OSCE Centre in Dushanbe teaches university students about protecting human rights

VARZOB, Tajikistan, 27 August 2007 - Teaching university students about human rights and mechanisms to protect those rights is the aim of a course co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe and the non-governmental organization Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law (BHR).

Twenty university students majoring in social sciences and the humanities took part in the one-week course, which ends today in Varzob. Trainers from the BHR and other national and international organizations lead the sessions.

"This intensive training familiarizes young adults from Tajikistan with internationally accepted human rights concepts and treaties," said Payam Foroughi, Human Dimension Officer at the OSCE Centre. "Participants also learn about global and regional human rights protection mechanisms and how to counter potential human rights violations."

Aziz Dinorshoev, the project coordinator at the BHR, added that the course, though held for seven consecutive years, for the first time this year targeted students from faculties other than law.

"We hope that the course will help bridge the gap in the human rights awareness of these students," he said.