Policy Evolution and Development Prospects of Human Rights Education from the Four Editions of the Human Rights Action Plan of China

HOU Bo*

Abstract: As a public policy, the Human Rights Action Plan of China provides a clear roadmap for achieving the phased goals of human rights education development. The evolution of human rights education policies over the four editions demonstrates a clear and distinct logic of progression: human rights education in primary and secondary schools has shifted from fostering students’ awareness of human rights to establishing human rights values; human rights education in higher education has transitioned from the construction of single human rights course to the systematic development of human rights disciplines; human rights knowledge training has evolved from disseminating basic human rights knowledge among legal and political workers to cultivating a human rights mindset among public officials; and the popularization of human rights knowledge has moved from enhancing communication effectiveness to strengthening cultural confidence in human rights. These shifts reflect the characteristics of the policy evolution of human rights education, which are unified in their gradual and continuous nature, responsiveness and forward-looking nature, and value-oriented and contemporary nature. Fundamentally, the gap between the current state of human rights education development and policy goals serves as the intrinsic driving force for the evolution of human rights education policies. While the external factors influencing the evolution of policy content mainly include the human rights cause’s contemporary context, historical achievements, and current needs. Looking ahead to the future development of human rights education, it is essential to continuously innovate human rights teaching methods, enrich the content of human rights education, improve relevant institutional guarantee mechanisms, strengthen the construction of multi-stakeholder collaborative human rights education teams, compile and publish high-quality human rights textbooks, and increase the intensity of human rights knowledge training for journalists, in order to create a favorable public opinion atmosphere and cultural environment for the development of China’s human rights cause in the new era.

Keywords: Human Rights Action Plan of China · public policy analysis · human rights education · human rights communication · human rights culture