Human Rights Education: a global framework

Audrey Osler discusses human rights education in a global framework. As well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child and Sustainable Development Goals there are many social movements for justice.

This framework provides legitimatisation for justice orientated work to empower students, and offers an alternative frame of reference for diversity in the student population.



It empowers young people by putting their concerns at the heart of schooling, teaches them life skills and how to make a difference.


Audrey Osler: I want to commend the NEU, The Gambia teachers union and the Foundation for working on this practical resource and competition which can engage everybody.


What is human rights education in a global framework? First we need to look at the successes we can celebrate in human rights education over the past years, and then look at some challenges.


The legal framework for human rights education is the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and also the Sustainable Development Goals which support many of the goals of human rights.


These first two important international agreements don't just guarantee the right to education but they actually guarantee the right to human rights education. If you read the aims of education in the Universal Declaration you will see that they actually require an education which is in conformity with the ideals of the UN, and likewise in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It doesn't just guarantee every child an entitlement to education, it actually spells out that all children have the right to a human rights education.


Teachers, and particularly teachers unions, can work hard to communicate this because this point isn't as widely shared as it could be. Even amongst education professionals, let alone amongst governments, who decide what they think education should be about.


We've got this global framework but we've also got very important social movements for justice. Over recent months, particularly during the pandemic, we've seen how people have been moved to show generosity, solidarity, extend kindness to others, and fight for justice globally. Building on Black Lives Matter in the United States, the Me Too movement, and Youth for Climate Justice.


Our NGOs and trade unions have a key part to bring these together. To bring social movements and awareness of the international agreements together. Raising awareness of what they actually mean in terms of human rights education.


How then is the global framework useful for teachers?


Many teachers may struggle to engage in questions around justice, they may struggle to express points of view which are unpopular, or unfashionable with their government.


The international agreements support human rights education. That gives extra power and confidence to teachers, in many situations and it enables them to share that knowledge with their students.


Human rights education offers an alternative frame of reference to narrowly focused national values, that are sometimes promoted. It is really important amongst student populations who are diverse in their make-up. That's a very powerful element of the human rights framework.


How can it empower children and young people?


The Convention on the Rights of the Child places children's views, experience and concerns at the heart of schooling. This is an important point. Some people may be anxious that children's concerns and experience of their rights sometimes may be in competition with those of adults, carers and parents. It's important to understand that the links between children's rights being put at the front, and those of parents and teachers, don't by any means have to be in conflict.


Human rights skills are life skills. They are important for all children to learn co-operation, mutual respect, solidarity, learning to live together, and protecting the vulnerable. That's the key point about human rights, and human rights education.


Human rights are about protecting the vulnerable, and it's important to remember that all of us are vulnerable at some point. Recognising that helps us frame solidarity in a framework which is much more equal. It's not giving to others, or being generous. It's actually mutual support.



Children can learn how to make a difference. It is clearly empowering when young people feel they can make a difference, that is going to change the whole atmosphere of school.


What are some of the successes of human rights?


Over the years we have seen global movements make a difference. We've seen UNICEF working on rights respecting schools, in the UK and also child friendly schools in other places too.


Another success for human rights education is the public awareness of concerns like homelessness, sexual harassment, climate change, and many other issues. The rights of sexual minorities is increasingly recognised by the public as human rights issues. Human rights do not just belong to others but they are the rights of us all.


We've seen the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child incorporated into domestic law in so many nations. This hasn't happened yet in the United Kingdom, but we've seen a strong effort to make that happen in Scotland. Although there was a challenge in the High Court, people are working very hard to ensure that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is incorporated into domestic law, which teachers, and teachers unions, can pay play a very important role in.


Another success of human rights education is demonstrated by organisations ready to step in and step up when governments fail. Governments have an obligation to ensure that children have the right to human rights education, and to uphold our human rights. When they don't do that it is our obligation as citizens, to step up and make that happen.


Teachers unions internationally, offering training programmes in human rights education, is encouraging. This is happening in our universities, although there is still very little opportunity for teachers to study human rights on a uniform basis. Across the board it is growing, but it is not by any means a guaranteed part of initial teacher training.


In many places human rights education research is now recognised, there are people studying in this field, doing PhD’s, and research is now available to teachers. In the last five years we now see journals on human rights education available to teachers, they are Open Access so there is no paywall, available to teachers and to the public.


Since I've been closely involved in the journal  Human Rights Education Review, we've published the first article on human rights education in Nigeria, by a young scholar raising many real issues and suggesting ways forward for human rights education in that context.


Where are the challenges?


Human rights remain something that we often see that we have, but there is still very much a divide between those who have access to them and those who don’t.


Human rights education is sometimes presented in established democratic countries, as if human rights are assumed, and that in other countries people don't have them. There is a risk in human rights education of promoting a sense of superiority, and we need to guard against this, looking carefully at the human rights violations in our own countries.


The international growth of authoritarian regimes across the world is another threat to human rights education. The inflexible curriculum frameworks in schools, accountability mechanisms, and inspection regimes, that give very little attention to principles of creativity and our shared humanity. We need to tackle these, recognising their threat not just to well-being but to human rights.


There is a challenge still in building solidarity across different organisations, and across different struggles for justice. Those that are building solidarity across different sites offer a means of strengthening the field, but it remains a challenge.



Bringing this competition into schools will start many vital conversations about all these issues with young people.

Find out more about the competition here.




Human Rights Education Review is  Open Access, meaning  the articles are not hidden behind a paywall but available to teachers and other education professionals.


By Audrey Osler • April 11, 2022

Local Heroes: Listening to Young Voices

By Ann Beatty • July 23, 2026
Something is energising about spending time with people who genuinely care about children and young people. That was my experience at this year’s Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield. I had the privilege of joining the Local Heroes panel, sharing the story of Seeds of Hope for a Better Future - a partnership between UNESCO ASPnet UK and partners across the U.K and globally. Seeds of Hope has connected partners through collaboration on projects and has grown in the past year. One of the projects highlighted was the Lights Camera Score programme in schools, which is now working on an exciting project with Calderdale Council and the English Chamber Orchestra, which will showcase this August at Shibden House. As we enter the second year of the competition, it was encouraging to discover how much interest there is from writers, producers, educators and creatives who are asking the same question: How can we help young people imagine and create a better future? What struck me most throughout the conference was the intention behind the conversations. Rather than assuming what young people need, there was a genuine desire to listen, understand and create media that reflects their lives, their challenges and their aspirations. One of the most thought-provoking sessions gave the microphone to young people themselves. They were asked about the proposed social media ban for under-16s, and their responses were refreshingly honest. Their message was clear: they believed the ban would be difficult to enforce because young people would inevitably find ways around it. Instead of excluding them from digital spaces, they argued that our focus should be on making those spaces safer and on helping young people develop the skills they need to navigate an increasingly digital world. One comment in particular stayed with me. A young panellist admitted, “Yes, it’s true I spend too much time on social media but so do all of you adults in the room.” The audience responded with warm applause. It was a reminder that young people notice the contradictions in the messages they receive, and that meaningful dialogue begins with honesty rather than judgement. That session reinforced something I have long believed: if we are serious about shaping the future, we must involve the people who will inherit it. Too often, decisions are made about young people rather than with them. Yet when we create opportunities for them to share their ideas, they offer thoughtful, creative and practical perspectives that deserve to be heard. That spirit resonates deeply with the values behind Seeds of Hope for a Better Future. The competition is built on a simple but powerful belief: when children and young people are allowed to express their ideas through creativity, they do more than imagine change; they begin to shape it. Over the past two years we have seen young people respond with imagination, compassion and practical solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. Their artwork, writing, films and performances remind us that hope is not passive; it is something we nurture through creativity, collaboration and action. I left Sheffield feeling optimistic. Not because all the answers exist, but because I met so many talented people committed to listening to young voices and working alongside them. The enthusiasm shown for Seeds of Hope for a Better Future affirmed that there is a growing movement of educators, creatives and media professionals who believe children and young people should not only be represented in stories but also help shape them. Perhaps that is what being a local hero is really about. It is not about having all the answers. It is about creating the conditions for others to flourish, listening with curiosity and planting seeds of hope that will continue to grow long after the conversation has ended. You can follow the journeys below: https://www.stageatthelake.co.uk/seeds-of-hope https://threestonesmedia.co.uk/blog/portfolio-item/lights-camera-score/ Entries for Seeds of Hope for a Better Future for 2026 have closed, and we will be back again next year: https://unesco.org.uk/ For inspiration, you might like to have a look at the 2025 Winners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bb8PJS5j7k Ann Beatty UNESCO ASPnet Coordinator UK CEO, The Steve Sinnott Foundation Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/roo-walker/over-the-horizon License code: ZFK6D180PHNWXSYQ

Report on the GTU/Steve Sinnott Foundation Community Sensitisation on School related Gender Based Violence - June 2026

By Marie Antoinette Corr • June 10, 2026
1. Background and Rationale In The Gambia, school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) remains a serious barrier to education. Girls are most at risk, though boys can be targeted too and human rights organisations increasingly recognise poverty itself as a form of structural gender-based violence. Period poverty - the lack of access to menstrual products, education, and sanitation sits at the heart of this problem. Without safe facilities or affordable pads, many women and girls are pushed into transactional sex just to manage their periods, exposing them to serious risk of physical and sexual assault. Even without that direct danger, period poverty quietly excludes girls from school and public life: missing class due to a lack of pads or poor toilet facilities fuels absenteeism, dropout, low self-esteem, and often early marriage, deepening cycles of poverty. This is a global crisis hiding in plain sight. An estimated 500 million of the 800 million people who menstruate worldwide struggle to afford period products, and nearly 1 in 4 students faces the same barrier. A burden that falls hardest on the already marginalised. In The Gambia, girls who can't afford sanitary pads often face poor academic performance, truancy, and lasting health and psychological effects. A lack of education around menstruation breeds stigma around something entirely normal and healthy. That's why community sensitisation is so critical. Breaking the taboo helps reframe menstrual products as necessities, not luxuries, and gives women and girls the tools to manage their health with dignity, including safe alternatives like reusable pads where commercial products aren't accessible. Training women to sew their own reusable pads goes further still, building not just access but autonomy and confidence. With GBV cases rising in both schools and communities, the need for coordinated action has never been more urgent. Tackling SRGBV and period poverty specifically isn't the job of one institution alone; it requires educators, communities, and stakeholders working together toward one goal: menstrual dignity and bodily autonomy for every woman and girl. In response, the Gambia Teachers Union, with funding from the Steve Sinnott Foundation, held three community sensitisation sessions on SRGBV and period poverty from 5–7 June 2026. Sessions included demonstrations on making reusable sanitary pads and distributed materials for step-down training in schools and communities. A total of 312 participants, including school mothers' clubs, community and religious leaders, and traditional communicators, attended across three venues: Farafenni Community Centre, Brikamaba Senior Secondary School Hall, and the Regional Education Directorate 4 (Mansakonko) Conference Hall. 2. Objectives Sensitise stakeholders on SRGBV and its impact on girls Offer a durable alternative to costly disposables, easing pressure on family budgets Improve hygiene and health to prevent infection Build community skills to make affordable, sustainable products like reusable pads Promote safe, inclusive school environments Break stigma through community-wide education Establish safe, confidential reporting pathways beyond traditional barriers Challenge harmful norms, victim-blaming, and cultures of silence Unite Mothers' Clubs and female teachers, leveraging their social and structural influence Build peer support networks with access to trusted adults for emotional support Expand access to menstrual products and champion menstrual equity The sensitisation was on Promote safe menstrual practices to prevent infections from unhygienic alternatives (rags, tissue, leaves, etc.) Teach private, hygienic methods for changing, washing, and drying Train girls and women to produce eco-friendly reusable pads from local materials Establish community-led pad banks and income-generating sewing groups for women Address the reality that girls miss 5 school days a month due to lack of pads or fear of leakage and bullying Level the academic playing field by reducing dropout gaps between boys and girls Shift community narratives to remove taboos and myths around menstruation Engage boys and men to build empathy and normalise periods as a shared, natural issue, not a "women's burden" The sessions were highly participatory, allowing teachers to share experiences, raise concerns, and explore context-specific solutions. Training on period poverty alleviation is critical because it empowers communities, breaks dangerous taboos, and tackles the economic, health and educational barriers associated with menstruation. By building local capacity, it creates sustainable long-term solutions. Participants were happy about the training and committed to conducting step-down trainings for other Mothers' Clubs and adolescent girls in their schools. Participants were given sets of materials to start with. The pads will help girls have a reliable and sustainable solution to their menstrual worries, hence enabling them to avoid infections, exploitation, shame, low self-esteem, stress, and they will remain in school Materials for Distribution

In Harmony With Peace Concert

By Ann Beatty • June 1, 2026
On Friday evening ( 29 May, 7.00 pm The Actors Church Covent Garden) we had the pleasure of listening to this very special concert, bringing together the Choir of King's College London and the Princeton High School Orchestra in a celebration of international friendship, collaboration, and shared values. This project reflects a commitment to peace, sustainability, equality, and cultural exchange, uniting young musicians from the United Kingdom and the United States through the universal language of music.