HE Maryam bint Abdullah Al-Attiyah
Doha: Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al-Attiyah has affirmed that the Committee is currently working on updating educational guides for primary, preparatory, and secondary school levels.
These guides were initially issued in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Al-Attiyah stated, “We are revising these manuals to integrate human rights concepts into educational curricula in a way that aligns with universal human rights principles and the values and traditions of Qatari society.”
She added that the Committee is also continuing its awareness efforts through training programs, educational workshops, campaigns, and competitions organized in schools. She noted that during the first half of this year, the Committee conducted 29 activities, benefiting 1,245 students. These remarks were made during her speech at the high-level meeting titled, “Developing a Guiding Manual of Best Practices and Experiences in Human Rights Education in the Arab Region”, held in Beirut, Lebanon.
The event included the participation of the National Human Rights Institution of Lebanon, the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions (based in Doha), and the United Nations Training and Documentation Centre for South-West Asia and the Arab Region.
Al-Attiyah emphasised: “Human rights education is one of our top priorities and serves as a cornerstone for building prosperous and sustainable societies.”
She called for the importance of highlighting the best practices and experiences in the Arab region to encourage, support, and utilize them in developing educational guides on human rights. She continued, “We hope this meeting will contribute to strengthening all aspects of human rights education in the Arab region, especially the integration of core human rights concepts and the adoption of methods and mechanisms that reinforce a human rights-based approach within the educational process.”
She stressed that human rights education plays a vital role in developing knowledge, values, and skills, and in reinforcing the values of dignity, equality, non-discrimination, freedom, and justice. “We are fully aware of the challenges facing the integration of human rights in educational curricula,” she said, “and we also recognise the immense opportunities and benefits that societies can gain from raising future generations with a culture of human rights.”
“This further strengthens our determination to move forward in supporting human rights education and addressing challenges through clear strategies that respect our cultural, social, and civilisational values, which are in harmony with the principles of human rights.”
Al-Attiyah reaffirmed the NHRC’s commitment to involving teachers, parents, and students in consultations and related meetings, and to listening to the voices of children and youth in all topics addressed in the Committee’s national forums. She also stressed the importance the Committee places on the inclusion of students with disabilities and ensuring that all activities are accessible to them, based on the principle of involving all stakeholders in human rights education efforts.
She explained that these efforts are aligned with Qatar’s constitutional principles, which emphasise five foundational pillars of society: justice, benevolence, freedom, equality, and noble morals. They also support the developmental aspirations outlined in Qatar National Vision 2030.
She concluded by expressing the NHRC’s full support for the development of a guiding manual of best practices in human rights education in the Arab region, and expressed her hope that the outcomes of this high-level meeting would contribute to further integrating human rights values and principles into educational curricula, enhancing methods and tools, and achieving the goal of raising future generations rooted in the values and principles of human rights.
