- 59 - Chapter VI DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION A. Eleventh session, 5 December 1994 Human rights education and public information activities relating to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1. Introduction 313. At its ninth session, in November 1993, the Committee held a discussion on the issue of human rights education. It took note, inter alia, of a letter addressed to it by the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, emphasizing the importance of human rights education and enlisting the Committee’s assistance in promoting action in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The Committee also took note of the fact that, at recent international conferences, including the International Congress on Education for Human Rights and Democracy, held at Montreal in 1993, suggestions had been made that the Committee should ensure that its reporting guidelines adequately reflected the importance of human rights education, place greater emphasis in its dialogue with States parties on human rights education, devote a day of general discussion to the issue, and consider preparing a general comment on the subject. 314. Following that debate, the Committee decided to schedule a day of general discussion on human rights education at its eleventh session, on 5 December 1994. The discussion was attended by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Other participants included the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and representatives of the Department of Public Information, UNESCO, UNICEF, ILO, UNHCR and WHO. A representative of OECD also took part in the discussion. Representatives of the following international non-governmental organizations also participated: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of Jurists, International Baccalaureate, International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education, International Service for Human Rights, People’s Decade for Human Rights Education, Promotion of Grassroots Enlightenment and Social Security, Rights and Humanity, and World Federation of United Nations Associations. 2. Summary of the discussion: status of human rights education 315. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in stressing the importance of human rights education, assured the Committee that its conclusions on its present deliberations would receive his full attention. Mr. I. Garvalov, Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, raised the problem of how to preserve the identity of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities when providing separate education for such persons was perceived to threaten national unity. He suggested that the problem merited the consideration of all the treaty bodies.