48th session of the Human Rights CouncilHigh-level panel discussion on the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training: good practices, challenges and the way forward

Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

29 September 2021

Excellencies, colleagues and friends,

I welcome you all to this high-level panel discussion.

Ten years ago, when they adopted the UN Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, all UN Member States delivered a strong message: human rights education and training are not just a nice optional extra, but a priority that should be pursued by the international community and all States.

The Declaration reaffirmed States’ responsibility to promote and ensure human rights education and training and to create a safe and enabling environment for the engagement of all relevant actors – educational institutions, civil society organizations, national human rights institutions and the private sector, among others.

The Declaration reaffirmed States’ responsibility to promote and ensure human rights education and training and to create a safe and enabling environment for the engagement of all relevant actors – educational institutions, civil society organizations, national human rights institutions and the private sector, among others.

Today’s panel will specifically discuss human rights education for youth. This is part of the UN's growing focus on the contributions of young people to the realization of human rights. Clearly, access to human rights education, at a time when individuals develop their values – and begin to explore the meaning of membership in a community and society –can have significant impact in shaping and strengthening their activism.

That activism is a force that can change the world.

Throughout history and across every region, profound social, economic, political and cultural changes have come about when young people have risen up collectively to uphold human rights. Today, our world is home to 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 – the largest youth population our planet has ever seen. They are digital natives: far more interconnected than any previous generation, with remarkable knowledge of world issues, and unprecedented capacity to mobilize their peers – including members of marginalized communities and others in vulnerable situations.

Equipped with knowledge, skills and attitudes that fostering respect, equality, justice and solidarity, many young people are taking action as a driving force – breaking barriers and leading the way in demanding institutional and policy change for a just and sustainable planet.

It is this understanding that has prompted, at all levels, increasing commitment to human rights education for youth. In 2018, the UN Secretary-General's youth strategy makes the entire UN system responsible for stepping up human rights education and training for youth. The Council has dedicated the fourthh phase of work – from 2020 to 2024 – of its World Programme for Human Rights Education to young people. And human rights education is also part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a specific target of Goal 4 on quality education.

Youth empowerment policies and dedicated bodies are increasingly being developed at the international, regional and national levels. In this context, I want to emphasise this key principle: young people must be the protagonists in developing policies and programmes that affect them. Beyond “human rights education for youth”, we should promote “human rights education for, with and by youth”.

I wish you all a fruitful discussion.