Human rights education for representatives of legal professions: international legal aspect

Abstract

The article analyzes the provisions of international legal acts at the universal and regional levels (Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers of 1990, Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec (2004) 4 to member states on the European Convention on Human Rights in university education and professional training etc.) regarding education in the field of human rights for representatives of legal professions. It is noted that representatives of legal professions who are at the center of human rights protection should be able to obtain high-quality education in the field of human rights in order to effectively perform their human rights function and prevent human rights violations. Human rights education programs were described (the UN World Programme for Human Rights Education, Council of Europe Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals). It is indicated that the UN World Programme for Human Rights Education consists of a number of stages aimed at specific issues: the first stage (2005-2009) was aimed at including human rights in the educational program of primary and secondary schools; the second stage (2010-2014) was dedicated to education in the field of human rights in the higher education system and professional training programs for teachers, lecturers, civil servants, law enforcement officers and military personnel; the third stage (2015-2019) was aimed at employees of mass media, and the fourth stage (2020-2024) identified youth as the target group. It is noted that the Council of Europe Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) consists in strengthening the potential of judges, lawyers and prosecutors, etc. on the application of European standards in the field of human rights through online courses that cover a range of topics in this field.