About the Author: Stefanie Uhl studied librarianship at Stuttgart Media University, Germany. She also holds a Master’s degree in Educational Management. She works as the head of a public library in the Stuttgart region of Germany. In 2024/2025, she is also giving lectures in information pedagogy at Stuttgart Media University. Since 2021, she has been a PhD candidate at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland, at the Lucerne Graduate School in Ethics of the Institute of Social Ethics where she is working on her PhD thesis with the working title “Libraries as a Place for Human Rights Education.”

Introduction
Libraries as they currently operate help fulfill the Human Right to Education and have the potential to be transformed to ensure the provision of Human Rights Education ("HRE"). Libraries around the world operate under different legal ordinances. Public libraries find their regulations in national law, often differing between countries and States. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and UNESCO published the IFLA/ UNESCO Manifesto 2022 aiming to highlight the mission of public libraries towards the right to education. Public libraries contribute to this right by providing access to information and knowledge and by taking action towards a literate society.
Even though libraries contribute to the realization of economic, cultural, and social rights, they are affected by financial cuts. Investments in libraries are investments in a free, democratic, and prospering society, guaranteeing Human Rights ("HR"). In compliance with the requirements of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, states shall take all available means for the implementation of HR to HRE. Libraries and their extensive global network must be regarded as these means. Existing library laws should incorporate this requirement, and newly created legal standards should take this up too. Library law can guarantee the operation of libraries in the best possible way and guarantee a high standard of library work by securing funding and making the operation of libraries an obligatory task for cities and communities. With secure conditions, the worldwide network of libraries can continue to contribute to HR.
The Right to Education
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declares education in Article 26 as a HR. Education, in fundamental and elementary stages, shall be free. Higher education shall be accessible and professional, and technical education shall be available. Human personality and its full development shall be a goal of education, along with promoting HR. The UDHR is not a legally binding document but finds its implementation in international law through binding UN treaties. To obtain legal effect, HR must be implemented in state law. States have reaffirmed the HR in nine UN treaty bodies. Still, there are violations of the HR to education all around the globe, as, for example, refugee children who have no access to schooling in the EU, girls in Afghanistan who are not allowed to attend schools, or trans rights in the US. The right to education is also taking part, amongst others, in the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), and in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Human Rights Education
To protect and promote HR, everyone must have knowledge about these rights to claim them for themselves and for others. Within the right to education comes the right to human rights education. HRE, as the instrument to strengthen HR, is more than knowledge; it is education for, through, and about HR, as held in the General Assembly resolution 66/137. “About” HR means providing knowledge about HR and the understanding of its principles and norms. Also, the protection mechanisms are part of the learning content. Education “through” HR means respecting the HR of learners and educators in the teaching process. “For” HR is understood as empowering HR by claiming it for oneself and others. This definition supports the holistic approach of human rights education.
States hold the primary responsibility for the implementation of HRE: as recorded in Article 7 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, States are primarily responsible for ensuring HRE. Creating a safe environment for engagement in HRE and full protection of those engaged in the process is part of a State's duty. Taking different requirements and appropriate means into account, States should strive for the implementation of HRE with all available resources. HRE should be part of the training of State officials, military personnel, judges, and law enforcement officials. Such training should include teachers and other educators, like library workers.
Understanding of Education
The term “education” differs in its meaning. While the UDHR and the Child Rights Convention (CRC) focus on formal school settings, UNESCO documents broaden the concept of education. The Incheon Declaration (2015) adds “quality,” as listed in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, as a criterion for education, meaning that education should aim to transform the lives of individuals and societies. The definition of education out of the declaration makes clear that education is limited only to learning. The outcomes are not just in formal school settings, but also in being able to think critically and creatively. Education thus becomes an instrument for shaping one's own mindsets.
Rethinking Education (2015) notes the importance of organized learning in all forms of education (formal, informal, non-formal) and sets this as criterion of education. With also having the SDGs as the main goal, the document adds safe places for learners as a prerequisite for education. And by focusing on formal and non-formal education, it also positions the latter as an important education setting. In translations, education may vary in its understanding in different languages. This also should be considered when the term “education” is used.
Libraries as a Place for Human Rights Education
As they already contribute to the SDGs, libraries are a place for HRE, even if only implicit. The IFLA Library Map of the World shows libraries' activities towards the SDGs, in Goal 4 Quality Education and beyond. Explicit HRE is necessary to fulfill the demand for a holistic approach towards HRE. As everyone has the right to HRE, marginalized groups are moving into the spotlight, as they were previously excluded. As a place where no prerequisites are needed for usage, libraries might be the only place where rights holders can assert their rights. Library staff need HRE to act on behalf of and to demand their rights towards library users, as the holistic approach requires. Libraries support formal school settings and work in non-formal and informal settings. By having locations in many cities, communities, or suburbs, libraries are widespread and easy to reach in many countries. The library system offers fixtures, fittings, and professional personnel, and investigations can extend the possibilities in library work, thus helping people stay connected through technological progress.
Conclusion
Libraries are unique public spaces that offer a wide range of media and access to digital services, even in rural areas. Having a wide range of resources and unrestrained access, and being a part of the public sector, libraries can also serve as places for the implementation of HRE. In addition to being a hub for education, libraries have also always taken on social tasks and serve as places for social interaction, which is urgently needed in times of increasing tensions around the world. They reach out to people of all ages, particularly children and young adults, giving them literacy skills and a place to spend their time, but are also committed to diversity, resisting book bans, and are sites for political protest. By bringing together different educational settings and respecting users’ human dignity and HR, libraries are pivotal towards the broader implementation of the HR to HRE globally.
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