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HRE USA

A network dedicated to building a culture of human rights

Mission, Principles, and Goals

Our Mission

Human Rights Educators USA (HRE USA) is a collaborative network to learn, teach, organize, advocate, and innovate for human rights education in the United States.

Our Guiding Principles and Values

HRE USA is guided by the basic human rights principles of human dignity, equality, and non-discrimination as articulated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In accordance with these principles, we value diversity, inclusiveness, transparency, and consensus-based decision making and commit to treating each other with dignity, integrity, caring, and respect in all our undertakings.

We believe effective human rights education is transformative, empowers individuals and communities, and promotes the respect for and embodiment of these human rights principles and values.

We commit to building a culture of human rights, dignity, justice, and peace. We aim to dismantle systemic racism, white supremacy, and all manifestations of discrimination and domination based on ability, ethnicity, citizenship, culture, gender, race, religion, sexuality, socio-economic status, or any other criteria. 

Goals

To fulfill our mission, we shall maximize our efforts and support those of our members and partner organizations to:

  • Build a national movement for human rights education;
  • Advocate for the recognition of international human rights and humanitarian law and for a national commitment to educating individuals and communities about their principles and expectations;
  • Promote national and regional policies that support human rights education;
  • Integrate internationally recognized human rights standards, including those recognized by the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, into formal and non-formal educational settings;
  • Advocate for the inclusion of human rights education in national and state education standards, curricula, and pedagogy;
  • Promote the incorporation of human rights education into pre-service and in-service teacher training programs;
  • Develop and provide resources and training for educators;
  • Empower educators and learners to continuously embody human rights principles;
  • Participate in global networks and forums to share best human rights education practices;
  • Contribute to research and scholarship on human rights education.
We are grateful for the generous support of our members, individual donors, and The Puffin Foundation Ltd
The core values of HRE USA and its partner organizations include transparency and critical thinking skills. We believe that human rights--and human rights education--belong to everyone, and that the full realization of human rights means that access to human rights education materials must never be conditioned upon the subscription to any particular religious faith, ideology, political affiliation, or membership in any particular organization and that any organizational connections should be openly acknowledged.