36 – Second National Plan for Human Rights Education 2026-2029
Brief description of the commitment: creation of the Second National Human Rights Education Plan 2026-2029 through the implementation of a participatory process involving actors from formal and non-formal education, both public and private, with the aim of promoting and strengthening a human rights culture through inclusive, participatory, and inter-institutional educational policies. Implementation of the Plan and the establishment of a mechanism and tools for monitoring, tracking, and ensuring accountability for its execution.
Organization leading the commitment: coordinating Commission of the National Education System of the Ministry of Culture and Education, with the support of the Secretariat of Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic.
Supporting institutions/organizations: Secretariat of Human Rights of the Presidency
Responsible for the commitment: Gabriel Quirici, National Director of Education of the MEC. Contact: educacion@mec.gub.uy .
Technical Head: Magdalena Raffo, Coordinator of Human Rights Education Programs, National Directorate of Education of the Ministry of Culture and Education. Contact: magdalena.raffo@mec.gub.uy .
Actors
Government: Ministry of National Defense (MDN), Ministry of Social Development (MIDES), Ministry of the Interior (MI), Ministry of Public Health (MSP), National Administration of Public Education (ANEP), Institute of Children and Adolescents in Uruguay (INAU), Attorney General's Office (FGN), Departmental and Municipal Governments, and Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation (AUCI).
Civil Society: National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (ANONG).
Other actors: National Parliament, Judiciary, National Institution for Human Rights and Ombudsman (INDHDP), Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC), University of the Republic (Udelar), Private education sector, Non-formal and community training centers, International Organizations, National and international Human Rights Organizations, Institutions representing the United Nations in Uruguay (UN).
Implementation period: September 2025 - June 2029 .
Problem definition
What problem does the commitment intend to address?
The National Plan seeks to address policy fragmentation, the lack of evaluation and public visibility, and the profound inequalities that limit the effective exercise of human rights. It acknowledges that significant weaknesses persist in the systematic, cross-cutting, participatory, and effective integration of human rights into formal, non-formal, and informal educational processes in Uruguay, which hinders the development of a conscious, critical, inclusive citizenry committed to democracy, social justice, and equity. Furthermore, it recognizes that the participation and involvement of public and private actors concerned with the issues to be addressed guarantee their commitment to generating actions that strengthen a human rights culture based on respect, diversity, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence.
It aims at transforming situations that limit effective access to education, giving continuity to a process already initiated by educational policy, so as to make these practices cyclical constructions that feed back into the cycles of public policy as a state policy with a human rights approach.
What are the causes of the problem?
Weaknesses in human rights education in Uruguay stem from a combination of structural, institutional, and social factors. These include the historical absence of a comprehensive and sustained public policy on this matter, limited specific teacher training, lack of mainstreaming across the curriculum, weak inter-institutional coordination, and a limited social and cultural understanding of human rights as tools for democratic life.
Description of the commitment
What has been done so far to solve the problem?
Between 2013 and 2019, the National Commission for Human Rights Education (CNEDH), under the coordination of the National Public Education System (SNEP), designed and implemented Uruguay's first National Human Rights Education Plan. This plan incorporated participatory processes with actors from both formal and non-formal education, both in its design and implementation. The evaluation and accountability report for this first plan identifies strengths and weaknesses and offers suggestions for future plans that will build upon the work done during that period. This first Plan is recognized as a public policy that created a conceptual framework regarding human rights. Its participatory nature and appropriation by institutions were highlighted, as they carried out several interventions in an articulated, networked, and sustained manner between 2018 and 2019. Among its weaknesses were the absence of a budget allocated to its implementation, the frequent change of teaching and workshop teams which limited the medium- and long-term monitoring of socio-educational processes, the lack of widespread knowledge of the Plan by educational institutions in the formal and non-formal sectors, and the limited training opportunities available to officials on Human Rights Education and its subsequent implementation in different work environments.
What solution does it propose?
The formation and implementation of the governance of the co-creation process of the Second National Plan for Education in Human Rights, through the National Commission for Education in Human Rights under the coordination of the National Education System.
The design and implementation of the Plan's co-creation process, including holding dialogue sessions with actors in formal and non-formal education. The use of the Digital Citizen Participation Platform to receive proposals during the co-creation phase and to make the draft plan available for public consultation.
The approval, launch, and implementation of the Second National Human Rights Education Plan. This plan will continue its implementation beyond the completion date of the Sixth National Open Government Plan.
The implementation of a mechanism for the monitoring, tracking and public accountability of the execution of the Plan, through an online public viewpoint and reports with action reports on a semi-annual basis.
Continuous dissemination during the implementation of the commitment that enables informed participation during all stages of the co-creation process and the implementation of the second National Human Rights Education Plan.
What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment?
The creation of the second National Human Rights Education Plan allows for updating, building upon, and following up on the work done in previous years by the first plan (2013-2019). This second plan also seeks to reinforce institutional frameworks and networking related to human rights in general, and specifically to human rights education across its various educational levels and subsystems, engaging diverse actors in society and across age groups. It promotes inclusion, respect for diversity, violence prevention, non-discrimination, and active citizen participation in the country's democratic life. It reaffirms the government's commitment to advancing a rights-based development model, in which education plays a fundamental transformative role. Human rights education should not only be part of the educational system's curriculum but also a comprehensive public policy that encompasses all individuals and communities, extending beyond formal socio-educational settings.
The results to be achieved once these commitments are implemented intend to promote and improve a culture of human rights, and involve:
To incorporate human rights across all educational systems and levels.
To strengthen human rights training for officials, teachers, educators and the general population, particularly for those who replicate this training in the areas where they work.
To promote human rights education actions in formal and non-formal educational contexts (community, media, work, etc.), both public and private.
To promote public awareness campaigns on human rights.
To strengthen coordination with the Human Rights Secretariat of the Presidency, in matters of human rights education within the framework of its general leadership of the human rights approach in the public policy of the executive branch.
Commitment analysis
How will the commitment promote transparency?
Through the integration of the Digital Citizen Participation Platform, the co-creation process of the Plan will be publicized and the progress and results of said process will be made transparent.
How will the commitment help foster accountability?
A viewpoint will be created and periodic reports will be produced that will allow for public monitoring and tracking of the implementation of the public policy instrument that will be created as a result of the commitment.
How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions?
The commitment will generate new opportunities and make available mechanisms to implement citizen participation in the design of public policy.
Milestone | Milestone description | Expected results | Completion date | Leading Institution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Creation and implementation of the governance of the co-creation process. | Governance structure through the National Commission for Education in Human Rights under the coordination of the National Education System. | September 2025 | National Education System of the Ministry of Culture and Education |
2 | Design and implementation of the co-creation process of the second National Human Rights Education Plan 2026-2029. | Design of the co-creation process: timeline and actions. Report on the consultative process (dialogue tables and information collected on the Citizen Participation Platform). Draft document of the Plan for your approval. | March 2026 | National Education System of the Ministry of Culture and Education |
3 | Approval, launch and implementation of the second National Human Rights Education Plan. | Second National Plan for Education in Human Rights. | June 2029 | National Education System of the Ministry of Culture and Education |
4 | Implementation of a mechanism for the monitoring, tracking and public accountability of the execution of the Plan. | Semiannual/annual reports, human rights education lookout. | June 2029 | National Education System of the Ministry of Culture and Education |
5 | Dissemination and accountability. | Audiovisual records, publications in the Plan's commitments showcase, social networks, and others to be defined with the National Commission for Education in Human Rights. | June 2029 | National Education System of the Ministry of Culture and Education |