The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 44/82 of 8
December 1989, proclaimed 1994 as the International Year of the Family. The theme of the
Year is "Family: resources and responsibilities in a changing world". Salient
objectives of IYF are to:
- Increase awareness of family issues and highlight the importance of families; increase a
better understanding of their functions and problems; promote knowledge of the economic,
social and demographic processes affecting families and their members; and focus attention
upon the rights and responsibilities of all family members;
- Strengthen national institutions to formulate, implement and monitor policies in respect
of families; and
- Stimulate efforts to respond to problems affecting, and affected by, the situation of
families.
Underlying the proclamation of the International Year of the Family are a number of
core principles which include:
- a recognition of families as the basic social units in society;
- a respect for the diverse forms of families;
- a recognition of the basic rights of all family members, regardless of their status
within families; and
- a recognition of the need to foster equality and equity between men and women.
Within the context of the IYF, the annual observance of the International Day of
Families was proclaimed by the United Nation’s General Assembly in its resolution
47/237 of 20 September 1993. The theme "Families as Educators and Providers of Human
Rights" was suggested for the observance of the International Day of Families in 1998
in recognition of the interrelationship between families and human rights education. The
theme also acknowledges that the family plays a key role in the development and protection
of individual members of families and underlines the positive role of family is in
socialization, education protection and the intergenerational transmission of culture and
values.
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 The Situation
Rapid changes are underway in the forms and styles of family life. The major changes in
societies, such as industrialization, urbanization, secularization, commercialization and
globalization, are powerful forces influencing family life. In many parts of the world,
children are denied their right to be loved and cared for as well as their right to food,
health care and education. Many face domestic violence within their families, the most
common form being the gender-based violence. The number of women working outside the home
is increasing. The population is aging. The role of the extended family is declining so
that the demands on the nuclear family are growing. Unemployment is high and widespread,
with catastrophic consequences for the dignity and self-esteem of both men and women and
for family solidarity.
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Human rights provide meaning for relationship between individuals, as well as for their
individual and social lives. The concept of human rights is relevant to families at two
levels: (a) the rights of the individual member of the family and (b) the rights of the
family with reference to its environment. Indeed, the advancement of human rights within
the family, equal rights and responsibilities of individual members of families, gender
equality, the role of the males and protection and development of children etc. are issues
of central significance to social development. Numerous human rights documents recognize
the family as the basic unit of society and its entitlement to protection and support by
society and the State. This is reflected in provisions of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and especially and most recently
in the Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development held
in Copenhagen in 1995.
The family’s welfare, its ability to fulfil basic societal functions and its
support by the society and the State are major elements in achieving human rights. The
explicit articulation of the rights, functions and responsibilities of families can be a
source of inspiration and a point of reference for efforts to support families and create
family-friendly societies. Indeed, numerous family issues are human rights issues. Human
rights education is a necessary condition in the broad process of social change, social
integration and social justice, which are preconditions for development and peace.
Families are central to the process of human rights education. The promotion of the
enjoyment of human rights within the family by all its members is essential, on the basis
of equality and human dignity, and the fostering of respect for human rights in society at
large. The family is a vehicle for transforming human rights from the expression of
abstract norms to the reality of social, economic, cultural and political conditions.
Issues related to infants and children attract the closest attention from Governments
and organizations in the context of the relationship between human rights and families. In
this regard, high priority is attached to the family’s responsibility for caring for
the child. Families, as major educational channels in contemporary society, are the
principal means for the transmission of values, culture, attitudes and patterns of
behavior. Attitudes toward one’s society or culture or toward other social groups are
profoundly imprinted during childhood within the family and circle. They serve as
communicators and transmitters as well as intermediaries between formal and other
institutions of informal education.
The well being of families is contingent on the achievement of equal rights, access and
opportunities for women as well as protecting the rights of the girl-child. The
empowerment of women, equal sharing of responsibilities for the family by men and women
and a harmonious relationship between them are critical and necessitates the promotion of
attitudes, structures, policies, laws and practices which eliminate inequality in the
family.
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Families as Educators and Providers of Human
Rights Education: Suggested Actions
As the fundamental unit of society, families
are important in promoting human rights, particularly their enjoyment within the family in
society at large. It is in the family where respect to human rights starts. Intra-familiar
relationships, irrespective of gender, age, ability, ethnicity or religion, are a natural
learning mechanism of how family members can related to each other and to others outside
the family unit. Families should be helped to meet the basic needs of their members with
emphasis on the principles of equality, nondiscrimination, the inviolability of rights and
responsibilities of the individual, mutual respect and tolerance. Policy makers,
legislators, social service personnel, educators, community activities, and all those
involved in the process of Human Rights Education must take into consideration this
closely and complex interrelation of interactions in the family.
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