Erbil, 2 June 2016 – Human rights education for children and youth in post-conflict environment will help protect them and create strong basis for stability and hope for the future. For this, the United Nations is launching a project entitled “Human Rights Education in Schools” in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for the coming two academic years.
The UNAMI Human Rights Office (HRO) in Kurdistan Region of Iraq is leading the project, in cooperation with the KR-I Ministry of Education and with funding from the Government of the region of Flanders in Belgium. It will run during the academic years of 2016-2017 and 2017-2018.
The project aims at reviewing national educational policies and curriculum for selected school grades and training teachers on technical and substantive issues pertaining to human rights principles and fundamental freedoms.
Education for children and youth as part of post-conflict reconstruction is crucial. Developed educational systems may offer immediate protection for children. Solid human rights principles will protect children from exploitation and violence, promote the rights and responsibilities of children, especially participation and active citizenship, and can provide long-term benefits for society. Human rights education in particular will provide for new opportunities to mitigate ethnic, religious and political discord. It would also create strong basis for stability, structure, and hope for the future.
“The UNAMI HRO has invested efforts in assisting Iraq to address the human rights aspects of the root causes of human rights violations and abuses”, said the head of UNAMI HRO and Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq, Mr. Francesco Motta. “Addressing these root causes is fundamental to achieve the overriding objective of developing into a peaceful, democratic and inclusive state built on the rule of law and respect for human rights in which all its citizens fully and equally participate without discrimination”, he added.
The “Human Rights Education in Schools” project aims at reviewing teaching and learning material, textbooks and guides, and determine whether it needs to be developed or reviewed to conform with key human rights principles and learning objectives, while being adapted to the country’s specific social, cultural and historic context.
UNAMI HRO will seek to develop an education strategy that focuses on the central role of teachers. Human rights experts will provide training to teachers to channel and mainstream the curriculum and the values it conveys. UNAMI HRO will start with a pilot project in training the public school teachers of Halabja Governorate with a view to training at a later stage all teachers of tackled grades in other governorates of KR-I.
For more information, please contact: Mr. Samir Ghattas, Director of Public Information/Spokesperson United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Phone: +964 790 193 1281, Email: ghattass@un.org or the UNAMI Public Information Office: unami-information@un.org