International strategies for building a culture of peace through access to good education

Abstract

Whilst education is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all other human rights, other human rights have to be guaranteed to be able to make use of the right to education.Education is a necessary, even if not the only, prerequisite that economically and socially marginalized adults and children lift themselves out of poverty and participate fully as citizens. Education is on the other hand a necessary, even if not the only, instrument for creating and maintaining democratic, just and peaceful societies. Moreover, education is the cornerstone of a strategy towards a culture of peace.Normative instruments of the United Nations lay down international legal obligations for the right to education. These instruments promote and develop the right of every person to enjoy access to education of good quality, without discrimination or exclusion. On the basis of a discussion of these UN documents, from Education for All to Education for a Culture of Peace, this chapter discusses contradictions and oppositions in education policies in order to find out how a culture of peace and lawfulness as a new educational standard can be best conceived and projected.