; ideas of human rights in different religious traditions; colonialism andhuman rights; Indigenous understandings of human rights and perspectives onhuman rights protection, practice and education; and human rights in the context
of globalization.
Human Rights Instruments and Institutions
This unit covers human rights treaties, conventions and declarations; therole of the UN, international law, and national law in defining, protecting andupholding human rights; the recognition of Indigenous rights, racial and ethnic
minorities, women’s rights, and rights of other groups; the investigation andreporting of human rights abuses; tribunals, truth commissions, etc; and the roleof non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as domestic NGOs, Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Activism, Advocacy and ChangeThis unit explores the role of social movements and advocacy groups inbringing about change. It covers theories looking at power, identity politics,
social movement theory, post colonial theories and others as well as exploring
specific movements and methods such as Gandhi’s non-violence and satyagraha
campaigns, Fanon and the Algerian independence movement, the US civil rights
struggle, Indigenous people’s struggles for recognition and land, trade unions andwomen’s movements. It also looks at political lobbying, monitoring, letter writing
and other strategies.
Human Rights Issues – two optional units
These units cover one or more specific human rights issues and the issue(s)chosen for study will vary from year to year. Issues which may be covered
include: refugees, Indigenous rights, women’s rights, environmental rights, world
poverty, children’s rights, labor rights, prisons, rights of people with disabilities,
aged care, etc.

A dialogical approach is adopted in the classroom for all of these units.
Individual and collaborative learning (both students and lecturers) emerges
through group discussions, engagement in case studies and role plays. This
recognizes the high level of motivation of postgraduate students to partici-

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cpate in their learning, as well as the rich experiences of many of the students in the human rights field. Students are expected to prepare for classes
by reading appropriate academic and non-academic literature in relation
to weekly topics, encouraging them to go beyond their existing perceptions and knowledge of particular human rights issues even prior to classes.
Students are also encouraged to participate, and are assessed, both verballyin class presentations as well as through their written explorations of particular topics. Half of the program units are also now offered online, providing
a challenge to the chre to engage distance education students at the levelthat internal students engage in the learning process. From 2011 all of thechre’s human rights programs will be available online.
chre lecturers all engage in both the theory and practice of humanrights and are experienced educators. All are also engaged in ongoing human rights activism and advocacy. This reflects a shared belief that we should
not just rest on the laurels of our formal postgraduate degree programs, but
extend this to embrace contributions through research, advocacy, activism
and public engagement, particularly with the media. In addition, we provide
guest lectures to other Curtin University programs, and regularly employ
guest lecturers with expertise in particular aspects of human rights to further engage and promote the knowledge base of the students in our own
programs.
What is important to us is that human rights education is not passive.
Although it is important to have the foundations of human rights coveredat a theoretical level, the main benefit from our perspective is what we inthe university sector can contribute to the creation of just societies. Part ofthis is exposing human rights abuses and providing an educational programthat supports students who seek to be policy and civil society activists. As anumber of students commented upon completing their studies:
The Master of Human Rights course has given me the opportunity to not only become more aware of human rights issues, but to develop skills to be able to do something about it!
When you have a desire to make change finding an academic ‘home’ is not easy. Curtin’s Master of Human Rights not
only provided a home, it provided a framework for all those‘good ideas’ that sound fine over red wine but lack substance inpractice.

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Thus formal education within this framework is seen here as both an
intellectual and transformative approach (Evans 2006).
Our own human rights education program brings together experienced
students (for both our postgraduate coursework degrees and the Masters by
Research and PhD program) from Australia and abroad. Many have worked
in organizations that are involved in human rights, and others wish to doso. Our programs are framed around respectful dialogue, recognizing that
we all learn from one another, students and lecturers alike. If there are twothings we identify for tertiary students to gain while they are with us, apartfrom the academic content, it is how to engage in respectful but persuasive
dialogue and how to be effective activists from both inside and outside organizational structures.
Beyond the Classroom
The formal side of education—what we teach, who we teach and how weteach—is only one part of the chre’s human rights work. When our Centre
was reviewed in 2008, we were delighted that the external reviewer praised
us for three levels of activity—teaching, research and activism—acknowledging the importance of an engagement in human rights beyond theclassroom.
One of the most important aspects of human rights education is giving
people the courage to work towards change, even though for some it canbe a risky business. Human rights educators need to be actively engaged inworking towards change and to be role models to those we want to take withus. The chre has actively participated in a range of human rights projects
to this end. Ongoing research is conducted by the chre into the treatmentof asylum seekers and refugees in Australia, including the mandatory detention of asylum seekers who arrive by boat. This research has informed agreat level of chre engagement with the media and general public to raiseawareness around these issues, as well as the lobbying of government. chre
advocacy has also supported calls for stopping violence against womenin Australia through commencing a lobbying project aimed at educating
Members of Parliament about this issue, and bringing about the adoptionof a National Plan of Action to stop this violence. In addition, the chreis involved with the disability rights movement both locally and nationally,
challenging new forms of welfare governance that are increasingly puni-

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i ctive, especially for women with disabilities. Working with a diverse rangeof disability civil society groups, the chre has supported the developmentof policy submissions to national inquiries into disability and immigration,and disability support. The Centre has also helped to found the AustralianSociological Association–Critical Disability Studies group to ensure thesehuman rights issues are captured within research agendas across Australia.
The activism of students, both past and present, continues to be a sourceof inspiration to chre staff. International students often arrive having had
considerable experience as human rights advocates in their own countries
and return after their studies to continue their work, sometimes at great risk
to themselves. Similarly, local students often bring to the classroom theirexperiences in human rights work both here and overseas. Some students
commence employment with international and national organizations after
their studies with us, equipped with a human rights framework that they
proceed to apply to their work. What is clear from many of our students isthe ongoing collaborations they enjoy with their former classmates. As aformer student remarked,
working towards a more peaceful and just world can sometimes
feel like a lonely journey. I found the connections I made, andthe encouragement I received enabled me to continue this workwith renewed hope and even excitement!
For example, in Perth a number of former students continue to work in
the feminist collective they established while studying at the chre. In thissense, the chre human rights programs provide the space for the development of new human rights collectives, helping to further the growth of ahuman rights culture in Australia and beyond.
Contributing to a Human Rights Culture
Developing a human rights culture in Australian society is a tall order, especially without legislation to back up this activity. Despite this limitation,
there are a few priority areas that need the engagement of human rights educators. The first is the professions where there is a need to ensure that professional practice is consistent with a human rights framework. Althoughmost people would think there was such compliance there are examples toshow this is not the case. For example, the complicity of doctors in the Nazi

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regime in Germany is well known (Kater 1989). A lesser known example isthe complicity of health professionals in immigration detention practices inAustralia, including force-feeding and the use of chemical constraints fordeportation (Briskman et al 2010).
Social work is one profession that operates in controlled settings where
people have their rights stripped away – such as child protection, criminal
justice and mental health systems. Human rights educators have a role toplay in professional development in the crafting of professional codes of ethics and in encouraging critically reflective practice as one way of fosteringchange (Nipperess and Briskman 2009). One of the chre’s PhD projects is
actively engaged in such an endeavour in relation to social work.
Organizations are where human rights educators can play another role.
In Victoria (as in the Australian Capital Territory), unlike at the national level, there is a charter of human rights and all public authorities are required
to comply with its provisions in law and in practice. Thanks to the vision of
Mmaskape Sejoe, who heads the Human Rights Unit at the Victoria Police,
there have been endeavours to move beyond the legal framework to enabling
the police to see how the development of a human rights culture can produce human rights compliance. Through the chre’s educational programswith the Victorian Police, we have observed marked shifts in the approachof participants in courses who grapple with issues as far-flung as traffic offences, police cell practices and multicultural approaches. The chre also
hosts regular public events on human rights issues, helping to raise public awareness of these issues and contributing to a better informed humanrights community. To date in 2010 these events have highlighted the abusesof women in Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, and Australia, the debatesaround the human rights consultation process in Australia, the treatmentof asylum seekers and refugees, the engagement of the resources sector inhuman rights, and transnational activism in relation to China, Okinawa
and Guam. These events are often collaborative exercises with other human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, asylum seeker andrefugee support agencies, and other Curtin University schools.
Further Contributions to Social and Political Change
Influencing government is perhaps the key way to foster social and politicalchange but this is the hardest to achieve especially when we position our-236

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cselves as activist scholars, research activists or policy activists. It is important that human rights educators have a strong knowledge and experiential
base if they do not want their views discredited. One example in relation
to the chre is asylum seeker advocacy. From 2005 to 2008 our Centre wasinvolved with the Australian Council of Heads of Schools of Social Workin the convening of the People’s Inquiry into Detention which produced
Human Rights Overboard: Seeking Asylum in Australia (Briskman, Lathamand Goddard 2008). This activity took some courage as we did not have any
authority to conduct this citizen’s inquiry except by virtue of being citizens
of a democratic nation. From this project, we amassed first hand material
from people experienced in detention matters—former detainees, professionals, advocates—to present to government and others. We started off as
subversives but ended up in the mainstream, particularly as the book received a human rights award in 2008. It was the sort of activity that seemed
out-of-left field for academic educators but ended up putting social work
human rights academics to the forefront.
Braving the media can also take courage, another endeavour the chreengages in. Most educators are not media savvy and are even media shy. But
the experience of chre staff has proven it is worth taking the risk because it
sparks debate. With the increasingly negative rhetoric being reported in the
media around the arrival of asylum seekers by boat to Australia leading up
to the 2010 federal election, the chre actively engaged with media sources
to increase the dissemination of well-informed opinions on the issue. Online
media outlets were particularly good for this as they generate strings of responses and help gauge community opinion, although one needs a “thickskin” when reading the replies.
Future Prospects for Human Rights Education
The experiences of the chre highlight that there is a place for human rights
education in the university in both the narrow and broad senses of the term.
Our vision would be to see human rights education spread so that it is a coreunit in all university courses but this is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable
future. In the meantime we can do our best with our own students, guest
lectures and promoting human rights in other educational activities andeducation sectors. Challenges for our future lie in responding to increasing
numbers of students wishing to engage in our courses online, allowing forHuman Rights Education at Curtin University

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our educational programs to reach beyond the limits of Perth. These students nudge us towards an increasing engagement with new technologies
that define new forms of interpersonal communication and collaboration
between students and staff.
Most importantly we will continue to perform what some call a public intellectual role but what we would prefer to call a public advocacy andactivist role. This role continues to be the very reason for the CHRE’s engagement in research and education. It reflects our belief that engaging inresearch and education in the human rights field brings with it a responsibility to use this knowledge through participating in processes of socialand political change. Given the continued social and political reticence inAustralia to further embrace a human rights framework at the federal level,
there is much work to be done.
Note:
For more information on the Centre for Human Rights Education at Curtin
University, please visit the following website: http://info.humanrights.curtin.edu.au/

References
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Rights, in press.
Briskman, L. and Fiske, L. 2008. ‘Teaching human rights at university: Criticalpedagogy in action’, in Activating human rights in education: Exploration, innovationand transformation, eds. C. Newell and B. Offord, Australian College of Educators,
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Gillard, J. and McClelland, R. 2010. Joint Media Release: Enhancing Human
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