HUMAN RIGHTS AND EDUCATIVE POLITICS

Abstract

Human rights are an inescapable reference for any kind of democratic life in common that attaches true value to people’s dignity in the name of peace, justice, freedom and equality. They are, for that very reason, an ethical and moral foundation especially sensitive to society’s needs and expectations in such a time of risk and uncertainty as we are living. This is the reason why, more than ever before, it is important to look at the future of human rights from a historical perspective, as we are only a few months away from the 60th anniversary of the passing of the Universal Declaration at the United Nations General Assembly on December 10th, 1948. This scenario, defined by difficult and at times unconnected paths, frames educational practice as a fundamental human right on which both societies and citizens stake their true «raison d’être ». This is assumed to be the case when the emphasis is laid on the political and educational nature of human rights, with a threefold purpose: first, that of demanding educational policies which give greater prominence to education in and for human rights; second, that of conceiving human rights education as a political and pedagogical option; lastly, that of forcing a greater convergence between political discourse and educational practice, rethinking the old and the new challenges that human rights must face from a pedagogical and social point of view.