IRD-Geneva will take initiative in raising public awareness and contributing to the education for sustainable human development that aims to help people better understand the world in which they live, and better act on this understanding. Human rights and development education needs to address the complexity and interconnectedness of problems such as poverty, consumption, environmental degradation, health, water and population issues including HIV/AIDS, conflict and violation of human rights, etc. It needs to address these topics not only by providing information, but also by expanding on the abilities needed to understand and use this information. Above all, the goal of our organization is to establish agency and promote attitudes supporting behaviour that leads to sustainable development.
Human rights education and public awareness constitutes an essential contribution to the long-term prevention of human rights abuses and represents an important investment in the endeavor to achieve a just society in which all human rights of all persons are valued and respected.
The IRD-Geneva is working to promote human rights and development education by:
– Supporting national and local capacities for human rights education in the context of its Technical Cooperation Program and through the Assisting Communities Together (ACT) Project, which provides financial assistance to grass-roots initiatives;
– Developing selected human rights education and training materials;
– Developing selected resource tools, such as a Database on Human Rights Education and Training, a Resource Collection on Human Rights Education and Training and a Web section on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
– Globally coordinating the World Program for Human Rights Education.
– Organizing human rights workshops and training courses
– Building human rights awareness through cultural events, side events, workshops, and training
– Following up with the Human Rights Council, including monitoring and advising different actors in their role to fulfill their recommendation requirements