ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how human rights education (HRE) has responded to its multifaceted theoretical roots. It assesses whether the discourse serves the logic of domination or the interests of society by deconstructing the historical and social construction of the global and institutional HRE discourse. The United Nations (UN) is the first global organisation to forge a formal and institutional relationship between human rights and education, while there is earlier evidence of HRE in organisations such as Charter Schools and Workers Education Programmes. The chapter examines the evidence of HRE in international UN texts and associated documentation, their language and style. It argues the leading role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in the promotion of HRE and the gradual centralisation of the discourse within the UN framework. The chapter also highlights the most recent developments post-1995, when HRE emerged as a definitive institutional concept with accompanying world programmes, guidelines and documentation.
