Issue Details

Resolution of Rights and Responsibilities: Human Rights Education

ABSTRACT

The concept of Human Rights makes one aware of one’s rights and duties as a human being. It is a big challenge in a just society to maintain the balance between rights and duties. Creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 led to the foundation of the Human Rights Movement. It was humanity’s strong need for peace after the vacuum created by World Wars. This landmark declaration was the first international legal attempt by the member countries to think and work in this direction. The articles of the declaration found a place in the Indian Constitution. Thirty articles and their corresponding rights have been mentioned there in. Instances of protection of rights along with violation are very common in our country. Various forms of violation exist in the form of encounter killing, torture, arbitrary detention, restriction on expression, starvation, inaccessible quality education. In such a scenario, there is an urgent need to make people know their rights and duties through Human Rights Education. Human Rights Education can be taught at all levels of formal education starting from pre primary to higher education. Re-orienting existing curriculum, synchronisation of curricular and co-curricular aspects, adaptation of teaching methodology, training teachers in human rights education can bring desired results. Teaching Human Rights in a non formal setting will target those people living in remote areas and extreme poverty, public officials, security personnel, children not attending schools, health professionals, persons with HIV AIDS, disabled, political prisoners etc. Therefore, joint efforts of all the organisations - public as well as private, will develop individual awareness about the ways and means by which human rights can be translated into social and political reality.

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