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Human Rights
In the field of human rights, UNESCO works to encourage and disseminate human rights research; to promote education in human rights; to lead action in the fight against all forms of discrimination at national, regional and international level; to encourage cooperation among all actors and networks; to promote democracy and to further reflection on new forms of violence, notably by drawing up regional plans for human security.
 

un_p_mugabane.jpg Its work has three major aims:
With regard to the advancement of human rights, action is concentrated in areas where UNESCO has a special mandate: generating and sharing knowledge, protecting human rights, renewing and reinforcing commitment to human rights education and providing advisory services and technical assistance to Member States.

In important related areas, such as women and gender, where emphasis is on promoting equality between the sexes and on the social dimension of women's rights, actions focus on research, networking, advocacy and knowledge sharing of best practices.

In the fight against discrimination, UNESCO tries to identify the obstacles hampering the full exercise of human rights: the impact of nationalism, religious intolerance, discrimination against minorities, and forms of discrimination arising from scientific progress or from illness such as HIV and AIDS.

After concentrating its work on the theoretical analysis of the principles of democracy, UNESCO developed a strategy in 2002-2003 for an international programme on democracy. This strategy is coordinated by the International Centre for Human Sciences (ICHS) at Byblos (also referred to as the Byblos Centre) in close cooperation with the International Panel on Democracy and Development (IPDD).

UNESCO encourages and advances research on new forms of violence and develops regional plans for human security by improving links with local initiatives to prevent conflicts at their source, through respect for human rights and policies for sustainable development and for alleviating poverty.

See also
Photo: South Africa © UN/P. Mugabane



  News  

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Launched on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March), the campaign is a new initiative of the partnership between UNESCO and FC Barcelona concluded in November 2007. Several activities will be organised throughout 2010.
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As a member of the Advisory Board of the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC), UNESCO is pleased to announce the launch of the call for applications for the E.MA programme 2010-2011. The deadline is 19 March 2010.
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The second phase of the Campaign “My Life is a Story” has been recently launched by Lauren Child. The Campaign has been initiated by the British children’s author and illustrator in 2008 in the framework of her partnership with UNESCO’s Programme for the Education of Children in Need and her publisher Hachette Children’s Books. Its purpose is to give children all over the world the opportunity to tell the story of their life through writing, drawing and photography.
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The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova launched the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures with the establishment of the High Panel on Peace and Dialogue among Cultures. “This day marks the beginning of an intellectual journey throughout which we will reflect on ways to trace new perspectives for peace in the 21st Century,” declared the Director-General.
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Climate change is one of the major concerns for the international community. Among its consequences, its impact on migration is the object of increasing attention from both policy-makers and researchers. As the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change put it, “greater resource scarcity, desertification, risks of droughts and floods, and rising sea levels could drive many millions of people to migrate.’
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The Arabic version of the book Human Rights: Questions and Answers by Leah Levin (illustrated by Plantu), translated and printed with the support of the Italian Development Cooperation – Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was presented in Rabat (Morocco), on Wednesday 25 November 2009.



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