People have different understandings and experiences of the climate crisis, depending on where they live, who they are, what they do for work, and for many other reasons. This is why human rights education on the climate crisis and a just energy transition is so necessary: it helps us understand the issue and what we need to do together for a just and equitable low-carbon future. 

We’re thrilled to announce that on June 12th, we’ll be adding a new course to the Human Rights Academy: Energy Transition: Powering Change or Business as Usual?. This course focuses on energy transition, addressing the vital need for a just and rights respecting shift towards renewable sources. By exploring some of the social, economic, and environmental aspects of this transition, participants will gain the knowledge and tools to advocate for a just and rights respecting future. 

Here are some additional ways that human rights education can help us do this:

Building awareness and understanding of the links between climate change and human rights

Many people are still unaware of the links between climate change and human rights. Human rights education helps to raise awareness of the ways in which climate change affects fundamental human rights such as the right to life, health, food, water, and shelter. It can also help people to understand the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized and vulnerable communities. And it can help people learn what solutions those most affected are calling on the world to support. 

One key resource, recently developed by the Global Human Rights Education team is the online course Climate Change and Human Rights. This course takes a deep dive into the relationship between human rights and climate change. It’s a fantastic example that highlights why human rights education is absolutely crucial. 

Encouraging participation and engagement in a just energy transition 

A just transition to a low-carbon future requires the participation and engagement of all people, especially those most affected by the transition. Human rights education can help to empower people to participate in the transition process, by providing them with the technical skills to engage with policymakers, advocate for their rights, and participate in decision-making processes.

Advocating for a rights-based approach to the energy transition

A rights-based approach to the transition means ensuring that human rights are at the center of all decision-making processes related to the transition. This means understanding the ways in which people’s rights may be affected at each stage of the energy transition, and advocating for policies and practices that protect their rights. Human rights education can help to build support for this approach by encouraging people to advocate for their rights and to challenge policies and practices that do not prioritize human rights, especially of the most vulnerable people.

Fostering collaboration and cooperation between different stakeholders

A just transition to a low–carbon future requires collaboration and cooperation between different parties, including governments, civil society, the private sector, Indigenous peoples, and other communities. Human rights education can help to foster this collaboration by promoting dialogue and understanding between different groups, and by encouraging people to work together towards a common goal.

Supporting the development of policies and practices that prioritize human rights

Finally, human rights education can help to support the development of policies and practices that prioritize human rights in the transition to a low-carbon future. By promoting awareness of human rights issues and encouraging participation and engagement in decision-making processes, human rights education can help people – from those who are most affected to those who are perhaps less affected but who fundamentally believe in a truly just energy transition – to ensure that human rights is at the heart of all policies and practices related to ending fossil fuel dependency and transitioning to a low-carbon world. 

The climate crisis presents us with an urgent challenge that requires a just and equitable response. Human rights education can play a critical role in achieving this goal, by building awareness and understanding of the links between climate change and human rights, encouraging participation and engagement in the transition process, advocating for a rights-based approach, fostering collaboration and cooperation between different parties, and supporting the development of policies and practices that prioritize human rights. By prioritizing human rights in the transition to a low-carbon future, we can ensure that the benefits of this transition are shared equitably, and that the rights and dignity of all people are respected.

The post Energy Transition: Powering Change or Business as Usual? appeared first on Amnesty International.

One of the new initiatives presented by Amnesty Italy was the project  “Stop online violence against women and girls by changing attitudes and behaviour of young people through human rights education”, a project funded by the European Commision. StandByMe is a project in partnership with Amnesty Slovenia, Amnesty Poland, Amnesty Hungary, the International Secretariat Human Rights Education Team, Bruno Kessler Foundation and the University of Trento. 

The webinar was an occasion to present one of the many outputs of this project,  a  new Human Rights Academy course “Confronting and Countering Gender-based Violence” that will be launched in multiple languages on the 8th of March. 

The course explores the root causes of gender-based violence and aims to offer the knowledge and promote attitudes necessary to challenge harmful gender norms and stereotypes,  by targeting mainly young people and educators.

In addition to sharing this new StandByMe initiative,  two other outstanding human rights education projects were presented during the webinar: the #VivanLasMujeres project by Amnesty Mexico and the project Strengthening Mechanisms and Resources to Combat Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Child Marriage in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Sierra Leone presented by Amnesty Senegal. Discussing different methodologies and practices adopted on such diverse fields of action brought out useful ideas for reflection applicable in the planning and implementing of educational projects on women’s rights.

Human rights education must involve the entire population. Political and religious leaders must also take part.

Aminata Dieye, Human Rights Education Coordinator, Amnesty International Senegal

Gender-based violence is a term that ecompasses the many facets of a form of discrimination that can surface from an online insult, as well as turning into the motive for physical and/or psychological violence. As we know, the phenomenon varies in form and scope according to the local setting and cultural norms, and this certainly increases the complexity in dealing with the topic on a global level. 

Amnesty International has always taken part in the fight against this phenomenon, working as a movement in various parts of the world. One of the fundamental areas in which Amnesty International’s works to achieve this change is that of education and training on human rights, with the aim of involving young students now, and as the adults of tomorrow, and the wider population in these discussions. This means working closely with various communities offering education, training and tools to promote a change in attitudes and behaviours towards gender equity.

Although, at times, it may seem challenging to respond to this phenomenon of discriminatory violence, the role of schools and education is a fundamental starting point. The path that the global society has to walk to achieve gender equity, is a long process of deconstructing cultural schemes that we have inherited from a long history of gender oppression. Only by working with young people, to build their knowledge and skills through education, is it possible to aspire to a future where human rights are unquestionably part of individual and, above all, collective awareness.

The post Women’s Rights are Human Rights: The Important Role of Education appeared first on Amnesty International.

In April 2021, Temirlan started his blog Qaznews24, a mock account of non-existent news that quickly gained popularity. The blog was active online only for three weeks, yet in this short time it gained more than 5,000 subscribers. Temirlan’s publications were viewed more than a million times, a huge number for Kazakhstan with a population of 18 million people. Some of the most popular posts addressed poverty, corruption, and discrimination.

Temirlan had no political agenda, he just wanted to show the absurdity of some news broadcasted by official TV channels. On his Instagram page he had a disclaimer warning that the news was a parody and not real. Despite that, the police officers searched his house, seized his laptop, two mobile phones and a modem, and took him to the police station where they subjected him to a five-hour interrogation. He was threatened and investigated for spreading ‘deliberately false information’, a criminal offense punishable by a fine of approximately 17,000 euros or imprisonment for up to three years.

Amnesty has been running a Human Rights Education (HRE) project in Central Asia since 2019 and established good relationships with civil society organizations in Kazakhstan, including Public Foundation Erkindik Qanaty and Public Fund Youth Information Service of Kazakhstan. It was their suggestion to choose Temirlan’s case for the regional Write for Rights campaign. This inclusive and participatory approach was identified by all partners as the key to its success.

And as a key part of the campaign, Amnesty developed an educational activity that was implemented by educators and facilitators all over Europe and Central Asia. More than 4,000 children and young people who participated in the educational events learnt about Temirlan’s story and decided to show solidarity with Temirlan by writing him letters.

“The activity was aimed at high schoolers and unpacked the right to freedom of expression. Satire or satirical news against the government do not usually endanger anyone; parody against corruption, and other societal problems can be an important means of expressing your opinion and communicating ideas on matters of public interest. Writing letters of solidarity to Temirlan and petitions to authorities were integral parts of the educational activity”, explains Stasya Denisova, Human Rights Education Coordinator for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International.

Within a year of being featured in the Write for Rights Campaign, the criminal investigation against Temirlan was stopped. On 22 July 2022, the Prosecutor General of Almaty closed the investigation, and the court fully agreed with the arguments of the defence and of an independent expert who confirmed that “political satire cannot be qualified as fake news or disinformation with intent to harm society.”

All the letters that I received from all over the world gave me strength and support! I considered the closure of the case as a victory and a triumph of justice. 

Temirlan

Ahead of the 2022 W4R campaign launch, Temirlan joined Amnesty’s HRE training workshop in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and shared his personal experience of surveillance, intimidation, fear of prosecution and how the campaign had helped him. Temirlan’s testimony bolstered a civil society increasingly under threat in the region. Activists from other Central Asia countries, facing similar threats to their liberty for exercising their right to speak out, found great inspiration in Temirlan’s story of resilience in the face of persecution and ultimate triumph.  

Stasya Denisova highlighted how “Education plus action equals transformative power; and storytelling is a powerful HRE approach. If combined with an opportunity to take human rights actions for protagonists of these stories, it can change their lives and reinforce our commitment to human rights”.

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“At the Climate Justice Camp, I joined youth and climate activists from some of the world’s most affected regions to engage in collective learning, storytelling, artivism and capacity building. Learning about the personal stories of young people on the frontlines of the climate crisis and their struggles for justice, was both sobering and inspiring, and emphasized the need for the voices of those most impacted to be heard and listened to in forums where climate policy is shaped. Particularly in the African region, renewable energy development is accelerating to meet the demands of the transition, but also risks harming local communities and reproducing or deepening inequalities, if the way such projects are designed, implemented, and, most importantly, financed, adopts our current profit-based model. As both activists and academics highlighted, for the energy transition to be just, we need to move away from the extractive, inequality-accelerating economic structures that are in place to an economy which prioritizes human rights over profit, and works for both people and the planet. The solidarity built across movements and geographies during the Climate Justice Camp makes me hopeful that the collective power of our connected struggles will bring about the systemic change needed to combat this crisis.”

–        Manny Zhang, Research Fellow, Center for Economic and Social Rights

The camp featured over 90 workshops on a wide range of topics related to the climate crisis, including: Fighting Climate Disinformation, Organizer Burnout and Resilience, and Just Transitions to a Low Carbon Resilient Economy. The delegation from Amnesty International facilitated workshops on Climate Change and Human Rights, Strengthening Digital Organizing for Climate Justice, Research on Online Harassment of Climate Justice Activists, and Effective Communications in Climate Change. The CJC created a space that centered the importance of developing inclusive, comprehensive, and intersectional climate curricula that reflect how the climate crisis has direct impacts on the ability to enjoy human rights such as the rights to education, sanitation and housing. Activist Edrieënna Brandao reflected on the power of education when confronting the climate crisis, and found that the role of education is critically important.

“So much of the work we do requires the audacity of imagination. It requires an audit of the inheritance we received as a species and methodically removing (unlearning) colonial ideologies about ourselves, others, and the natural world. It also requires reimagining our language, laws, and practices in such a way that critical thinking, active citizenship, and a respect for pluralism becomes our norm.

The camp reminded me that protecting human rights is a practice that we as a species must continue to explore and refine together. The future of human rights education should focus on empowering learners to use evidence-based & trauma-informed tools and best practices to contribute to healthy social and natural ecosystems. Learning outcomes should be drawn from the rich stories about ally-ship, resilience, self-advocacy, indigenous knowledge, holistic health, and solidarity. Education is the one thing that cannot be taken away from us, especially when learners use it to build their dream reality”

-Edrieënna Brandao, Educator, Instructional Design & Social Equity

The CJC also highlighted the importance of bringing youth to the table to discuss equitable and sustainable solutions for transitioning to a green, renewable economy. Youth were provided opportunities to take on leadership roles, facilitate workshops, develop sustainable solutions, share their life experiences, and have their voices be elevated and heard by their peers. Climate activist and Amnesty International Youth Delegate to COP27, Natalie Gwatirisa, reflects:

“The climate justice camp, a mini–COP, I guess, with hundreds of young climate activists gathered sharing one common goal to fight for climate justice. One of the most memorable experiences during the camp was hosting a session on the effectiveness of climate change communication where people of different professions with different targeted audiences in communicating climate change were present. This was my first international platform to host a physical session with different nationalities which turned out so well.  One of the main objectives of the CJC was to gather youth voices towards COP27, and the COP27 sessions were held throughout the week which also helped me to get to understand some of the issues concerning climate finance. Least I forget the interactions I had with other influencing climate activists, sharing their journey and how they conduct their work in their communities and ideas as well.”

-Natalie Gwatirisa, Climate Advocate, Amnesty International Zimbabwe

The climate crisis impacts the human rights of all people. But for some, the impacts of the crisis are felt more adversely and permeate every aspect of their life. One important learning from the CJC was the importance of creating and facilitating spaces for individuals to come together and safely share how the climate crisis impacts their well-being. There was an incredible amount of resilience displayed by activists throughout the week and it was obvious that this resilience was held up by the collective support activists provided to each other. Facilitators at the camp took great care to ensure that participants came together throughout the day and discussed their motivations, fears, frustrations and hopes. The work of climate activists and environmental human rights defenders is difficult and, for many, dangerous. The creation of spaces for activists to discuss strategies for ensuring their own safety and well-being was deeply important. Climate activist, maria jaya reflects:

“Seeing everyone together, especially my fellow young climate activists from the most affected areas on Earth, was so powerful. I felt such immense joy to see all of us in solidarity with each other’s causes in that space, all while we’re fighting for our people, for our water, for our forests, and for our lands back home. I learned so much from the daily workshops and the sessions, and I’m now more motivated than ever to keep resisting against extractive and exploitative institutions threatening our Home, especially in the Philippines, which is the most vulnerable to the climate crisis.”

–        -maria jaya (she/her), Youth Climate Activist from Negros Occidental, Philippines and Amnesty International Youth Delegate to COP27

The CJC’s focus on the role of youth is an important counterweight to the established state-led decision making bodies like COP27. The most devastating effects of climate change will be felt most acutely by those who are still young enough to be alive in the second half of the century. Unless we change course and move towards a sustainable trajectory, life on a warming planet will become more and more challenging, threatening the very survival of both humans and the ecosystems on which we depend. Youth need to be at the forefront of these discussions and human rights education is critical to ensuring involvement and change.

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From 2,326 letters in 2001 to close to 4.7 million letters, tweets, petition signatures and other actions in 2021, people the world over have used the power of their words to unite behind the idea that geography is no barrier to solidarity. Together, these individuals have helped transform the lives of more than 100 people over the years, freeing them from torture, harassment or unjust imprisonment.

The human rights education toolkit for this year’s Write for Rights campaign can help educators and participants to gain more understanding and build solidarity, preparing them to take action. These human rights education activities can take place in a variety of settings, such as a school classroom, a community group, a family or an activist group. As a facilitator, you can adapt the activity to best suit the needs and context of the group you are working with. For example, you may want to consider what knowledge the group already has about the issues discussed, the size and age range of your group and how to best organize the activity to allow for active participation, the physical setting of your activity, delivering it in-person or online and any limitations. When participants want to take action on a case, discuss with them whether it is safe for them to do so.

The activities are all based on participatory learning methods in which learners are not merely presented with information, they explore, discuss, analyze and question issues relating to the stories they will work with in each activity. This methodology allows participants to:

• develop key competencies and skills
• form their own opinions, raise questions, and gain a deeper understanding of the issues presented
• take control of their learning, and shapes discussions according to their interests, abilities and concerns
• have the space required for them to engage emotionally and develop their own attitudes

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