Asian schools and human rights

Abstract

I would like to express my own and my center's congratulations for the first anniversary celebrations of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, popularly known as SUHAKAM. It is fitting at this point in time to pause and reflect on how far its human rights promotion program has developed. There is no greater task than having a fair yet critical review of one's program and the way it has been implemented. From there we can determine more clearly what the next steps should be. It is my privilege and honor therefore to have been given the chance to make a presentation that may contribute to the development of a program on teaching human rights in Malaysian schools. This is an area that SUHAKAM can very well focus attention to. I will discuss a general picture of the experiences in Asia on teaching human rights in schools. I will also point out areas that are essential in the continuing development of programs in this field.