UNESCO and the United Nations publish first guide for African teachers on educating about atrocity crimes

Education is essential in addressing violent pasts and preventing atrocity crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. However, teaching about these topics is challenging.

UNESCO’s survey in six African countries has shown that teachers recognize the importance of such education but do not always feel adequately prepared for its proper delivery. They are worried that raising the topic in the classroom will have adverse effects and lead to further division rather than cohesion.

To support African educators, UNESCO and the United Nations (through its Department of Global Communications) have published a new guide, “Teaching to Prevent Atrocity Crimes” – UNESCO’s first resource on the topic with a regional focus. It offers background information about the problem and practical advice on suitable teaching practices and approaches tailored to existing curricula frameworks. Developed in partnership with the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), this publication aligns with the global priorities of the United Nations and UNESCO to promote peace and sustainability in Africa.

“Experience from the field of Holocaust education has shown that learning about atrocity crimes has the potential to increase students’ awareness of present-day discrimination and enable them to comprehend the reasons, triggers and warning signs of massive human rights violations,” explains Karel Fracapane, UNESCO Program Specialist in the Education Sector. “Developing a guide for African teachers also allows us to address regional specificities, such as the legacy of colonialism.”

“Educating about atrocity crimes is challenging, both for the teacher and the student. But to build a world in which all can live with dignity and in peace, we need to teach and learn about the past, so that we can address constructively its legacy, and prevent future atrocities. This guide is an expression of the commitment of the United Nations system to this process,” observed Tracey Petersen, manager of the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, Department of Global Communications.

Its tailored approach was informed by exchanges with African stakeholders and advisors and tested through a piloting exercise with African teachers and students led by the UNESCO IICBA.

Jean de Dieu Mihigo, a history teacher in Rwanda, who participated in the exercise, said: “The training and the guide helped me better prepare a good lesson on sensitive and difficult topics such as genocide and mass crimes”. Richard Anyango Owuor, an English teacher from Kenya, spoke to the importance of the new publication for post-conflict settings: “My students have been developing greater understanding of their background, they are valuing the importance of unity and tolerance and looking for the small ways of accepting one another as one people. Majority of them were born or were young when Kenya went through the worst post-election violence in its history and therefore have witnessed and experienced many atrocities themselves”.

The guide builds on a curriculum review and teacher survey covering Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan and Zimbabwe. Additionally, UNESCO is publishing a policy brief for education policy-makers to accompany the guide.

Atrocity crimes are a global problem. Their legacies affect societies both in Africa and worldwide, shaping identities and public discourse and fueling future conflict and violence if left unaddressed. To prevent the recurrence of such crimes, reflecting on the roots, reasons, factors of escalation, and impact of genocide and mass atrocities is critical.

Education can be a powerful tool to raise awareness of the legacies of atrocity crimes across the African continent, be it the genocide against the Herero and Nama by German colonial powers on the territory of today’s Namibia, apartheid, and, more recently, the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Education may provide teachers and learners with a more nuanced understanding of their countries’ history and how it has shaped identities. Studying the history of atrocity crimes outside of Africa, like the Holocaust, also reveals common warning signs and precursors such as the rise of hate speech, misinformation and dehumanization tactics used to justify abuse.

Atrocity crimes are not inevitable. Lesson plans and curricula should explore historical facts in a context: why and how massive human rights violations take place and escalate, and how the legacy of these crimes can continue to shape the current reality. The teaching methods used are equally important. The guide provides principles for teachers to consider in facilitating learning and constructive discussions with their students. Such teaching principles include: 

• Having accurate historical knowledge, building awareness of one’s personal beliefs, views and biases, and using reliable sources of information to prepare the lessons
• Including wherever possible, personal accounts of survivors, victims and witnesses of the atrocity crimes and discussing long-term consequences and impact
• Connecting learner experiences to broader social, political and international dynamics as well as focusing on local contexts; 
• Using participatory, learner-centred, and inclusive pedagogies based on social and emotional learning.

Each teaching principle is accompanied by practical examples and strategies and is linked to suggested teaching practices. The guide provides advice on what can be done beyond the classroom by community and non-formal organizations, including survivors' groups, elders, museums, media and civil society.