Human rights education is a strategy to achieve freedom for all.

UNITED NATIONS
Press Release
7 December 2004

Following is the message of United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights Louise Arbour on the occasion of International Human Rights Day,
observed on 10 December 2004:

"International Human Rights Day is always a bittersweet occasion. It is an
opportunity to review the impressive progress made in the last 60 years in
putting the protection of the individual at the heart of affairs of
States. But it is also a reminder that there are many people all over the
world who continue to be denied their human rights. Ultimately, it is a
call to action in the face of the enormous effort needed to make human
rights a reality for everyone. One strategy to achieve that reality is
human rights education.

For a society to develop and nurture a human rights culture, human rights
education is fundamental. It is a tool for promoting equality and
enhancing people's participation in decision-making processes within
democratic systems. It is an investment in the prevention of human rights
abuses and violent conflicts.

Today, the General Assembly will devote a plenary session to mark the end
of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004).
Possible future initiatives for the enhancement of human rights education
worldwide will be discussed and elaborated.

The Assembly will have before it the recommendations of the Commission on
Human Rights and of the Economic and Social Council to proclaim a World
Programme for Human Rights Education, starting on 1 January 2005. The
World Programme will continue to provide the international community with
a common global framework for human rights education. The Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights, in close consultation with UNESCO and
governmental and non-governmental experts and practitioners, has prepared
a draft plan of action for the first phase of this Programme, drawing on
the principles and frameworks set by several international human rights
instruments. This and other initiatives will have real value, however,
only if local and national players use them to mobilize and lobby for
human rights education in their communities.

On this Human Rights Day, I would like to pay tribute to the many human
rights educators - indeed, human rights defenders - who, in formal and
informal settings, in large and small communities, often facing difficult
and hazardous situations, contribute to building a universal culture of
human rights. Through the development of educational initiatives and by
setting standards, they lead by example.

Human rights are our common heritage and their realization depends on the
contributions that each and every one of us is willing to make,
individually and collectively, now and in the future".