Declaration of Child Rights-Centric Education: Difference between revisions

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__NOTOC__
For the text of the final Declaration of Child Rights-Centric Education, please see the [https://www.rights-centric.education/declaration website].
This is the text of the proposed "Declaration of Rights-Centric Education"; it will be published on the [https://rights-centric.education Main website] when we launch Rights-Centric Education (tentatively weekend of 1-2 June) to collect [[Signatories of the Declaration|signatures]].
==Why do we need a Declaration?==
Because the presently mainstreamed system of education wasn't developed out of respect for Human Rights to, in, or through education. [[The violent origins of public school systems|It was designed to '''suppress''' human rights and fundamental freedoms]].


===PREAMBLE===
While there are human rights defenders who are striving to provide education in ways that respects the rights of all participants, and especially the rights of children (as expressed in International Human Rights Law as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child), they are relegated as "alternative" providers. This is a nomenclature that cedes power to the mainstream.
Whereas the Preamble of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 1989 begins with the consideration that
* “in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”; and


Recalling that General Comment 1 (2001) of the UN CRC on Article 29 (1) “The Aims of Education”, states
To make the case that these "alternatives" should be mainstreamed, it is necessary to make the case for it in terms of human rights law - because it is globally accepted, well-articulated, is under active development, and there are already a variety of actors engaged in it. And that is what the declaration sets out to do.
* “efforts to promote the enjoyment of other rights must not be undermined, and should be reinforced, by the values imparted in the educational process. This includes not only the content of the curriculum but also the educational processes, the pedagogical methods and the environment within which education takes place, whether it be the home, school, or elsewhere”; and
* “education must be provided in a way that respects the inherent dignity of the child”; and


Bearing in mind that the United Nations General Assembly (2005), in the “First phase (2005-2007) of the World Programme for Human Rights Education”, affirms that
==Can I see a simple version of the Declaration?==
* “It is essential to ensure that educational objectives, practices and the organization of the schools are consistent with human rights values and principles”; and
International Human Rights law, from its inception, has affirmed that education shall be directed to the ''strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms''. As the discourse on Human Rights evolved, it has consistently reiterated this through various instruments and articulated its meaning with increasing precision and detail.


Observing also that
Nevertheless, this has not produced the intended results in practice, because these aims have been simply superimposed on existing mainstreamed practices of education - which are not centered on human rights (how could they, when they evolved decades, or even centuries, prior?). It is essential that this anomaly be recognized and addressed - by taking steps to fundamentally rework any practice of Education that is in conflict with Human Rights, and especially with Child Rights.
* The Education of the Child takes place in multiple environments, including those where the primary purpose may be defined as Discipline/Justice or Child Care; and
* Schools are not the only institutions providing formal education for Children;
 
===WE, THE [[Signatories of the Declaration|SIGNATORIES]], HEREBY RECOGNIZE THAT===
# The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) of 1989 recognized the fundamental human dignity of all children (any person under the age of 18, or the applicable majority age); they are not property (of their parents nor the State), nor are they helpless objects of charity: they are the Subject of their own Rights; and
# Prevalent practices of Education, Discipline/Justice and Care of Children evolved, or were developed, prior to Children being recognized as the Subject of Rights; viz
#* Paradigms, systems, structures, processes, values and norms in Institutional settings (including inter alia daycares, pre-schools, schools, institutions providing supplementary education such as exam preparation and extra- or co-curricular activities, community centers, religious institutions, child detention centers, child probation facilities, foster care, universities, vocational training centers, etc.), and
#* Paradigms, values and norms in Domestic settings (involving, inter alia, Parents or Legal Guardians, extended family members inclusive of other children, employed caregivers (e.g. nannies), employed educators (e.g. tutors), etc); and
# These practices may have resulted in harm to the human dignity of Children that may constitute violations of Child Rights in member states that have ratified the UN CRC; and
# These practices may continue to cause such harm and violations until they are overhauled to ensure the respect, protection, and fulfillment of Child Rights; and


===WE AFFIRM THAT===
==Can the declaration be explained?==
# The Rights of the Child are inalienable, indivisible, and interdependent; and
Please see [https://youtu.be/bo%20CgC26-cw this video]. Note that this is based on a slimly older version of the Declaration (for the text used in the video, see [https://www.rights-centric.education/sites/default/files/Declaration%20of%20Child%20Rights-Centric%20Education%202024.10.25%20video.pdf this PDF])
# There can be no justification to violate them in the provision of Education, Discipline/Justice and/or Care of Children; and
The final version has the unwieldy sentences in the "Reasoning that" section broken down, and also expands on the instruments to be referred (earlier it was only the General Comment on the Right to be Heard)
 
===WE DEMAND THAT===
# Practices relating to, inter alia, Education, Discipline/Justice, and/or Care of Children be overhauled as expeditiously as possible to ensure respect, protection, and fulfillment of Child Rights; and
# This protection be applicable in all environments, with special emphasis on domestic settings and institutions, both State and non-State, established expressly for the purpose of Education, Discipline/Justice and/or Care of Children.

Latest revision as of 08:42, 19 June 2025

For the text of the final Declaration of Child Rights-Centric Education, please see the website.

Why do we need a Declaration?

Because the presently mainstreamed system of education wasn't developed out of respect for Human Rights to, in, or through education. It was designed to suppress human rights and fundamental freedoms.

While there are human rights defenders who are striving to provide education in ways that respects the rights of all participants, and especially the rights of children (as expressed in International Human Rights Law as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child), they are relegated as "alternative" providers. This is a nomenclature that cedes power to the mainstream.

To make the case that these "alternatives" should be mainstreamed, it is necessary to make the case for it in terms of human rights law - because it is globally accepted, well-articulated, is under active development, and there are already a variety of actors engaged in it. And that is what the declaration sets out to do.

Can I see a simple version of the Declaration?

International Human Rights law, from its inception, has affirmed that education shall be directed to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. As the discourse on Human Rights evolved, it has consistently reiterated this through various instruments and articulated its meaning with increasing precision and detail.

Nevertheless, this has not produced the intended results in practice, because these aims have been simply superimposed on existing mainstreamed practices of education - which are not centered on human rights (how could they, when they evolved decades, or even centuries, prior?). It is essential that this anomaly be recognized and addressed - by taking steps to fundamentally rework any practice of Education that is in conflict with Human Rights, and especially with Child Rights.

Can the declaration be explained?

Please see this video. Note that this is based on a slimly older version of the Declaration (for the text used in the video, see this PDF) The final version has the unwieldy sentences in the "Reasoning that" section broken down, and also expands on the instruments to be referred (earlier it was only the General Comment on the Right to be Heard)

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