HRC63 High-level panel discussion on the 15th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training

63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council High-level panel discussion on the 15th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training: good practices, challenges and the way forward. Statement by Nordic-Baltic States, delivered by Ambassador Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Permanent Representative of Finland on 15 September 2026.

Mr/Ms President/Vice-President, Distinguished panelists,

 

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States.

We welcome this fifteenth anniversary as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to implementing the UN Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, but also to take stock of what has worked, where gaps remain, and what needs to change.

Human rights education is not only about what is taught, but also about how information is shared through inclusive learning environments that uphold equality, participation and critical thinking.

Human rights education must keep pace with technological change. As AI increasingly shapes how young people learn, communicate and access information, digital literacy is becoming part of human rights literacy. Young people need to understand how technology can affect their privacy, equality and access to reliable information.

We strongly support the focus of the fifth phase of the World Programme on Human Rights Education on children and youth, which places a timely emphasis on human rights education in the digital age.

We would like to ask: Are we preparing young people merely to know their rights, or to exercise and defend them in the world they live in?

 

Thank you.