RIYADH — President of the Human Rights Commission Dr. Awwad Al-Awwad launched on Sunday a 10-day training program on human rights for young leaders to develop and promote civil society initiatives, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The program, which is organized by the HRC in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, aims to prepare a team of young Saudi leaders qualified to introduce the culture of human rights and implement qualitative voluntary initiatives to serve humanity in several countries, promoting the values of tolerance, rejecting hate and inculcating the values of global citizenship.

The initiative, which complements the Kingdom's efforts to promote global peace and security and combating terrorism, seeks to find young people who are aware of their rights and proud of their identity and who can positively interact with the world around them for making a better tomorrow by spreading a culture of tolerance and respect for human rights thought effective communication and positive interactions in order to achieve peace and sustainable development.

The program will introduce young people in the 20-30 age group to international human rights mechanisms and standards, explain the concepts of tolerance, coexistence and joint action, develop civilization communication skills, design and implement programs and activities to disseminate human rights culture among them that will help achieve several objectives, the foremost of which are humanitarian initiatives for promoting human rights at the local and international levels.

The first session on the first day of the program was conducted by the Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Human Rights Commission, Amal Al-Muallami, and it reviewed objectives of the training program, methodology of training and role of trainers and participants. In the second session, the concept of human rights and its historical development and the characteristics of rights were discussed. — SG