Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Prepared by representatives of different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It defines, for the first time, the fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
Source: UNIC Rio – United Nations Information Centre in Rio de Janeiro, December 2000
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Hamburg Declaration on Adult Education
The Hamburg Conference (CONFITEA V), sponsored by UNESCO in 1997, represents an important milestone as it established the linking of adult education with the sustainable and equitable development of mankind.
“(…) Only human-centered development and the existence of a participatory society, based on integral respect for human rights, will lead to fair and sustainable development. (…) The education of adults, within this context, becomes more than a right: it is the key to the 21ST century; It is both a consequence of the exercise of citizenship as a condition for full participation in society. (…) Adult education can model the identity of the citizen and give meaning to his life “(Declaration of Hamburg, 1997 apud SESI/UNESCO, 1999, p. 18).
Source: SESI – UNESCO, 1999
World Declaration on Education for All:
Basic Learning Needs satisfaction
For more than 40 years, the nations of the world have affirmed in the Universal Declaration of human Rights that “every person has the right to education”. However, despite the efforts made by countries around the world to ensure the right to education for all, the following realities persist:
- More than 100 million children, of whom at least 60 million are girls, do not have access to primary education;
- More than 960 million adults – two-thirds of which women – are illiterate, and functional illiteracy and a significant problem in all industrialised or developing countries;
- More than a third of the world’s adults do not have access to printed knowledge, new skills and technologies, which could improve the quality of life and help them realize and adapt to social and cultural changes;
- More than 100 million children and countless adults are unable to complete the basic cycle, and millions more, despite completing it, fail to acquire essential knowledge and skills.
As a result, the participants of the World Conference on Education for all, meeting in Jomtien, Thailand, from March 5 to 9, 1990, recalled that education is a fundamental right of all, women and men, of all ages, worldwide.
Source: JOMTIEN, 1990 apud UNESCO, 1998