Our mandate on education

The 1975 Helsinki Final Act included specific provisions on the role of education for the citizens and countries in the CSCECSCE
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe region. It specifically listed several areas of co-operation under “Co-operation and Exchanges in the Field of Education”, such as the extension of relations, access and exchanges, teaching methods, and national minorities or regional cultures.

The mandate of the High Commissioner on National Minorities specifically includes the area of education as a conflict prevention tool. Teaching in and of minority languages and ensuring pupils have opportunities to learn the state or official language is particularly important, and the High Commissioner regularly reminds both government and minority representatives of both the right to education in and of minority languages and the responsibility of people belonging to minorities to master the state language.

The respect for human rights is a universal value and principle as stipulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All OSCE countries have committed to this. As part of its portfolio on human rights, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights works with educators and trainers to further the understanding of human rights. A Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Human Rights Education and Training specifically outlined these tasks in 2004.