Give education a chance : the right to primary education as tool to foster reconciliation following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war : the intersection of the goals of education, curriculum building, and truth commissions

Abstract

Children have the unique position, or arguably the unique burden, in playing a central role in both advocating for and participating in the bottom-up transition to a viable peacetime. Centering a child’s rights perspective, this thesis argues that education should be used as a building block in order for societies to progress and seek reconciliation after conflict. Analyzing Articles 28 and 29 from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) this thesis will assess the goals of primary education, including the development of respect for human rights, cultural identity and national values and the way these are implemented in curricula. Additionally, it is argued that Article 12 CRC:the right to express views and those to be given due weight; is crucial both in developing curricula and in post-conflict reconciliation mechanisms. Part of the analysis will be to utilize frameworks for education such as the rights to, in, and through education, as well as the Lundy Model of Child Participation. Scaling in on transitional justice mechanisms in order to achieve reconciliation and accountability, this thesis examines the practice of truth commissions. It is argued that truth commissions are well suited as a basis for curricula development to provide nuanced narratives of history. Through using the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War as a case study, this thesis seeks to identify the importance of a child’s rights approach to education, participation in decision making, and ultimately long-term conflict resolution.