高清福利片

On a humid day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, law students gather in a seminar room to learn about international human rights law. They reflect on the violations of fundamental rights that occurred during the Khmer Rouge regime less than fifty years ago.

Several thousand miles away, in London, a group of secondary school students discuss the human rights implications of families being unable to afford essential utilities.

In India, pupils discuss caste discrimination in their human rights class, while in Namibia, students are learning about human rights through the concept of 鈥榰buntu鈥�.聽

These snapshots reveal that human rights education 鈥� education 鈥榝or鈥�, 鈥榓bout鈥�, and 鈥榯hrough鈥� universal and internationally guaranteed human rights 鈥� is delivered across diverse educational contexts.

Originally proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in the 1970s, HRE was firmly incorporated into the United Nations (UN) human rights agenda following the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 and the World Programme for Human Rights Education in the 2000s.

It is now delivered in disparate settings across the globe, both inside and outside 鈥榝ormal鈥� education systems.聽

The above snapshots also demonstrate ways that educators attempt to explain human rights through locally relevant issues or frameworks.

The process can be important in contexts where 鈥榟uman rights鈥� and associated UN jargon and institutions are perceived as politically sensitive, irrelevant and/or an imposition of western or 鈥榦ther鈥� values.

Since human dignity is foundational to the international human rights framework, it is unsurprising to find it emerge as a growing theme in the discourse around human rights education.

Human dignity has been described as a principle on which human dignity should be based, a goal which human rights education should pursue, and a tool to help students understand why human rights matter.

Yet, the boundaries of human dignity remain contested, with a range of conceptualisations persisting across diverse cultures and context.

Over the course of a two-year project titled Locating 鈥淗uman Dignity鈥� in Cambodia鈥� researchers from University of Sydney, Macquarie University, Queen鈥檚 University Belfast and the Centre for the 高清福利片 of Humanitarian Law in Cambodia have been exploring the possibilities and challenges of integrating the concept of 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� into human rights curricula in Cambodia鈥檚 law schools.

Dialogue with human rights educators in Cambodia raised the possibility that 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� might provide a useful tool through which to discuss and promote foundational human rights values in a politically sensitive climate where they have become increasingly associated with political opposition to the dominant Cambodian People鈥檚 Party.

This makes human rights education increasingly delicate and challenging for educators. However, in such a context it is arguably even more valuable for future lawyers and legal practitioners to further their understanding of the underpinning principles of human rights.

Over the course of the project, the team interviewed and conducted focus groups with human rights educators from around Cambodia.

They also held focus groups and trial teaching sessions with law students in Phnom Penh, using locally relevant case studies to explore 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� and its relationship to human rights.

Two key findings emerged. First, that while educators highlighted the potential importance of the 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� concept in human rights education, more teaching resources were required.

For example, one educator noted that the concept 鈥淚s very much in need of explanation. If we don't understand, we cannot teach others and [may] make them even more confused鈥�.

Another suggested: 鈥淸i]f you can publish a book and state the general terms, the principles for an individual to have dignity鈥�legal conditions or traditional legal conditions, it would be easy for me to teach.鈥�

The second finding was that using case studies as an entry point sparked animated conversations around how 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� and other human rights concepts were understood in Cambodia.

Students engaged in discussion on the gendered dimensions of dignity, resonance with Khmer social values, Buddhist concepts, and rights and responsibilities more broadly.

For example, during a discussion based on a case study on the theme of the dignity of the dead, one student mentioned that a traditional funeral with Buddhist rituals should still be arranged, 鈥渂ecause it is the last chance for them to listen to various chant and dharmas according to the tradition that we, Cambodians, have to prepare鈥�The funeral is a good deed and dignity for all of us.鈥�

On the value of the case study approach, one student noted that 鈥淚 can gain some additional knowledge related to case analysis and increase knowledge about dignity and human rights to another level鈥�Through the discussion, it gave me new knowledge from all of you, and all of you also received new knowledge from me.鈥�

Educators also reflected positively on the ways that engagement with 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� could inform their teaching practice.

For example, at a workshop with Cambodian educators in May 2022, one participant noted that talking about 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� made them feel more confident in their ability teach human rights and foundational human rights concepts, as it provoked deeper reflections on what these concepts meant.

This initial research suggests that there is an appetite for additional resources on 鈥漢uman dignity鈥�, and that a case study approach might provide one way in which to introduce the concept in a legal education context.

The project team have worked to design teaching materials for four sessions on 鈥榟uman dignity鈥� that can be adapted to suit existing human rights law courses in Cambodia.

Drawing on the team鈥檚 research over the past two years, the materials include several case studies drawn from relevant bodies and institutions of law, within Cambodia and beyond.

In each case study, students are provided with the facts of the case and the role that 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� played in the judgment, before being asked to consider discussion questions that aim to foster reflection on the concept鈥檚 meaning and purpose in that context.

The hope is that 鈥渉uman dignity鈥� may act as a helpful entry point through which to reflect on human rights, both as an international framework and as something relevant to Cambodia.

The Project Team

Dr Rachel Killean聽

Prof. Chris McCrudden (QUB)

Prof. Hastings Donnan (QUB)

Dr Gillian Kane聽

Dr Christoph Sperfeldt (Macquarie)

Ms Boravin Tann (CSHL)

Mr Kimsan Soy (CSHL)