Human rights education
The United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South West Asia and the Arab Region was established by UN General Assembly Resolution 60/153 in December 2005. The Centre is mandated to provide training, documentation, and education on human rights across 25 countries. Through its Human Rights Education Unit (HREU), the Centre builds partnerships with educational institutions, ministries, universities, and youth-led organizations. The HREU strategy is built around three main components to advance human rights education and the application of human rights principles across countries under the Centre’s mandate. It defines the role, approach, and expected outcomes of the HREU and serves as a tool to engage OHCHR with the following:
Information about next training program
Information about the upcoming training program
Ministries of Education
The first component of the HREU aims to integrate human rights education into primary and secondary school systems, both formal and non-formal guided by the action plan of the first phase of the World Program for Human Rights Education (WPHRE). The HREU promotes a shared understanding of human rights education principles and methods. It also seeks to strengthen partnerships with human rights relevant stakeholders like ministries of education, National Human Rights Institutions and international agencies working in the Arab region.
Academic institutions
The second component of the HREU, guided by the action plan of the second phase of the WPHRE, focuses on integrating human rights education into universities in the Arab region by enhancing curricula and fostering critical thinking through academic institutions. The unit supports diverse initiatives such as summer courses, moot court competitions, lectures, and research programs. Key partnerships have been established with universities and law schools, including Saint Joseph University, the Global Campus for Human Rights, Qatar University, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, and Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie.
Career fair
The Centre’s participation in career fairs to give students an opportunity to learn more about the different types of jobs in the human rights field and internship opportunities offered at the Centre.
Moot Court
The regional Moot Court competition for Human Rights is an annual competition hosted by the Centre in order to enhance university students’ understanding of human rights principles, sources, treaties and engagement with international human rights mechanisms.
Summer Course
The Centre annually hosts its flagship regional Summer Course training with the title “Introduction to the International Human Rights System,” for the youth. The previous editions were held with a variety of different partners such as the Arab Human Rights Master, Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. This training is always hosted at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut.
Youth
The third component, guided by the fourth and fifth phase of the WPHRE, focuses on empowering youth and supporting their initiatives in human rights education, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs addressed. It includes activities like thematic webinars, annual film competitions, film screenings, and partnerships with regional youth organizations. A youth network will also be established to promote youth-led engagement and participation in human rights education.
Webinars
The Centre organizes webinars and seminars quarterly. These webinars focus on empowering youth, raising awareness, and advancing activism for the protection and promotion of human rights.
World Scout Movement
The Centre’s participation in events hosted by the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Film competition
Human Rights Through The Lens of Youth