Revitalizing the Mission of Higher Education through a Human Rights-Based Approach

This article proposes that in a new social contract for education, reimagined universities should be institutions that are human rights-centered. A human rights mission incorporates conventional university policies oriented toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) but goes beyond this traditional framework by drawing attention to root causes of systemic violations of human rights (including violence within the university itself) and inclusive processes of internal reform, oriented towards social justice involving especially the voices of the most marginalized. This article begins with a presentation of the application of the human rights framework to university settings, including binding legal standards, soft policies, and a holistic framework known as the human rights-based approach. A human rights-centered university is one that will undertake change with an orientation toward deep transformation that will enable the university to fulfill its core aims to foster values such as respect, empathy, equality, and solidarity and promote active citizenship to address the pressing needs of society.