Buraku Liberation News, November 1998 issue (No.105)
The International Conference on Human Rights Education in the Asia- Pacific Region was Held in Osaka.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the International Conference on Human Rights Education in the Asia- Pacific Region was held from November 25 to 27, 1998 at International House, Osaka, by the Osaka Organizing Committee, consisted of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism-Japan Committee, the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center, the Osaka Liaison Conference for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Osaka Prefectural and City Governments.
The conference, aimed to promote the universal realization of human rights in the context of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education, was attended by more than 30 representatives from 11 countries and international institutions, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNESCO, and UNICEF.
During the conference, several discussions centered on the various targets of discrimination in the region, including those at the bottom of the caste system in India, Buraku people in Japan and the Aborigines in Australia.
At the end of the three days' conference, the Osaka Declaration was unanimously adopted by the participants, calling for an end to all forms of discrimination and the promotion of human rights education. The declaration also pledged support for the UN Decade for Human Rights Education.
The reports, both Japanese and English versions, will be published by the Organizing Committee in early 1999.