Mr. President

Canada is pleased to speak today on behalf of the Human Security Network members, which include Austria, Chile, Greece, Ireland, Jordan, Mali, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, and South Africa as an observer. It is a particular honour to address this hall as we observe Human Rights Day, given that this debate provides a unique opportunity to reiterate our firm commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and our belief in the fundamental importance of human rights education to the promotion and protection of human security.

Mr. President,

The Network has long recognized the intrinsic link between human security and human rights education. The people-centred approach embodied in both of these issues recognizes that lasting stability cannot be achieved until individuals are protected from threats to their rights, safety and lives. In the Graz Declaration on Principles of Human Rights Education and Human Security, Network members asserted that: “…human rights education and learning should enhance knowledge, clarify values, promote solidarity, change attitudes and develop critical thinking and skills contributing to the respect for and enforcement of human rights and the promotion of human dignity.” Support for human rights education is therefore critical not only to promote the respect of human rights, but also to establish a broader environment of support for human security.

In this regard, the Human Security Network would like to particularly emphasize that human rights education can be a tool for prevention – both of conflict in general and of human rights abuses more specifically. Human rights education provides a unifying vision of the acceptable norms and standards for sustainable conflict resolution, and the promotion of mutual understanding, respect, dialogue, and participation in democratic processes are all key elements of human rights education that are essential to the conflict resolution process. Human rights education is an important weapon in the fight against intolerance – be it discrimination, racism or xenophobia. It is therefore essential that strategies regarding conflict prevention and post-conflict rehabilitation be built upon strategies that promote and protect human rights.

For all of these reasons, the Austrian Chairmanship of the HSN moved in 2002 to establish human rights education as a Human Security Network thematic priority; a priority that was subsequently taken up by both the Malian and Canadian Chairmanships. During the Graz Ministerial meeting in May, 2003, a Manual on Human Rights Education and the Graz Declaration on Principles of Human Rights Education and Human Security were adopted by Ministers. The Manual is being used by human rights educators and students around the world to assist human rights education and to raise awareness and a basic understanding of human rights.

The Graz Declaration noted a number of important steps to be undertaken by Human Security Network Members, including agreement to advance human rights training programs held locally, nationally and regionally, and to support an increase in the number of human rights educators at the national level. Most importantly, the Graz Declaration stressed the need for the overall coordination of all efforts concerning UN education and public information programmes with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. We strongly believe that such coordination will allow us to reinforce existing human rights education mechanisms, share best practices, draw on field expertise, and prevent the duplication of activities.

We believe that human rights education is a life long undertaking. Under the coordination of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and with the particular support of Costa Rica, the UN Decade for Human Rights Education developed important new programming and, most importantly, built a concrete foundation upon which work on human rights education must continue to develop. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to welcome the proclamation of the World Programme for Human Rights education, which is scheduled to begin on 1 January, 2005. The draft plan of action for the first phase of this programme has been jointly prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and by UNESCO, and we encourage states to carefully review its recommendations for human rights education in the primary and secondary school systems with a view to their adoption and implementation as early as possible. The members of the Human Security Network reiterate their support for continued engagement by the United Nations on human rights and human rights education.

Thank you Mr. President.