Prague - On 17 November, Czech secondary school teachers were presented a new handbook aimed to explain how to teach students about human rights.

The book was symbolically presented on 17 November, which is the "Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy" for Czechs.

To clarify the issue

The handbook was prepared by a collective of authors including a member of the Government Council for Human Rights Jan Kratochvíl, founder of the Human Rights League Jiří Kopal and the workers of the human right section of the Czech NGO People in Need.

"The term "human rights" is still often unclear and ambiguous," the authors said. 

The pamphlet takes the form of a comics book and introduces two teenage protagonists, Dáša and Bohouš. In twelve chapters, they explain global issues such as discrimination, freedom of speech, rights of the children or laws of war.

A recent opinion poll related to the Olympic Games in Beijing conducted by Median agency showed that Czechs do not get very excited about the issue of human rights. In the poll only one in five expressed disapproval with the Games being organized by China, a country which is infamous for violation of human rights.

Global Action Schools

The human rights education handbook is one of the outcomes of the Global Action Schools (www.globalactionschools.org) project in which more than 200 schools from six European countries and Thailand took part.

Nine Czech schools have the right to use a certified mark introduced by the Global Action Schools to recognize schools that fulfill special conditions regarding waste management, promotion of fair-trade products, and activities in the field of human rights.
 
In 2003, Czech branch of Amnesty International published an on-line document whose aim was similar: to help teachers in educating about human rights.

In addition, those Czech schools that offer individual educational approaches and work on the integration of disadvantaged children or children from socially excluded families will obtain a Fair School certificate.