Human Rights In the field of human rights, UNESCO works to encourage and disseminate human rights research; to promote education in human rights; to lead action in the fight against all forms of discrimination at national, regional and international level; to encourage cooperation among all actors and networks; to promote democracy and to further reflection on new forms of violence, notably by drawing up regional plans for human security.

 

Its work has three major aims:

• strengthen awareness;
• act as a catalyst for regional, national and international action in human rights;
• foster cooperation with all actors and networks.

With regard to the advancement of human rights, action is concentrated in areas where UNESCO has a special mandate: generating and sharing knowledge, protecting human rights, renewing and reinforcing commitment to human rights education and providing advisory services and technical assistance to Member States.

In important related areas, such as women and gender, where emphasis is on promoting equality between the sexes and on the social dimension of women's rights, actions focus on research, networking, advocacy and knowledge sharing of best practices.

In the fight against discrimination, UNESCO tries to identify the obstacles hampering the full exercise of human rights: the impact of nationalism, religious intolerance, discrimination against minorities, and forms of discrimination arising from scientific progress or from illness such as HIV and AIDS.

After concentrating its work on the theoretical analysis of the principles of democracy, UNESCO developed a strategy in 2002-2003 for an international programme on democracy. This strategy is coordinated by the International Centre for Human Sciences (ICHS) at Byblos (also referred to as the Byblos Centre) in close cooperation with the International Panel on Democracy and Development (IPDD).

UNESCO encourages and advances research on new forms of violence and develops regional plans for human security by improving links with local initiatives to prevent conflicts at their source, through respect for human rights and policies for sustainable development and for alleviating poverty.

See also

• UNESCO commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 1948 - 2008



• UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights
• UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence
• UNESCO Prize for Peace Education

Photo: South Africa © UN/P. Mugabane

News

An international celebration of World Philosophy Day 2009  2009-11-09 10:00 am SHS e-News 44 / November 2009
The international celebration of World Philosophy Day 2009 took place in Moscow and Saint Petersburg from 16 to 19 November 2009. A country with a long tradition in philosophy and a true passion for thought and word, this year the Russian Federation took the place of honour, as organizer and host of this international event.
UNESCO Book Project for 2010 on Migration, Environment and Climate Change  2009-10-10 9:00 am UNESCO
Climate change is one of the major concerns for the international community. Among its consequences, its impact on migration is the object of increasing attention from both policy-makers and researchers. As the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change put it, “greater resource scarcity, desertification, risks of droughts and floods, and rising sea levels could drive many millions of people to migrate.’
Third General Conference of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism  2009-09-27 10:00 am UNESCO
From 19 to 20 November 2009, the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR) will organize its third annual conference in Toulouse (France) under the theme: “Cities against Racism: New Challenges - New Partnerships: Shaping our Future”.
The first World Human Rights Moot Court Competition organized in South Africa  2009-09-17 10:00 am University of Pretoria / UNESCO
The first World Human Rights Moot Court Competition is organized by the University of Pretoria in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from October until December 2009. The Faculty of Law of the Pretoria University has developed fruitful cooperation with UNESCO. It hosts the UNESCO Chair in Law Education in Africa and the Centre for Human Rights which won the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education 2006.
Cities against Racism: Extending the European Coalition to Eastern Europe  2009-05-11 3:00 pm UNESCO
The Steering Committee of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism (ECCAR) met in Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation) from 14 to 16 May 2009 to prepare the third General Conference of the Coalition and to reflect on the extension of this regional network to Eastern Europe.
First Conference of the Coalition of African Cities against Racism and Discrimination in Durban  2009-03-17 4:00 pm UNESCO
From 26 to 27 March 2009, the city of Durban (South Africa) held the first sub-regional conference of the Coalition of African Cities against Racism and Discrimination. The Coalition was launched in September 2006, in Nairobi (Kenya), at the 4th Africities Summit.

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