Read the recent global update on human rights by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to the 38th session of the Human Rights Council; see https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23206&LangID=E

In his opening remarks he reminded the Council about serious gaps in understanding human rights even amongst the UN officials. Many governments deny that human rights are universal and only sourced from a Western tradition. This is not further from the truth.

The international conferences on human rights education (ICHRE) work to address this lack of knowledge. They are a series of dialogues on human rights education as a means of promoting democracy, the rule of law, justice, and intercultural and social harmony. For more about past conferences see: www.westernsydney.edu.au/equity_diversity/equity_and_diversity/conferences.      

Join me at the 9th ICHRE to be held in Sydney, 26-29 November 2018. It will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 25th anniversary of the education-oriented Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and cover the range of human rights education issues such as national and international curricula, pedagogy and best practices.

For more information on the 9th ICHRE, including on registration and proposals for paper and workshop presentations, see www.ichre2018.com.au.