Appendix

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly[on the report of the Third Committee (A/66/457)]

66/137. United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Educationand Training
The General Assembly,
Welcoming the adoption by the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 16/1 of 23 March 2011,1 of the United Nations Declaration on HumanRights Education and Training,
1. Adopts the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education
and Training annexed to the present resolution;
2. Invites Governments, agencies and organizations of the United
Nations system, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to intensify their efforts to disseminate the Declaration and to promote
universal respect and understanding thereof, and requests the SecretaryGeneral to include the text of the Declaration in the next edition of HumanRights: A Compilation of International Instruments.
89th plenary meeting
19 December 2011

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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 cAnnex
United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United
Nations with regard to the promotion and encouragement of respect for all
human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as torace, sex, language or religion,
Reaffirming also that every individual and every organ of society shallstrive by teaching and education to promote respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms,
Reaffirming further that everyone has the right to education, and that
education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, enable all persons to participate effectively ina free society and promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among
all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activitiesof the United Nations for the maintenance of peace, security and the promotion of development and human rights,
Reaffirming that States are duty-bound, as stipulated in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,2 the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights3 and in other human rights instruments, to ensure that education is aimed at strengthening respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms,
Acknowledging the fundamental importance of human rights educationand training in contributing to the promotion, protection and effective realization of all human rights,
Reaffirming the call of the World Conference on Human Rights, heldin Vienna in 1993, on all States and institutions to include human rights,
humanitarian law, democracy and rule of law in the curricula of all learning
institutions, and its statement that human rights education should include
peace, democracy, development and social justice, as set forth in international and regional human rights instruments, in order to achieve common
understanding and awareness with a view to strengthening universal commitment to human rights,4Appendix305Recalling the 2005 World Summit Outcome,5 in which Heads of Stateand Government supported the promotion of human rights education andlearning at all levels, including through the implementation of the World
Programme for Human Rights Education, and encouraged all States to develop initiatives in that regard,
Motivated by the desire to send a strong signal to the international
community to strengthen all efforts in human rights education and training
through a collective commitment by all stakeholders,
Declares:
Article 1
1. Everyone has the right to know, seek and receive information about
all human rights and fundamental freedoms and should have access to human rights education and training.
2. Human rights education and training is essential for the promotionof universal respect for and observance of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all, in accordance with the principles of the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights.
3. The effective enjoyment of all human rights, in particular the right toeducation and access to information, enables access to human rights education and training.
Article 2
1. Human rights education and training comprises all educational,
training, information, awareness-raising and learning activities aimed atpromoting universal respect for and observance of all human rights andfundamental freedoms and thus contributing, inter alia, to the prevention ofhuman rights violations and abuses by providing persons with knowledge,
skills and understanding and developing their attitudes and behaviours, toempower them to contribute to the building and promotion of a universal
culture of human rights.
2. Human rights education and training encompasses:

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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 c(a) Education about human rights, which includes providing knowledge
and understanding of human rights norms and principles, the values that
underpin them and the mechanisms for their protection;(b) Education through human rights, which includes learning andteaching in a way that respects the rights of both educators and learners;(c) Education for human rights, which includes empowering persons
to enjoy and exercise their rights and to respect and uphold the rights ofothers.
Article 3
1. Human rights education and training is a lifelong process that concerns all ages.
2. Human rights education and training concerns all parts of society,at all levels, including preschool, primary, secondary and higher education,
taking into account academic freedom where applicable, and all forms ofeducation, training and learning, whether in a public or private, formal, informal or non-formal setting. It includes, inter alia, vocational training, particularly the training of trainers, teachers and State officials, continuing education, popular education, and public information and awareness activities.
3. Human rights education and training should use languages andmethods suited to target groups, taking into account their specific needs
and conditions.
Article 4
Human rights education and training should be based on the principlesof the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant treaties and instruments, with a view to:(a) Raising awareness, understanding and acceptance of universal human rights standards and principles, as well as guarantees at the international, regional and national levels for the protection of human rights andfundamental freedoms;(b) Developing a universal culture of human rights, in which everyone
is aware of their own rights and responsibilities in respect of the rights ofothers, and promoting the development of the individual as a responsible
member of a free, peaceful, pluralist and inclusive society;Appendix

307(c) Pursuing the effective realization of all human rights and promoting
tolerance, non-discrimination and equality;(d) Ensuring equal opportunities for all through access to quality human rights education and training, without any discrimination;(e) Contributing to the prevention of human rights violations and abuses and to the combating and eradication of all forms of discrimination, racism, stereotyping and incitement to hatred, and the harmful attitudes andprejudices that underlie them.
Article 5
1. Human rights education and training, whether provided by public
or private actors, should be based on the principles of equality, particularly
between girls and boys and between women and men, human dignity, inclusion and non-discrimination.
2. Human rights education and training should be accessible and available to all persons and should take into account the particular challenges
and barriers faced by, and the needs and expectations of, persons in vulnerable and disadvantaged situations and groups, including persons with disabilities, in order to promote empowerment and human development andto contribute to the elimination of the causes of exclusion or marginalization, as well as enable everyone to exercise all their rights.
3. Human rights education and training should embrace and enrich, aswell as draw inspiration from, the diversity of civilizations, religions, cultures and traditions of different countries, as it is reflected in the universalityof human rights.
4. Human rights education and training should take into account different economic, social and cultural circumstances, while promoting local
initiatives in order to encourage ownership of the common goal of the fulfilment of all human rights for all.
Article 6
1. Human rights education and training should capitalize on and makeuse of new information and communication technologies, as well as the media, to promote all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

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2. The arts should be encouraged as a means of training and raisingawareness in the field of human rights.
Article 7
1. States, and where applicable relevant governmental authorities, havethe primary responsibility to promote and ensure human rights educationand training, developed and implemented in a spirit of participation, inclusion and responsibility.
2. States should create a safe and enabling environment for the engagement of civil society, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders inhuman rights education and training, in which the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all, including of those engaged in the process, are fully
protected.
3. States should take steps, individually and through international assistance and cooperation, to ensure, to the maximum of their available resources, the progressive implementation of human rights education andtraining by appropriate means, including the adoption of legislative and administrative measures and policies.
4. States, and where applicable relevant governmental authorities,
should ensure adequate training in human rights and, where appropriate,international humanitarian law and international criminal law, of State officials, civil servants, judges, law enforcement officials and military personnel,
as well as promote adequate training in human rights for teachers, trainers
and other educators and private personnel acting on behalf of the State.
Article 8l. States should develop, or promote the development of, at the appropriate level, strategies and policies and, where appropriate, action plansand programmes to implement human rights education and training, suchas through its integration into school and training curricula. In so doing,
they should take into account the World Programme for Human Rights
Education and specific national and local needs and priorities.
2. The conception, implementation and evaluation of and follow-up tosuch strategies, action plans, policies and programmes should involve all

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relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society and national
human rights institutions, by promoting, where appropriate, multi-stakeholder initiatives.
Article 9
States should promote the establishment, development and strengthening of effective and independent national human rights institutions, incompliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions
for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles),6
recognizing that national human rights institutions can play an importantrole, including, where necessary, a coordinating role, in promoting humanrights education and training by, inter alia, raising awareness and mobilizing
relevant public and private actors.
Article 10
1. Various actors within society, including, inter alia, educational institutions, the media, families, local communities, civil society institutions,
including non-governmental organizations, human rights defenders and theprivate sector, have an important role to play in promoting and providing
human rights education and training.
2. Civil society institutions, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders are encouraged to ensure adequate human rights education andtraining for their staff and personnel.
Article 11
The United Nations and international and regional organizations
should provide human rights education and training for their civilian personnel and for military and police personnel serving under their mandates.
Article 12

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1. International cooperation at all levels should support and reinforce
national efforts, including, where applicable, at the local level, to implementhuman rights education and training.
2. Complementary and coordinated efforts at the international, regional, national and local levels can contribute to more effective implementationof human rights education and training.
3. Voluntary funding for projects and initiatives in the field of humanrights education and training should be encouraged.
Article 13
1. International and regional human rights mechanisms should, within
their respective mandates, take into account human rights education andtraining in their work.
2. States are encouraged to include, where appropriate, information onthe measures that they have adopted in the field of human rights educationand training in their reports to relevant human rights mechanisms.
Article 14
States should take appropriate measures to ensure the effective implementation of and follow-up to the present Declaration and make the necessary resources available in this regard.
1 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-sixth Session, Supplement
No. 53 (A/66/53), chap. I.
2 Resolution 217 A (III).

3 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
4 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III, sect. II, paras. 79 and 80.
5 See resolution 60/1, para. 131 .
6 Resolution 48/134, annex.