Human Rights Day celebrated in Armenia

YEREVAN, 11 December 2001 - Human rights education was the focus of events in Armenia yesterday, 10 December, aimed at celebrating international Human Rights Day. The events were organized by the United Nations and OSCE offices in Armenia, together with the non-governmental organization 'Junior Achievement'.

The celebrations included a poster competition and the performance of sketches on human rights in which 30 schools from throughout Armenia took part. Teams of students and teachers worked for one month on posters that illustrated human rights teaching methods. A jury composed of representatives of the United Nations, the OSCE, the ministries of education, foreign affairs and the NGO reviewed the selected posters and awarded prizes to three schools.

The competition also included performances of sketches on international human rights themes. Six participating teams composed of schoolchildren and their teachers prepared and staged the sketches to demonstrate their knowledge of the key human rights instruments. A performance on women's rights was the winning performance. All participants received items of memorabilia and certificates.

Human Rights became part of the school curriculum in Armenia this year and therefore was the focus of the celebrations.

The OSCE Office in Yerevan was established in February 2000 to promote the implementation of OSCE principles and commitments as well as the co-operation of the Republic of Armenia within the OSCE framework, including the human, political, economic and environmental aspects of security and stability.