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A strategy to teach and disseminate knowledge on
Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

All efforts made by the government and the state bodies to correct the critical Human Rights situation that the armed conflict and widespread violence have brought about, would be insufficient in the absence of a long-range strategy to promote a culture of peace, coexistence, respect and reconciliation. It is essential that, simultaneous with the carrying out of the tasks which are needed to guarantee the exercise of Human Rights, an educational scheme is implemented, both at schools and among the community as whole, focusing on the meaning of respect for Human Rights. Some analysts have pointed out that the main reason for the gravity of Colombia�s present situation is the lack of a genuine state policy aimed at teaching and spreading knowledge on Human Rights.

This government has mapped out a strategy to teach and disseminate knowledge on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, as an essential part of its policy on the promotion, respect for, and guaranteeing of Human Rights and the application of International Humanitarian Law : "It is by becoming acquainted with them and making them part of one�s life, that the importance of respecting the rights of others as well as one�s own, and making sure that they are respected, will be understood". The aims are basically to diffuse knowledge on Human Rights and make them known, understood and internalized; to achieve a high degree of awareness among citizens of the nature of these rights and their meaning in our society and of the obligation to respect them; and to consolidate a culture of respect for these rights among all Colombians, as an essential condition for peace and progress.

Therefore, the strategy to teach and disseminate knowledge on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law adopted by the Vice-President�s Office, is an educational tool in the effort to ensure the observance of citizens� rights and duties. At the same time, it is a state policy relating to the teaching and spreading of the rules of coexistence and tolerance in social life. It is a great educational effort, to be implemented through the mass media, to build a new culture of peace and respect for Human Rights. This is the foundation of a just, orderly society. The purpose is to carry out a vigorous educational campaign to raise public awareness; to establish behavior patterns with respect to tolerance and peaceful coexistence; to ensure the action of society with regard to the observance of rights and duties.

This long-term strategy will be applied at all levels of national life through practical action. Events will be staged in towns and rural areas, reaching all sectors of Colombian society: citizens, social protagonists, the State, children, schools, educational development units, the youth, secondary education institutions, universities, teachers and the educational community, the family, the elderly, the handicapped, and communities and inhabitants of conflict zones, who are particularly vulnerable to violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

Government-owned mass media will be used to put the strategy into practice and inform about Human Rights at all levels of Colombian society. Projects include the carrying out, in association with social organizations, of such activities as the broadcasting of institutional messages, teleconferences, international films, drama programs for television and radio, radio programs to be broadcast on the National Broadcasting Station of Colombia and community stations, and the designing, printing and distributing of teaching materials.

As part of this strategy, the Office of the Vice-President of the Republic, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Agency for International Development "USAID", has programmed educational activities based on film.