Human Rights Education at the Universities in Lebanon” Between Reality and Expectation

Human Rights Education at the Universities in Lebanon” Between Reality and Expectation

(Beirut, April 2nd, 2016) “Between the universality of principles and the specificity of performance, several challenges of human rights arise and the inherent universal legal guarantees protecting human dignity become vulnerable to serious violations; taking into account particularly the specificity of our societies that foster the culture of family, tribe and sect, and adding to that the various transformations in the Arab World and the Arab revolutions that stirred a refusal of political tyranny and of systems that have violated our rights and have weakened the democratic structure upon which a country of freedom, rights and Law is based. These challenges confirm that the upbringing based on human rights values is the cornerstone of the reformation of individuals, the society and the country. This is why universities are the foundation for any change in upbringing a true citizen.”

With these words, Dr. Khouloud Khatib, president of the Lebanese Organization for Unity & Defending Equal Rights “LOUDER”, opened the workshop titled “Human Rights Education at Universities – Between Reality and Expectation” and organized by LOUDER in cooperation with the Palestinian Association for Human Rights “WITNESS” and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights “GIHR” at Padova Hotel, Sin El Fil. The participants in the seminar included: the Regional Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR, the Legal Clinic of La Sagesse University, the Human Rights Center at Al Jinan University, the Human Rights Center at Beirut Arab University, the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies “LIMS”, SMART Center for Media and Advocacy, the Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace, ALEF- act for human rights, the Human Rights Information and Training Center, the Beirut Center for Development and Human Rights, a group of law professors from the Lebanese University, Lebanese International University, Beirut Arab University, Al Jinan University, the University of Balamand, La Sagesse University and the Modern University for Business and Science, lawyers, researchers and students.

The participants discussed the reality of human rights education in universities and the importance of not turning it into a separate course but rather integrating human rights approaches into all the legal courses and linking theories to actual practice. They also discussed how to turn human rights into a law course that builds the youth to be defenders of their rights and campaigners for fundamental issues. The participation of students in the workshop was notably remarkable; they expressed their own perceptions and needs, and showed their desire to participate. This shows that the strategy is not vertically planned, but rather considers the youth in universities as an integral part concerned in upholding their right to building the future of human rights.

The workshop included several points of discussion; Professor Nizar Abdel-Kader, Executive Director of the Geneva Institute for Human Rights, presided the first session during which Dr. Batoul Yahfoufi, a researcher, professor at the Lebanese University and expert in development, shed the light on the reality of human rights education and the challenges imposed by the stereotypical ways of teaching. She called for uplifting the culture of human rights by enhancing programs in order to achieve active citizenship.

Dr. Maamoun Tarabay presided the second session titled “Positive Models in Human Rights Education” during which Dr. Karim El Mufti, Director of the Human Rights Legal Clinic at La Sagesse University, presented the clinic’s experience in integrating students in community issues and human rights organizations. He also praised the workshops and trainings conducted by the clinic which integrate theory into practice. Dr. Mohammad Saeed Al-Majzoub, director of the Human Rights Center at Al Jinan University, also explicitly elaborated on the contents of the Master’s program adopted by the University, which includes protection mechanisms at the national, regional and international levels.

Dr. Khouloud Khatib presided the third session which focused on “Ways of Cooperation with National, Regional and International Organizations” during which Dr. Abeer Al-Khraisha, representing OHCHR, praised the cooperation framework with the agency that is taking place through training programs, publications and trainings of university professors that are completely reliable especially in the absence of specialized references in Arabic.

Mr. George Ghali also presented ALEF’s experiment, in the field of education, on human rights and fair trials, and pointed out that the role of students in associations’ works and activities has weakened due to the absence of a clear coordination mechanism between associations and universities.

In her speech, Mrs. Randa Yassir, Director of SMART Center for Media & Advocacy, presented the successful initiatives implemented by “SMART Center” with students from different Lebanese and private universities through specialized training methodologies that vary to suit different academic majors. These trainings of course included practical activities and a progressive program which enhance students’ professional abilities, competences and experience, and provide them with a wider range of work opportunities. She also recommended the development of a work methodology in which students, academics, workers in law professions and training program specialists take part.

Mr. Hassan Assayida, Representative of the Palestinian Association for Human Rights “WITNESS”, also stressed the importance of teaching the international humanitarian law course whether in international or local conflicts and including the occupied Palestinian territories as a model since the conflict is still ongoing. He recommended that the Palestinian Cause be integrated into private universities and that the international mechanisms give way to defending the rights of civilians, captives and detainees if a high level of awareness to activate such mechanisms is reached especially by students. He also stressed that human rights are an integrated whole that cannot be divided and separated from Palestine or any other Arab country and concluded with the need to activate a legal collective mind.

At the end of the workshop which lasted around seven hours, the participants concluded with a recommendation that it is essential to work on formulating an unconventional specialized training guide that links the human rights course with recent developments, includes defense mechanisms at the national and international levels, and works on enhancing dictionaries, improving knowledge and developing strategic rules for the integration of human rights education in universities. A committee was also formed to work on setting a national strategy on interactive learning mechanisms of human rights in Lebanese universities and to supervise the implementation of the workshop’s recommendations and outcomes.