SDG target 4.7 and human rights education in Africa
This briefing note presents the Danish Institute for Human Rights' SDG 4.7 Human Rights Education Monitoring Tool and showcases how five African National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) have worked with the tool to assess the human rights education situation in their countries.
The note contains an overview of their findings, assessed against international human rights obligations. It also presents examples of how they have followed up on their assessments with new initiatives, aimed at addressing some of the gaps in human rights education in primary and secondary schools, or in teacher education, they have identified in their countries.
The note thus seeks to serve a double purpose of:
- sharing information on the current human rights education situation in the African countries involved in this initiative – highlighting gaps as well as good practices
- showcasing how systematic assessments of the situation, based on the application of the SDG 4.7 / Human Rights Education Monitoring Tool, generates insights that enable NHRIs to devise new strategies for promoting human rights education in their respective countries.
By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
The 2030 Agenda and international human rights standards call for the inclusion of human rights education across countries and regions. We hope that the note will feed into dialogues on challenges in achieving this inclusion, and that more NHRIs, or other types of stakeholders in the education and human rights landscape, in all regions, will find inspiration here for embarking upon their own assessment processes.
The SDG 4.7 / Human Rights Education Monitoring Tool is available online and can be used at no cost – and allows users to identify achievements and gaps with regard to human rights education in primary and secondary school in their countries.
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