RES/12/4 World Programme for Human Rights Education

GE.09- 17442

UNITED NATIONS

A

General Assembly Distr. GENERAL

A/HRC/RES/12/4* 4 December 2009

Original: ENGLISH

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twelfth session Agenda item 3

PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS,

INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council**

12/4. World Programme for Human Rights Education

The Human Rights Council,

Reaffirming the fact that States are duty-bound, as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in other international human rights instruments, to ensure that education is aimed at strengthening the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 43/128 of 8 December 1988, by which the Assembly launched the World Public Information Campaign on Human Rights, 59/113 A of 10 December 2004, 59/113 B of 14 July 2005 and 60/251 of 15 March 2006, in which the Assembly decided, inter alia, that the Council should promote human rights education and learning, and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/61 of 20 April 2005 and Subcommission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights resolution 2006/19 of 24 August 2006, on the World Programme for Human Rights Education, structured in consecutive phases,

Recalling also Council resolutions 6/9 of 28 September 2007 on the development of public information activities in the field of human rights, 6/24 of 28 September 2007, in which the Council extended to December 2009 the first phase of the World Programme focusing on * Re-issued for technical reasons. ** The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the Council on its twelfth session (A/HRC/12/50), chap. I.

primary and secondary school systems, 9/12 of 24 September 2008, in which the Council established among the human rights voluntary goals the adoption and implementation of programmes of human rights education in all learning institutions, and 10/3 of 25 March 2009, on consultation on the focus of the second phase of the World Programme,

Recalling further that the World Programme is structured on an ongoing series of consecutive phases, intended as a comprehensive process, including formal and informal education and training, and that Member States should continue the implementation of human rights education in primary and secondary school systems, while taking the necessary measures to implement the World Programme according to its new focus,

1. Takes note of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the consultation on the focus of the second phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education (A/HRC/12/36);

2. Decides to focus the second phase of the World Programme on human rights education for higher education and on human rights training programmes for teachers and educators, civil servants, law enforcement officials and military personnel at all levels;

3. Encourages States that have not yet taken steps to incorporate human rights education in the primary and secondary school system to do so, in accordance with the Plan of Action of the first phase of the World Programme;

4. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare, within existing resources, in cooperation with relevant intergovernmental organizations, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and non-governmental actors, consult States on and submit for consideration to the fifteenth session of the Human Rights Council (September 2010), a plan of action for the second phase of the World Programme (2010-2014), keeping in mind that it shall be properly structured, formulated in realistic terms, with an indication of at least minimum action, and including provisions to support activities undertaken by all actors;

5. Recommends that the Secretary-General ensure that an adequate component of United Nations assistance, to be provided at the request of Member States to develop their national systems of promotion and protection of human rights, is available to support human rights education;

6. Reminds Member States of the need to prepare and submit their national evaluation reports on the first phase of the World Programme to the United Nations Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on Human Rights Education in the School System by early 2010;

7. Requests the Coordinating Committee to submit a final evaluation report of the implementation of the first phase of the World Programme, based on national evaluation reports, in cooperation with relevant international, regional and non-governmental organizations, to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session;

8. Decides to consider this issue at its fifteenth session under the same agenda item.

30th meeting 1 October 2009

[Adopted without a vote.]