Human Rights Education and Protection Programme

This Nepali initiative consists of training workshops and classes which are designed to raise people's awareness of human rights and their capacity to protest against violations.

Description

HURENDEC developed the initiative in order to raise people's awareness of human rights and to develop their capacity to protest against rights violations. It has further designed the programme to pressure the conflicting parties to respect human rights and humanitarian laws.  

The initiative is designed to encourage people to understand that respecting human rights is the precondition for establishing peace.

Aims / Objectives

HURENDEC aims to:

• raise people's awareness of human rights and humanitarian laws and mobilise them to pressure the conflicting parties to respect human rights and humanitarian laws;
• raise awareness amongst people and the conflicting parties that respect for human rights is the first step in the establishment of peace;
• mitigate the impacts of conflict;
• prevent violations of children’s rights.
  
  

How it is Articulated

• Human rights awareness classes for a period of 9 months;
• workshops on human rights, conflict resolution and peacebuilding;
• training in dialogue and facilitation;
• mass meetings, rallies, delegation, press releases, bulletins, meetings, monitoring and linkage with stakeholders.
  
  

Achievements / Learning Points

The initiative has focused on the protection and promotion of human rights during the conflict. It has put emphasis on the mitigation of the impacts of conflict. The organisation has formed groups in different villages and mobilised them to raise awareness of human rights and to pressure the conflicting parties to respect human rights and international humanitarian laws.

Achievements:

• people in rural areas have gradually become aware of human rights;
• the district has produced 50 human rights activists;
• around 1000 people kidnapped by the Maoists were freed with the initiation of the organisation;
• 98 children’s clubs have been formed and their network was registered with the district administration office;
• children in the clubs are making efforts for the protection of children’s rights in general and during the conflict in particular;
• rural people have organised themselves into groups;
• 102 groups have been formed in the 8 VDCs and 1 Municipality of the district by the local people and are working to protect human rights and pressure the conflicting parties to respect human rights;
• many human rights violations in the district have been documented and published in the Human Rights Year Book published by INSEC.

Learning points:

• collective effort is needed for the promotion and protection of human rights and the establishment of peace;
• people prefer to live in a peaceful environment and can also contribute to the peace process;
• human rights education for both of the conflicting parties is a necessity.
  
  

Geographical Area of Operation

Udayapur district of Eastern Region.

Funding Resources

INSEC.

Associated Organisations

HURENDEC, Udayapur; Child Rights Awareness Group (CRAG); INSEC.