How might we better educate for justice and peace?

Abstract

The preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed shortly after World War Two, asserted a noble purpose for human rights, namely that the rights of all human beings 'is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world' (UDHR, 1948: preamble).Veteran New York-based peace educator, Betty Reardon, who sadly died this year, expressed it succinctly: 'Human rights education is as fundamental and constitutive to peace education as human rights are to peace' (Reardon, 1994, p. 82). She asserted that most global problems could be viewed as issues of human rights. We recall this key purpose of human rights, and therefore of human rights education-'the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world'-as we prepare this issue of HRER for publication in November 2023, for the world is again at war. The war in Ukraine, which began with Russia's invasion in February 2022, has continued for almost two whole years, and has seen a reshaping of the refugee population in Europe, with Human Rights Education Review-Volume 6(1) 2 many Ukrainian citizens joining those from Syria and elsewhere seeking safety in countries across the continent. Yet levels of global warfare and civilian deaths have escalated since October 2023, following an attack on Israeli citizens by Hamas fighters in which some 1,200 people died. Israel's subsequent and unprecedented deadly attack on occupied Gaza, killing more than 15,000 Palestinians in October and November 2023, is a human rights disaster.More than 6,000 Palestinian children have died in this same period, and the population of Gaza, which has been under a blockade since 2007, has experienced siege and aerial bombardment, which has denied them access to basic human rights, such as food, water, shelter, and health care, and for children, a halt to their schooling. The United Nations has warned that 'time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe' (UN, 2 November 2023). Despite huge citizen protests around the world, calling for a ceasefire and for peace, at the time of writing there is no clear end in sight.Other wars, such as that in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023, have been eclipsed by these two conflicts. Individuals and communities, watching from afar, may feel a sense of helplessness and despair, since parallel to the physical warfare is an information or propaganda war. Journalists in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have not been protected.The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says November 2023 has been the deadliest month