Just as human rights belong equally to all human beings and the role of government is to secure those rights, education in regard to human rights belongs in the core of civic education and the role of that education is to develop within the student a reasoned commitment to human rights. The writers of human rights documents throughout history have realized that the surest sanctuary for human rights is not in public documents, but in the minds of the people. There are three challenges for civic education about human rights. (1) A challenge of conceptualization exists, i.e., defining human rights, examining and appraising alternative positions about their meaning. As societies evolve, what citizens perceive as "new" rights and interpretations evolve from "old" rights and interpretations. (2) There is the challenge of analyzing the value conflicts in human rights documents. The paradoxical problem of human rights and freedom, or how to conjoin majority rule and minority rights to create a workable synthesis in an orderly society challenges all citizens to search for acceptable limits on contending forces. (3) The challenge of connecting national and international perspectives in the education of citizens must be faced. Citizens around the globe are more likely today than in the past to challenge violations of human rights both within and outside of their national political systems. Lessons on human rights that include international perspectives should balance human diversity with the fundamental unity of mankind. (PPB)