‎Ambassador Rev Professor Oluwafemi Esam at INHR Seminar on Religion and Human Rights

Executive Summary
Human rights education equips learners to understand dignity, equality, freedom and responsibility, then apply these principles in school and public life. In religious education, it provides a disciplined way to teach faith and worldviews while protecting freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Effective provision must remain objective, critical and pluralistic. It should respect parental convictions, recognise the developing agency of the child and prevent indoctrination.
International frameworks position human rights education as a public responsibility rather than an optional enrichment activity. The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, the World Programme for Human Rights Education and Sustainable Development Goal target 4.7 connect knowledge of rights with participatory learning and responsible action. Their shared message is clear: learners should know their rights, experience those rights within education and develop the capacity to uphold them.
Main Legal and Educational Principles

• Parental convictions. Schools should respect the religious and philosophical convictions through which parents guide their children’s education.
• Children’s rights. Learners retain freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Their views should receive appropriate weight according to age and maturity.
• Educational purpose. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights connects education with the full development of the person and respect for fundamental freedoms.
• Objective teaching. European human rights jurisprudence, including Folgerø v Norway, supports religious education that is objective, critical and pluralistic rather than confessional or coercive.
• Institutional consistency. Classroom practice, discipline, participation and complaints procedures should reflect the dignity and fairness taught in the curriculum.

Curriculum Integration Models
Model
Main purpose
Key consideration

Cross curricular
Integrates human rights into history, literature, geography, science and other subjects.
Demonstrates relevance but can become invisible unless teachers identify and assess rights explicitly.

Dedicated subject
Provides a protected course in citizenship, civics or human rights.
Secures time and clear assessment but may isolate rights from the rest of school life.

Whole school
Applies rights to policies, student voice, relationships and behaviour.
Creates a lived culture but requires sustained leadership and institutional reform.

The strongest design combines all three models. Dedicated teaching secures core knowledge, cross curricular learning demonstrates practical relevance, and whole school practice allows learners to experience participation, fairness and accountability. The balance may vary by age and national requirements, but none of these functions should disappear.
Pedagogy About Through and For Rights

• Education about human rights. Learners study the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, relevant legal principles and the roles of national and international institutions.
• Education through human rights. Teachers create classrooms where learner voice, diverse perspectives, fair processes and respectful disagreement form part of everyday learning.
• Education for human rights. Learners practise debate, critical media literacy, community inquiry and collaborative problem solving so they can recognise and respond safely to injustice.
  Assessment should therefore extend beyond factual recall. It should examine whether learners can interpret rights, evaluate competing claims, communicate across difference and propose responsible action. Religious education should represent traditions accurately, acknowledge diversity within traditions, include non religious worldviews and separate academic understanding from compelled belief or worship.
  Implementation Challenges
• Political interference. Governments or institutions may reduce rights education to obedience, nationalism or passive civics, removing the critical dimension needed for democratic participation.
• Teacher preparedness. Educators may lack subject knowledge, confidence or safeguarding skills for sensitive political, religious and identity based discussions.
• Curriculum pressure. Overcrowded syllabi and high stakes testing can restrict the time needed for case studies, dialogue and applied projects.
• Tokenism. Isolated events or diverse readings may create the appearance of reform without changing teaching methods, assessment or institutional power.
• Policy contradiction. A school may teach dignity and participation while operating arbitrary discipline or weak student voice, undermining credibility.

Recommendations

1. Adopt a blended model that combines explicit human rights teaching, cross curricular application and whole school practice.
2. Publish clear learning outcomes covering knowledge, ethical reasoning, respectful dialogue, participation and responsible action.
3. Provide continuing teacher development in legal principles, religious literacy, facilitation of controversial issues and safeguarding.
4. Review behaviour policies, equality practice, student councils and complaints procedures so institutional practice reflects curriculum principles.
5. Use moderated case studies and reliable sources that represent religious and non religious perspectives accurately and without stereotyping.
6. Protect curriculum time for discussion, inquiry and community based application rather than relying only on examinations.
7. Evaluate implementation annually through learner feedback, teacher reflection, curriculum evidence and review by families and community stakeholders.
   Conclusion
   Human rights education succeeds when knowledge, school culture and learner agency reinforce one another. Legal standards provide safeguards, but teachers and institutions determine whether those principles become meaningful. El Roi London University and its education partners should promote a blended, rights respecting model that protects conscience, strengthens religious and civic literacy, and prepares learners to participate responsibly in plural societies.

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