Summary of Osaka Prefectural Government Plan

Osaka Prefectural Government Plan
for the Promotion of Human Rights Education

The Osaka Prefectural Government drew up the Osaka Prefectural Government Plan for the Promotion of Human Rights Education in March 2005 to follow up on the problems requiring solution as well as achievements of the Osaka Prefectural Government Plan of Action for the Second Half of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education prepared in March 2001.
The outline of the Plan is as follows.

□ Basic Principle
To promote “community building based on human rights,” in which each member of the community will consider the spirit of respect for human rights as a matter of course, participate voluntarily in the society, and can choose and decide one’s own way of life in the local community.

○ The Position of the Plan in the Osaka Prefectural Policy
*The Plan was written as a plan to promote the policy for raising the human rights awareness based on the “Osaka Prefectural Government Basic Policy on Promotion of Human Rights Policies.”
*On matters regarding human rights education, the Plan has precedence over the various policy plans of the Osaka Prefectural Government .
*The Plan has the position of the basic policy plan on human rights education and human rights awareness in Osaka Prefecture based on Article 5 of the Law on the Development of Human Rights Education and Encouragement.

○ Projected Period
The Plan covers the period of 10 years from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2014.

□Basic Concepts
# Promoting human rights education, which respects diversity
We will promote human rights education, which will respect the personality and culture of each individual and respect the diversity, so that no one will be discriminated against on grounds of gender, disabilities, social origin, nationality, race, ethnicity, systems and practices., etc.

# Promoting practical human rights education
We will promote practical human rights education that will help each individual to embrace the spirit of respect for human rights and to act accordingly so that he/she will not only protect his/her rights but also respect the lives and personalities of others.

# Promoting human rights education supporting the independence and empowerment
We will promote human rights education to support the “independence” and “empowerment” of each individual towards building a society, in which each individual can seek his/her own self-realization using his/her characteristics and capabilities.

□Direction of Policy Promotion
○Building a Social Basis That Gives Importance to Human Rights
# Building an environment, which supports knowing, thinking about and acting on human rights
We will promote the creation of an environment, which will support each individual to know, think about and act on the identification of human rights issues, methods and procedures for solution in responding to the specific needs of the individuals.

# Supporting human rights education efforts at home, in schools, communities, work, etc.
We will support initiatives towards building vibrant relationships among individuals, in which each resident of the Prefecture will develop mutually supportive relationships with others while recognizing the differences.

# Ensuring equal opportunities in education and improving the place of “learning”
*We will engage in initiatives, which will enable schools to become a place, where each child will develop the sensitivity to recognize each other’s differences, as well as an awareness towards his/her own rights and responsibilities through living in groups.
*We will also improve various opportunities and places, which will support the independence and empowerment of each resident in the prefecture, to enable them to achieve the necessary knowledge and skills to engage in social life as well as choose his/her own way of life throughout their lives.

# Sharing agendas based on actual human rights issues and developing them into education materials
We will analyze and categorize the backgrounds and factors of human rights violations and issues that are identified through human rights consultation and other activities. The outcome will be shared and included in human rights education materials in order to use it in human rights education and awareness raising.

# Supporting initiatives towards strengthening and improving research and study functions
We will organize training and interactive meetings with researchers related to human rights education as well as co-organize research and study projects, to strengthen cooperation with them.

# Promoting human rights education, which enables all people with diverse cultures and values to live together
We will engage in education and awareness raising for the promotion of understanding of different cultures and values.

○Promotion of Human Rights Education
# Promoting human rights training
*Human rights training for civil servants
We will engage in deliberate initiatives for the purpose of not just acquiring knowledge on the backgrounds, situations and problems regarding human rights issues, but also acquiring a full sensitivity for human rights and developing the ability to understand human rights issues appropriately.

*Human rights training for teaching staff
We will promote human rights education based on the “Basic Policy on Human Rights Education and Plan for Promotion of Human Rights Education” as well as examine training curriculum, etc.

*Human rights training for police staff
We will train police force to gain appropriate knowledge and skills so that they can acquire high ethics through education at the police school and on duty, especially at hiring and promotion. We will also provide human rights training on appropriate response and treatment of the residents and victims of crime.

*Promotion of human rights training for people working in welfare and medicine
We will further promote human rights education conducted by legal persons, in to which people working in the field of welfare and medicine belong to, and by bodies organized by these legal persons, as well as support practical training based on case-studies.

*Promotion of human rights training by private bodies, corporations, etc.
We will urge promotion of human rights training by private bodies and corporations, etc., and support them regarding matters such as content and methods. We will also promote not just the understanding of the objectives and contents of laws and regulations regarding human rights, but also the idea of compliance requiring corporations to act or engage in operations to advance the social interests, which those laws and regulations intend to realize.

# Developing and utilizing human resource in human rights education
*We will proceed deliberately in developing human resource of people, who will plan and promote projects on human rights education in the local areas and workplaces as leaders close to the public.
*We will examine the development of human resource, that has high expertise and rich experience regarding human rights and can take the lead in promoting human rights education.
*We will utilize the human resource we have developed, and examine the possibility of a human resource bank to appropriately provide leaders in response to the specific needs of the people learning human rights.

# Developing human rights education materials
*We will promote practical human rights education materials, which would deepen the understanding on laws and ordinance on human rights and specific rights, as well as case-studies on issues brought to light through human rights redress procedures and consultations.
*We will collect and provide information regarding videos, books and precedents, etc., to support human rights education conducted by municipalities as well as learning activities by private bodies and the public in the prefecture.

#Promoting initiatives in cooperation with NPOs and other private bodies
*We will strengthen ties with NPOs and other bodies related to human rights and promote initiatives, that will broaden the scope of the activities, by providing a space for exchange meetings, etc., and publishing their activities in the Prefectural Government’s information publications.
*We will build a system to enable cooperation through full exchange of views so that NPOs, etc., will be able to conduct projects with cooperation with the local administration on an equal footing.

# Providing information leading to raising human rights awareness
We will actively disseminate information using all kinds of media such as the Osaka Prefectural Government’s public relation materials and the internet.

○Improvement of the Promotion System of the Plan
*We will promote cross-sectoral and deliberate initiatives under the organization for the Promotion of Human Rights Policy in Osaka.
*The municipalities and the Osaka Prefectural Government will make efforts to promote effective policy, each fulfilling its role and cooperating with each other through information exchange, etc.
*We will create a forum to listen to a wide range of views from the public in the Prefecture, develop cooperation with private bodies, as well as publicize and promote leading and pioneering policies on human rights education.