18 July 2013 - In line with South Sudan's plans to integrate human rights education in school curricula, UNMISS concluded a two-day training for secondary school teachers in the Warrap State capital Kuajok today.

The Training of Trainers workshop, organized in collaboration with the state Ministry of Education, introduced 15 Kuajok High School teachers to Basic Human Rights Education, Bill of Rights and topics like Gender and Civic Duties.

"It is doubtful (that) there could be democracy without human rights," said State Minister of Education Andrea Aguer Ariik. "The right to vote, access to education, rights to learn and other universal rights are important (in building) a nation."

He encouraged participants to read the Constitution and study human rights aspects in it.

"It is often said that the struggle for independence of South Sudan, (was) a struggle for human rights," said UNMISS State Coordinator Abraham Onifade. "Human Rights (are) enshrined in the transitional constitution."

When the course concluded, teachers were familiar with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and able to discuss how it related to South Sudan.

"It is important for you to share the knowledge (you have gained) on human rights," said Mr. Onifade. "It is only when you share the knowledge that it becomes useful to the greater community and the nation at large."

Plans to incorporate Human Rights Education in the country's school system will be implemented in three phases in all 10 states, with support from UNMISS.

The first phase includes training for school teachers and introducing them to a Manual on Human Rights Education, as well as establishing human rights clubs in secondary schools. Teachers and Ministry of Education experts will then develop a human rights curriculum to be integrated into the general school curricula in the second phase.

In the last phase, outcomes of the first two phases will be presented to the national Ministry of Education in Juba to kick off integration of human rights into the national curricula.