Contemporary challenges to international human rights law and the role of human rights education

Abstract

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION ‘Human rights’ has been proclaimed as the ‘idea of our time’. Two of the landmarks in its steady progress have been the 50-year celebration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2008, and the 30-year commemoration of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights this year. These events occasion introspection and reflections on the future of human rights. How well do human rights institutions and the human rights discourse stand up against the challenges of the early 21st century? These challenges include claims to state sovereignty in the face of international condemnation, as exemplified by the recent events in Libya; religious fundamentalism; the legalization of politics; and the empirically-based questioning the ‘actual difference’ particularly international human rights has made. These challenges are considered, and the role of human rights education in addressing them is explored.