Peace Education for a Conflict-Ridden Africa

Youth for Human Rights International visits Ethiopia, seat of the African Union, to promote human rights education for a culture of peace throughout the continent.

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of data compiled by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of people living in sub-Saharan Africa who were forced to leave home due to conflict reached a new high of 18.4 million in 2017. In their visit to Ethiopia on the 16th World Educational Tour, Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) met with officials of the African Union and concerned NGOs to promote human rights education as the key to creating a permanent change on this crucial issue.

Youth for Human Rights International President Dr. Mary Shuttleworth and YHRI Ethiopian Youth for Human Rights chapter director, a professor at the Federal Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institute (FTVETI), participated in conferences at FTVETI, St. Mary’s University and Kotebe Metropolitan University.

They met with representatives of the African Union Governance Architecture Secretariat, the Center for Human Rights of Addis Ababa University, the head of the Civics and Ethical Studies Department of Kotebe Metropolitan University, and the African Union Commission on Peace, Security and Governance. And they signed a memorandum of understanding with the Peace Education Consortium.

At every meeting and conference, YHRI stressed mandatory education on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for today’s youth as the key to changing the mindset of the next generation of African leaders.

Youth for Human Rights makes its entire curriculum and all education materials available free of charge to educators, community leaders and nonprofits for their educational programs.

Dr. Shuttleworth believes the importance of human rights education cannot be overemphasized.

“It’s not a question of what it will cost to teach human rights,” she says, “but what it would cost not to.”

For more information on Youth for Human Rights and the history of the YHRI World Educational Tour, watch “Shining a Light on Human Rights,” an episode of Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network, or visit the website of Youth for Human Rights International.