Russian National Scientific and Methodical Conference on Human Rights Education

June 30th-July 2nd, 1998, Moscow

In accordance with the Decree of the President of Russia of April 9, 1997 # 315 "On the Year of Human Rights in the Russian Federation" and Decree of the President of Russia of April 4, 1998 # 111-rp "On actions according with undertaking the Year of human rights in the Russian Federation" the Federation for Peace and Conciliation, the Moscow School of Human Rights, the Ministry of Education of Russia and the RF Presidential Commission on Human Rights carry out the National Scientific and Methodical Conference on Human Rights Education.

Purpose of the conference is to consider the condition and problems of human rights, democracy and peace education and develop a project of the federal concept and plan of actions in the field of human rights education.

Specialists having knowledge and experience of teaching in the field of human rights, democracy, culture of peace, are invited to take part in the Conference, viz.:

teachers, methodologists, managers of the system of education;
professors of institutes of higher education and research officers of the Ministry of Education, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Health Ministry and other ministries and departments (which have their own institutions of staff education), non-governmental educational institutions;
representatives of non-governmental organizations of human rights movement and regional commissions on human rights; youth, religious, feminine and other NGOs;
authors of curricula, courses, textbooks and methodical manuals.

Materials of the Conference will be published.

Moscow School of Human Rights
Director Mr.Anatoly Azarov
Deputy Director Ms.Tatiana Bolotina
Co-ordinator Roman Sinelnikov
Apt.302, Building 2, Golovinskoye Shosse 8
Moscow 125212, Russia
Phone/fax: +7 (095) 452 05 13
E-mail: mshr@mshr-ngo.ru

Russian National Scientific and Methodical Conference
on Human Rights Education

June 30th -July 2nd, 1998, Moscow

PROGRAMME

June 30, 1998 – Tuesday

The opening ceremony, plenary meetings

9.00am – 10.00am Registration
10.00am – 10.30am Open ceremony, greetings.

Mr.Kartashkin V.A., Ph.D. Legal Sciences, Professor, Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights
Greetings:

Mr.Komissar M.V., Deputy Chief of the RF Presidential
Administration
Ms.Chepurnykh E.E., Deputy RF Minister of General and Vocational Education
Mr.Elguayel P., Head of the United Nations Development Programme
Mr.Smirnov A.O., Director of the Moscow Research Centre for Human Rights
Mr.Ramishvili T.A., Head of Department of International Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights of the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr.Dubuous G., Deputy Head of European Commission Representatives in Moscow
Mr.Longrigg A., Minister and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the United Kingdom
Ms.Shvetsova L.I., Chairman of the Committee of Public and Interregional Relations, the Government of Moscow
Mr.Torkunov A.V., President of the Russian Association of Assistance to the United Nations

10.30am – 10.50am Mr.Pavinsky V.S., United Nations Information Centre in Moscow: Plan of Action for UN Decade for Human Rights Education
10.50am – 11.10am Mr.Danilov I.V. Deputy Director of UNESCO Moscow Bureau: The UNESCO Programme “Towards a Culture of Peace”
11.10am – 11.30am Mr. Ferschtman M.– Council of Europe, Directorate of Education, Culture and Sport: Council of Europe and Russia. Co-operation in the Field of Civic and Human Rights Education
11.30am – 12.00am Mr.Azarov A.Y. Ph.D., Director of the Moscow School of Human Rights: Human Rights Education: Experience and Problems of Russia
12.00am – 12.30am Coffee Break
12.30am – 12.50am Mr.Shnekendorf Z.K. Prof. of Moscow Pedagogical University: Training of Teacher Staff for Human Rights Education
12.50am – 1.20pm Mr.Kolosov Y.M., Ph.D., Prof., Head of UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy, the Moscow State Institute of International Relations; UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Obligations of States on Informing about the Convention on the Right of the Child
1.20pm – 1.40pm Mr.Mironov O.O., Plenipotentiary for Human Rights in the Russian Federation: Legal Enlightenment in the Field of Human Rights and Freedoms. Goals of Plenipotentiary
1.40pm – 2.00pm Ms.Hadson-Din Sh. (USA), the US Embassy in Russia: Cooperation between Russia and USA in the Field of Human Rights Education
2.00pm – 2.20pm Mr.Boichenko Y.A., Head of the Department, Directorate of International Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights, the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs: International Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights
2.20pm – 3.30pm Lunch
3.30pm – 3.50pm Ms.Lazutova M.N., Deputy Minister of Co-operation with CIS States: Rights of Education and Human Rights Education
3.50pm – 4.10pm Mr.Rudinsky F.M., Ph.D., Prof. of the Juridical Faculty, Moscow City Pedagogy University: Higher School – Human Rights Education
4.10pm – 4.30pm Ms.Alexeyeva L.M., Chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group: Information and Enlightenment Activities of Human Rights Movement Organisations
4.30pm – 4.50pm Mr.Rostovschikov I.V., Ph.D., Prof., Head of the Chair of Human Rights, Volgograd Law Institute: Human Rights Education in Higher Education Institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
4.50pm – 5.20pm Mr.Smirnov S.A., Coordinator of the Moscow Department of Director of Interregional Human Rights Movement Network Group: Dissemination of Human Rights Knowledge in the Internet: Experience of Human Rights Movement Network
5.20pm – 5. 40pm Mr.Blishchenko I.P., Ph.D., Prof., Head of the Chair of International Law, University of People's Friendship: International Humanitarian Law: Problems of Teaching in Russia
5.40pm – 6.00pm Mr.Savin M.S., Head of the Centre of Human Rights Sociology, Institute of Social and Political Research, Russian Academy of Science: Human Rights Education in assessments of public opinion
6.00pm Fourchette

July 1, 1998 – Wednesday

Work in the sections: Exchange of experience, Discussion about the situation and problems, drawing up recommendations.

10.00am – 6.00pm Work in the Sections
12.00am – 12.30am Coffee Break
2.00pm – 3.30pm Lunch

Section “General Education” (schools, higher education institutions for teachers, institutes of advanced training of educators)
Chairs: Azarov A.Y., Barannikov A.V., Nikandrov N.D.

Section “Higher Education” (Common Higher Education institutions)
Chairs: Rudinsky F.M., Serikov V.V., Blishchenko I.P.

Section “Higher Education Institutions of ‘Power Ministries’”
Chair: Chaldymov N.A., Rostovshchikov I.P., Nikitayev S.N.

Section “NGOs and Human Rights Movement Organisations”
Chairs: Smirnov A.O., Baidenko V.I.

July 2, 1998 – Thursday

Plenary Meeting. Closing Ceremony

10.00am – 11.00am Sections Reports
11.00am – 12.00am Exchange of opinions, discussion of final documents
12.00am – 12.30am Coffee Break
12.30am – 2.00pm Discussion and adoption of final documents. Closing ceremony.
2.00pm – 3.50pm Lunch

THE RECOMMENDATIONS
of the Russian National Scientific
and Methodical Conference
on Hunan Rights Education
June 30 – July 2 1998, Moscow

Being assembled in the Year of the 50th Anniversary of adoption the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly and in the Year of Human Rights in the Russian Federation, the participants of the of the Russian National Scientific and Methodical Conference on Human Rights Education which has been held from June 30 till July 2 1998 in Moscow

mention that, after acceptance in the Russian Federation on November 22, 1991 the Declaration of Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen, the educational course “Human Rights” began to be introduced in the system of secondary and higher education, the first manuals have appeared, the preparation of the teachers on human rights began, in a number of high schools the human rights faculties were formed. The certain progress in realization of the documents of the Moscow meeting of a CSCE Conference on Human Dimension (1991) and World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (1993) concerning inclusion of human rights education in the programs of educational institutions is achieved. The level of the population's sense of justice, civil employees, workers of law-enforcement bodies, public figures has raised.

However, radical turn in dissemination of human rights knowledge and cardinal renovation of secondary and higher education in the field of human rights has not taken place.

The conference, having discussed the reports and statements of the participants, recommends:

1. Organisational legal maintenance

To the Government of the Russian Federation:

To accept the resolution "On Bases of State Policy in the Field of Human Rights Information, Enlightenment and Education".
To form the Federal Commission on Human Rights Information, Enlightenment and Education according to the UN Plan on Decade of Human Rights Education 1995-2004;
To create the Russian Institute of Human Rights as a unit of the Russian Academy of Science;
To create the Federal Centre of Human Rights Information and Education.

The conference recommends to the the Plenipotentiary for Human Rights and Presidential Commission on Human Rights of the Russian Federation to create joint councils on human rights information, enlightenment and education, including such councils in regions of the Russian Federation.

The conference also comes out in favour of creation teaching and methodical centres on human rights and democracy education in regions for various categories of the population.

The conference recognizes as necessary creation of the Russian National Association of the Human Rights Teachers.

2. Upbringing and education in the field of human rights

The conference recommends to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to bring into accord with the international obligations of Russia the actual Federal laws "On Education" and "On Higher and Postgraduate Vocational Education".

To recommend to the Ministry of General and Vocational Education of the Russian Federation:

To consider at joint session of the Russian Ministry of General and Vocational Education Collegium and Presidium of the Russian Academy of Science the condition of human rights, international humanitarian right, democracy, culture of peace education, in the system of continuous education, including question of wide application of the system of distance education for teaching human rights in nation-wide system of teaching, professional and advanced training;
To reflect problems of human rights, democracy and culture of peace, having paid the special attention to them interdisciplinary character and connection with urgent socio economic, political and legal problems, in the state educational standards of elementary, secondary and higher education;
To introduce substantial and methodical courses on human rights and the rights of the child for students of pedagogical educational institutions;
To generalize and to distribute positive experience of the UNESCO associated schools, experience of cooperation with the Council of Europe on civic education development and human rights education;
To include into the federal program the publishing of textbooks and manuals on human rights for system of continuous education;
To carry out preparation of the annual report "On condition and problems of human rights education in institutions of general and vocational educational” by the appropriate structural divisions of the Ministry and subordinated scientific institutions, with the publication in mass-media.
To recommend to the ministries and departments having educational institutions on advanced training and retraining of the staff, and to non-governmental educational institutions:
To introduce an educational complex course "Human rights" as the integral part of arts education and special scientific discipline;
To develop the special programs of legal training and retraining on human rights for various categories of the employees (municipal officials, social workers, military men, judges and judicial workers, employees of law-enforcement bodies, penitentiary system, workers of public health services, education etc.).

To recommend to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, proceeding from the international obligations of Russia, to develop the programs and to carry out preparation of judicial structure in sphere of human rights in view of the European case law.

The conference considers as necessary creation of public expert council on estimation curricula, programs, manuals and other teaching and methodical literature for due reflection of human rights problematics, exclusion discriminatory stereotypes, out-of-date dogmas and political biases from them.

The conference recommends to high schools in view of their specificity to create interdisciplinary faculties on human rights, having recognized human rights as independent educational discipline.

To recommend to the chiefs of higher educational institutions of all organisational and legal forms to include and to expand human rights, democracy and legality education into the programs of educational institutions of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Federal Service of Security, to enter into the obligatory program of military men training of all levels, employees of the Ministry of Interior Affairs and the Federal Service of Security, high-grade courses of the international humanitarian law.

To recommend to the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Service of Security to study experience of the Ministry of Interior Affairs on creation and work of human rights faculties in educational institutions.

To recommend for the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Federal Service of Security, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Justice to distribute widely among their employees the international documents concerning human rights and law-enforcement activity, in particular, the special UN documents: "Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials" (1979), "Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials" (1990), "Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners" (1955), Council of Europe: the Declaration on Police (1979), European Penitentiary Rules (1987) etc.

To bring to the notice of all educational institutions the recommendations of the international organizations (UN, UNESCO, Council of Europe, OSCE) on human rights, democracy and culture of peace education and upbringing.

The conference considers as necessary to address to bodies, governmental and non-governmental organizations, mass-media with the offer to promote to the utmost development of ideas, values and practice of volunteership (socially useful activity) as important component in system of human rights education and realization.

3. Enlightenment of the population and dissemination of information on human rights

The conference acts for participation of state and business structures:

In support and assistance to non-governmental organizations engaged informing, education and upbringing in the field of human rights, non-violence, peace, democracy;
In creation of an information network for non-governmental organizations, including on the basis of modern electronic media of communication;
In activization of using the Internet in dissemination of knowledge about human rights and formation civil and human rights protection culture of the graduates of high schools;
In preparation and realization a cycle of popular scientific information programmes on broadcasting and TV stations devoted to human rights for various social and age groups;
In mass circulations publishing of popular literature, illustrated books for children devoted to human rights and the rights of the child, in languages of the peoples of Russia;
In preparation and edition of the base textbooks and teaching and methodical literature for various educational institutions on a problematics of the human rights;
In publishing of the normative acts collections on human rights (international and Russian legislation) for the specialized groups (for secondary, higher and special educational institutions, for the sociologists, psychologists, social educators, journalists, military men, workers of law-enforcement bodies and other experts);
In carrying out conferences, seminars and other kinds of forums directed on exchange by experience in the field of human rights education and maintenance, activization of scientific development etc.

4. International cooperation

Conference acts for expansion of cooperation with other countries on bilateral basis, with UN, UNESCO, Council of Europe, OSCE, ICRC, other international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights information and education and, in particular, for:

Formation of the international documents databank on human rights on modern media;
Designing and introduction of the computerized reception system of information from the international databanks;
Using of Council of Europe opportunities on organization the Centres of information and documentation in regions of Russia;
Using of UN and its specialized organizations and institutions opportunities£ in particular, within the framework of the projects of cooperation with UN Development Programme, for expert estimation of the administration bills on their conformity to their international standards in the field of human rights, advisory service and expert help on human rights education;
Continuation of work on implementation of the Council of Europe recommendations on human rights education in educational process of Russia.

To expand cooperation of Russia with the Council of Europe by participation in the projects of the Program of technical assistance in legal area, organization and realization of seminars, other measures;

To encourage and to support joint practical efforts and information, ideas and experience interchange between the separate persons, groups and organizations in the field of teaching knowledge about democratic values and human rights in educational institutions, including training, information, books and educational materials interchange, scientific and professional exchanges and conferences, grants for researches, granting of expert knowledge and advisory services at a national and international level;

To promote participation of the representatives of Russia in the European and international events devoted to problems of human rights, democracy and culture of peace education.

Accepted unanimously at final session of July 2, 1998.

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