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    Introduction

    UNESCO as a specialized agency of the United Nations, has a unique mandate of promoting educational, scientific and cultural co-operation among nations. UNESCO's strategy is to facilitate a transdisciplinary approach as a response to complex social issues.  
    This programme has been developed by UNESCO in consultation with Member States and NGOs in order to facilitate knowledge about and respect for human rights in different regions of the world. The programme is carried out as projects in developing regions, priority being given to the less developed countries and countries in transition.  
    The projects are predominantly operational and they are based on the direct participation of the target groups. Therefore, mutual help and active participation of citizens, community and religious authorities, traditional leaders, the private sector and the media are key to the implementation of the projects.  
     
    Partners

    The Programme is carried out on the basis of the UNESCO-DANIDA Framework Agreement on Co-operation on Development Assistance. All projects are funded by DANIDA and UNESCO provides the intellectual and technical assistance required.   
    Project activities are developed and launched in collaboration with partners such as national and local authorities, local organizations, national governmental institutions, NGOs, universities and research centres. Furthermore, United Nations bodies; international and regional inter-governmental bodies are also important partners in executing this programme.  
     
    Objectives

    The objectives of the UNESCO-DANIDA Programme on Human Rights are to promote respect for human rights and to contribute to the empowerment of the poorer part of the population.  
     
    Considering that some population groups and groups of countries are exposed to conditions whose nature and complexity warrant special action on their behalf, UNESCO seeks to focus on vulnerable groups such as women, young people, children, displaced persons, refugees, immigrants, persons belonging to minorities and indigenous peoples. The least-developed countries are also given priority. 
     
    These are the priority areas of the programme:

    Human Rights and Democracy 
    Human Rights and Women's Status and Role in Society 
    Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples  
    Human Rights Education at University Level  
     
    The programme consists of the following projects: 

    -Bolivia - Indigenous Local Management
    -Burkina Faso - Empowerment of Rural Women at Community Level
    -Cape Verde - Municipalities Training Programme for the Improvement of Human Rights and Democracy
    -Ecuador -  Social and Cultural Empowerment Programme for Indigenous Communities in the Amazon region
    -Guatemala -  Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples
    -Malawi - Parliamentarian Training Programme
    -Mongolia - Human Rights, Local Democracy and Development at Bag Level
    -Senegal - Human Rights, Citizenship and Democracy

 

 

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