First Steps:
A Manual for Starting
Human Rights Education

 

 

Amnesty International South Africa

 

 

Preface

Part One: First Steps This part contains: What are human rights? What is Human Rights Education? Common Questions about Human Rights Education

Part Two: Tools This part contains: Exploring the human rights environment in school How can human rights be part of the curriculum? Useful teaching tools How to design your own human rights teaching activities Evaluating your human rights teaching activities

Part Three: Younger Children This part contains: Starting up - introductory activities You and me - activities about diversity Who, me? - activities about responsibility Rights for Life - activities about the universality of rights What's fair? - activities about justice My rights/Your rights - activities about situations where rights conflict Action! - taking human rights beyond the classroom

Part Four: Older Children This part contains: Starting up - introductory activities You and me - activities about diversity Who, me? - activities about responsibility Rights for Life - activities about the universality of rights What's fair? - activities about justice My rights/Your rights - activities about situations where rights conflict Action! - taking human rights beyond the classroom

Part Five: Human Rights Documents This part contains: Universal Declaration of Human Rights Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Simplified Version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Part Six: Next Steps This part contains: Building a Human Rights Education Network Organizing a Human Rights Education Workshop Example of a Human Rights Education Workshop Evaluating you Human Rights Education Workshop Useful Organisations Possible Funders Useful Books

 

This manual is for teachers and others who work with young people and who want to introduce human rights in their educational practices. It is designed to be a basic introduction, with age-specific activities for younger and older children. There is also advice on methodology, and help for those who want to go further into this subject. The approach stresses the practical rather than theoretical.

The manual was written in response to a need expressed by Amnesty International members and other Human Rights Education activists in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The material has therefore been adapted or specially written for this region. Please bear this in mind if you use the activities in another region.

It could not have been written and produced without the hard work of Nick Wilson and Branka Emeršic.

Valuable comments were made by Felisa Tibbitts, Nancy Flowers, Hugh Starkey, Jana Kviecinská, Corina Leca and Jana Ondrácková. Kerry Howard, Ulrike Zimmermann and Anna Henry typed much of the text. Special thanks are due for some activities to the Citizenship Foundation, William Kriedler and Thomas Lickona.

You are encouraged to photocopy, translate and adapt this text for your own use.

If you live in Europe, please check with the Amnesty International Europe Program Regional Development Team at the address below before translating passages which might already be available in your language, and send a copy of your completed translation/adaptation to the Team, who can also supply you with more copies in English.

Enquiries about the content of the manual and its use outside Europe should be addressed to:

Human Rights Education Team
Amnesty International International Secretariat
1 Easton St, London WC1X 8DJ
United Kingdom

London, August 1996

Amnesty International Index Number: POL32/04/95

 

Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Language Versions and Formats | Back to Index HRE Library

Electronic Resource Centre for Human Rights Education:
First Steps - a Manual for Starting Human Rights Education

 

 

 

 

 

"Maybe we're all born knowing we have rights - we just need to be reminded "

Romanian HRE trainer

 

What are human
rights?

 

Human rights can be defined as those basic standards without which people cannot life in dignity as human beings. Human are the foundation of freedom, justice and peace. Their respect allows the individual and the community to fully develop.

The development of human rights has its roots in the struggle for freedom and equality everywhere in the world. The basis of human rights - such as respect for human life and human dignity - can be found in most religions and philosophies.

They are proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Also, documents such as the International Covenants on Human Rights set out what governments must do and also what they must not do to respect the rights of their citizens.

Characteristics of human rights

• Human rights do not have to be bought, earned or inherited, they belong to people simply because they are human - human rights are 'inherent' to each individual.

• Human rights are the same for all human beings regardless of race, sex, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin. We are all born free and equal in dignity and rights - human rights are 'universal'.

• Human rights cannot be taken away, no one has the right to deprive another person of them for any reason. People still have human rights even when the laws of their countries do not recognize them, or when they violate them - for example, when slavery is practised, slaves still have rights even though these rights are being violate - human rights are 'inalienable'.

• People live in dignity, all human rights are entitled to freedom, security and decent standards of living concurrently - human rights are 'indivisible'.

 

Categories of Rights

Rights can be put into three categories:

1. Civil and political rights (also called 'first generation' rights). These are 'liberty-orientated' and include the rights to: life, liberty and security of the individual; freedom from torture and slavery; political participation; freedom of opinion, expression, thought, conscience and religion; freedom of association and assembly.

2. Economic and social rights (also called second generation rights). These are 'security-orientated' rights, for example the rights to: work; education; a reasonable standard of living; food; shelter and health care.

3. Environmental, cultural and developmental rights (also called third generation rights). These include the rights to live in an environment that is clean and protected from destruction, and rights to cultural, political and economic development.

When we say that each person has human rights, we are also saying that each person has responsibilities to respect the human rights of others.

 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The most widely accepted statement of human rights in the world is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Its core message is the inherent value of every human being. The Declaration was unanimously adopted on the 10th December 1948 by the United Nations (although 8 nations did abstain). It sets out a list of basic rights for everyone in the world whatever their race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It states that governments have promised to uphold certain rights, not only for their own citizens, but also for people in other countries. In other words, national borders are no barrier to helping others achieve their rights. Since 1948 the Universal Declaration has been the international standard for human rights. In 1993 a world conference of 171 states representing 99% of the world's population reaffirmed its commitment to human rights.

 

Legal Status

Even though the UDHR is the inspiration for most international human rights law, it is not itself a legally binding document. However, as a general statement of principles, it does have power in the world of public opinion. Its principles have been translated into legal force in the form of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Countries that have ratified these Covenants commit themselves to making laws in their country to protect these human rights. However, over half the countries of the world have not ratified the ICCPR or the ICESCR.
There are also Regional Human Rights Instruments inspired by the UDHR such as the African Charter on Human and People's Rights; the European Convention of Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights. Many national legal codes also guarantee human rights.

 

 

What is Human
Rights Education?

 

Human Rights Education is education about, but also for human rights. For example:

• Teaching people about international law or about human rights violations such as torture is teaching about human rights.

• Teaching people how to respect and protect rights, is teaching for human rights.

Human Rights Education is all about helping people to develop to the point where they understand human rights and where they feel that they are important and should be respected and defended.

This manual can help you to teach about, but also for human rights. The activities give children SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, and ATTITUDES which they will need to work towards a world free of human rights violations. These aspects are encapsulated in each of the activities by a participative, interactive educational METHODOLOGY. Participative methodology has been found by human rights educators to be the most efficient and most powerful way to develop skills and attitudes, as well as knowledge, in both children and adults. The diagram on the next page may help you to visualise this relationship of skills, knowledge, attitudes and methodology. (See also the chapter "How to design your own human rights teaching activities" in Part Two for further explanation of this model and advice on creating and analysing human rights teaching activities.)

SKILLS: Such as listening to others, making moral analysis, cooperating, communicating, problem solving, and questioning the status quo. These skills help children to: - analyse the world around them - understand that human rights are a way to improve their lives and the lives of others - take action to protect human rights

 

KNOWLEDGE: Such as knowing that human rights documents exist and which rights they contain, and that these rights are universally applicable to all human beings and inalienable. Also knowing the consequences of violating human rights. This knowledge helps children to protect their own rights and the rights of others.

 

ATTITUDES: Such as that human rights are important, that human dignity is inherent in all people, that rights should be respected, that cooperation is better than conflict, that we are responsible for our actions, and that we can improve our world if we try. These attitudes help children to develop morally and prepare them for positive participation in society.

 

METHODOLOGY: Participative, interactive methodology involves children fully in learning. Alongside their teacher, they become active explorers of the world around them , rather than passive recipients of the teachers' expertise. This methodology is particularly appropriate when dealing with human rights issues, where there are often many different points of view on an issue, rather than one 'correct' answer.

 

The Principles Game: You might find it useful to do the following activity to help you to think about rights. It works best in a group. Each group should look at ten of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see page 157). For example, one group could study articles 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28. A second group could study articles 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29. And a third group could study articles 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30. Try to identify the principles which underlie them. Share the results of each group. Discuss why these principles are important. In what practical ways would your country change if these principles were respected by everyone? For example, how would participation in local government change? Principles you might be able to identify include: Responsibility Justice Freedom Equality Tolerance Solidarity Security Identity Peace

 

 

 

 

Diagram 1: Factors involved in every Human Rights Education activity

 

Common questions
about Human
Rights Education

 

The following questions are often asked by teachers who are thinking about incorporating human rights into their teaching. The answers given here are short, but may help with some of your worries.

Question: "Children need to be taught responsibility, not rights."
Answer: This manual places equal emphasis on rights and responsibilities. The activities are designed to show that one person's rights end where another person's rights begin, and that everyone has a responsibility to respect the rights of others.

Question: "Won't human rights topics frighten young students?"
Answer: Teaching human rights is positive, not negative, because students learn about their own inherent rights and about the importance of human dignity. Of course, giving students information about human rights violations alone is not enough, and can be distressing for young children. However, teaching human rights is different because, although it is based on the knowledge that bad things happen, it also gives students the skills which they need to be able to do something about these things, and the attitude that it is possible for them to act to change a bad situation.

Question: "What if my students ask a question I can't answer?"
Answer: When teaching human rights, answers are rarely simple. Complex moral questions cannot be answered with yes or no. Raising the questions is more important than finding one 'correct' answer. By introducing these complex issues to children and allowing them to think about them, we can equip them to deal with them later in life. Part Two of this manual explains teaching methods which can help you to explore human rights issues with your students, without having to have the "correct" answer to every question.

Question: "What is the purpose of using games?"
Answer: We learn and remember things better by doing them than just by hearing about them. Although the activities in this manual are fun, they have serious aims, usually the explanation of a human rights concept. These aims are explained at the start of each activity. See also the section 'What is Human Rights Education?'.

Question: "We don't have a photocopier, or enough materials."
Answer: Most of the activities in this manual are designed so that they don't need expensive materials or photocopier.

Question: "We do Civics and Law, not Human Rights."
Answer: In practice, the skills, knowledge, and attitudes associated with human rights can be taught in many different subjects. (See section "Ideas for teaching human rights in core subject" in the chapter "How can human rights be part of the curriculum?" in Part Two)

Question: "I want to teach adults too."
Answer: This manual is aimed at schools. However, many of the activities can also be used with adults. Part Two contains ideas for developing your own activities, and the organizations listed in Part Six can give advice about teaching human rights with adults.

Question: "Parents, teachers, and the Principal say teaching human rights is political indoctrination."
Answer: Human rights make students better able to participate in society and in the politics of their country. However, it is important to distinguish between these political skills and party politics. Teachers have a great responsibility not to push students towards a specific political party or political ideology.

Question: "What is the difference between Civics, Moral education, Citizenship education, Intercultural education, Peace education and Conflict Resolution? Where does Human Rights Education fit in?"
Answer: All these subjects cover slightly different, overlapping subject matter. For example, an activity about respecting each other could be used in any of these subjects, but an activity dealing just with human rights documents would only be used in human rights education. However, the same active, participative educational methodology is used to teach all these subjects since this methodology overlaps almost completely. The important thing to remember is that these subjects all have the same aim: to help students to develop the skills, attitudes and knowledge which they will need to help them to make informed moral decisions about their world and their place in it.

 

 

 

 

This part contains: • Exploring the human rights environment in the school • How can human rights be part of the curriculum? • Useful teaching methods • How to design your own human rights teaching activities • Evaluating your human rights teaching activities

 

"You can't teach human rights in a way that is against human rights."

Czech teacher.

 

Exploring the
human rights environment in the school

Understanding of human rights is best achieved by experiencing them in action. Everyday school life can provide this experience, and can reinforce the formal study of abstract concepts such as freedom, tolerance, fairness and truth. However, schools often discourage, rather than encourage human rights. Assumptions and prejudices often exist which deny the human rights of some people in the school. For example, if students are allowed to call other students from minority religious or ethnic groups offensive names, and no action is taken by the teachers, this sends a message to students that intolerance is acceptable. It is important to change these sort of messages if teaching for human rights is to succeed.

 

What is the present human rights environment in the school?

Please read the following questions and think about your school. The aim of these questions is not to attack the discipline and order of the school, but to make teaching for human rights easier by creating a climate of respect for human rights throughout the school.

Relations between students:
Are there cases of violence or humiliation? For example, through name-calling?
Are there prejudices against students? For example, against religious groups, girls, or students from ethnic minority or refugee families?
Does anything happen when students complain about violence? Is this effective?

Relations between teachers and students:
Are students expected to obey teachers without understanding the orders?
Are students given a voice in making and enforcing school rules?
Is the grading system used to impose discipline, or to promote a few at the expense of many?
Are students humiliated by teachers? Is discipline humane?
Is there a student council?
When do students see the Principal?
Is the Principal's office door opened or closed?
Does the Principal know the student's names?
Are students called by their own name or their family name?
Are all students treated equally?
Is there a student council? Are students elected/selected democratically for this council?

Relations between teachers and Principals:
Are teachers afraid to complain or to give suggestions to the Principal?
Do teachers from different subjects ever work together to present topics?
Do they exchange teaching experiences among themselves?
Do teachers work as a team in a coordinated way?
Are teachers given a voice in policy decisions?
Are teachers treated equally?
Is promotion based on performance or on political or personal considerations?
What about relations between teachers and educational authorities?

Relations between teachers and parents:
Are parents afraid to complain to teachers when they do not like the way their children are treated or what they are taught?
Do they fear that complaining might make things worse for their children?
Are parents involved in running the school? Does this work? How could it be improved?

School rules and procedures:
What values are promoted in school rules?
Are students expected to blindly obey all rules for the sake of obedience and discipline?
Are there rules that humiliate students, such as having to get permission every time they need to use the toilet?
Are punishments irrelevant or unfair?
So school rules apply to all students equally?
Can students help to make the rules or are they imposed on them?

The physical environment:
Are living conditions in the school building healthy?
Is there a playground?
Are there curtains or flowers in the classrooms?
Are students involved in making their classroom comfortable?
Are students' paintings, poems and writings displayed on the walls? Is the work of less able students also displayed?
Are learning materials and equipment equally available for students regardless of gender or social status?
Do students have a private, secure place where they can leave their belongings? Or where they can be alone?

 

What can be done to improve the human rights environment in the school?

The questions on the previous page focused on some of the human rights issues in the school. Below are some specific suggestions which may help improve the human rights environment. They are based on the idea that if students are given the responsibility to be involved in making rules, and in deciding what to do when rules are broken, then they will be more likely to respect these rules.

Violence, conflicts and prejudices among students:

Teachers and students can work together to develop a specific policy to deal with these situations. For example, this is a suggested course of action for dealing with violent conflicts:

Stop physical or verbal aggression. Find out the real problem by asking those involved and those witnessing for brief statements. Allow students to speak quietly in turn and give physical reassurance to upset students. Ask the students for suggestions for resolving the conflict and be prepared to contribute one or two ideas. Discuss the alternatives on the basis of searching for a fair solution. Agree on a course of action and follow it. If it is not working after a trial period, consult the students and try another solution. Follow up the incident with a discussion, a story, role play or artwork. Ask students to compare it with similar incidents.

 

Rules:

If students find some rules unnecessary, unfair or without reason why not allow them to suggest changes? Rules in school are necessary if we want to avoid confusion and chaos, but each rule can be examined to see if it is fair or still valid. Teachers should be prepared to compromise with the needs of the students if a change to the rules is suggested which would contribute to the effective running of the school. Students should then feel a responsibility to respect the rules.

Class meetings: (Adapted from Educating for Character by T. Lickona p.149-151).

Class meetings can be an important first step to alter the human rights environment in the school. The next three pages give a step-by-step guide to starting them. The most important thing to remember when starting class meetings is that it will take practice before you and the class gradually learn to enjoy and participate in the meetings. Do not be discouraged if your first attempt is not a great success!

Class meetings can be used to involve the class in planning what to study next, for solving classroom problems, or simply for being together as a group. An important effect of the meeting is that it helps children to participate, a vital skill for protecting and defending human rights. Below is a list of types of class meeting. The questions which accompany each type can be asked by the teacher to help students to participate. However, to be effective, class meetings need to be a place where students feel safe to share their feelings. To encourage them, it is a good idea not to force students to speak if they don't want to - respect their right to be silent when they want to be, then they will be more likely to speak up in a later meeting.

Adapt the ideas on the following pages to suit the age of your students.

Types of Class Meeting Good news meeting: Here, ask questions like "Who has some good news to share?" Circle: Go around the circle using one of the "sentence-starters" below. Everyone can choose to speak or not to speak. After everyone has had a turn, the teacher can use individual students' contributions as a starting point for discussion. Some sample sentence-starters are: -"Something I like about this class..." - "Something I think would make our class better..." - "A decision I think we should make..." - "I am wondering why..." - "It worries me that..." - "I wish..." Compliment time: One or two children are chosen; taking one child at a time, the teacher invites classmates to say something they like or admire about that person. Goal-setting meeting: Discuss the goals for the morning, the day, the week, a curriculum unit, the academic year. Rule-setting meeting: Here, ask questions like "What rules do we need for our classroom?" "For going to the gym?" "For going to the zoo?" Rule-evaluating meeting: Have students write about, then discuss the following questions: "What are the school rules? Why do we have them? Are they good rules? If you could change one rule, what would it be?... Do any of our classroom rules need changing to make them work better?" Evaluation: Here, ask questions like "What was good about today?" "How can we make tomorrow a better day?" "How can we make that activity work better next time?" Reflections: Here, ask questions like "What did you learn from this activity (unit, project, book)?" Student presentation: One or two students present a piece of their work, such as a project or story. Problems: - Individual problems: "Who's having a problem that we might be able to help solve?" - Group problems: "What's a class problem that we should talk about?" - Complaints and recommendations: You can make a complaint about a problem, but you have to offer a recommendation for correcting it. - Fairness meeting: "How can we solve this conflict in a way that is fair to everybody?" Academic issues: Here, ask questions like "Why do you think we need to study this?" "What would help you do a better job on homework?" "On the next test?" "How could the last test have been improved?" Classroom improvement meeting: Here, ask questions like "What changes would make our classroom better?" Possibilities: changing the physical arrangement of the classroom, new ways of working together, new learning games, etc... Follow-up meeting: Here, ask questions like "How is the solution/change we agreed upon working? Can we make it work better?" Concept meeting: Here, ask questions like "What is a friend? How do you make one?" "What is a conscience? How does it help you?" "What is a lie? Is it ever right to tell one?" "What is trust? Why is it important?" "What is courage? How do people show it?" Suggestion box/class business box: Any appropriate item students have suggested for discussion. Meeting on meetings: Here, ask questions like "What have you liked about our class meetings? What haven't you liked? What have we accomplished? How can we improve our meetings?"

Good class meetings can be a powerful tool which you could use to persuade your principal that the whole school would benefit from a school meeting or school council. At the school council, elected representatives from each class could meet with the staff to offer advice/ideas on real school problems. If representatives are obliged to represent views of their class (which they can find out at their class meetings), the school council can be a truly democratic model which will prepare students for participation in a democratic society.

A clear structure for the meetings will help make them successful. Below is a suggested model, which you can adapt for your own situation.

Ideas for a model class meeting: Circle: Form a good circle and ask the students to be quiet. Set the agenda: State the purpose of the meeting and the different things to be discussed. Set the rules: Establish or review rules for "good talking and listening". Form the class into pairs Pose the problem or question: For example, "several people have said that there is a lot of name-calling on the playground. For example, 'Jew', 'Gypsy'. What can we do to solve this?" Partner talk: Have partners share thoughts with each other (3 to 5 minutes); move around and help those who may be slow to interact. Signal for quiet: Establish a signal for stopping talk in pairs, ready to begin whole group discussion. Whole-group discussion: Invite several pairs of students to share their ideas with the group; invite reactions to these ideas; ask further questions; if appropriate, reach and record agreement on action. Plan what to do and set a time for a follow-up meeting. Close the meeting: Here you can go around the circle for final comments, summarise what happened, ask the students to think what they remember most about the meeting, or evaluate it.

When the class have become used to meeting, students themselves can take responsibility for the meetings. For example, by taking turns to lead meetings, summarize what has been said by others, or making notes of conclusions reached.

Another useful tip which increases student participation in the meeting, is to ask students a question and give time for them to note their own answer before asking them to share it with the group. 

Things to think about:

Many teachers have found that monitoring, then changing their own behaviour was an important step in creating a human rights environment in their classroom. To help you to do this, you can ask yourself the following questions, or discuss them with colleagues. It might be useful to look at these questions for a week or so, during which you monitor your own behaviour in the classroom and think about ways in which it might be improved.

Do you treat all students as individuals? Do you address them by their personal names? If so, do you take care to say the name correctly?

Do you use eye contact and touch to reassure students of your attention and concern?

Do you apologise when you have made a mistake?

Do you allow students to make important decisions? For example, about what to do next, what books to read, where to eat lunch......?

Do you encourage good listening habits? For example, do you sound a musical note to get silence, or do you find yourself shouting?

Do you smile in the classroom?

Do you reward the whole group for something well done together? Do you praise cooperation, caring, and peacefulness, or just good academic work?

Do you use line-ups when they are not necessary, or do you allow the students to move in groups?

Do you label students as bad or good?

Are you afraid of confusion and noise, even when it is caused by students working hard?

 

 

How can human
rights be part of the curriculum?

Ideally, human rights should be a part of all school subjects, and should permeate the students’ whole learning experience. However, because circumstances are different in each country and region, teachers have used many different tactics for fitting human rights into their school curriculum. These tactics can be placed in two broad categories: Starting to teach human rights at a "grassroots" level in whichever way you can, with the permission of the Principal or local-level officials. Persuading the local or national educational authorities to change the system from the top to make funding and time available for human rights teaching. Often, teachers have combined these tactics by beginning with their "grassroots" teaching then using their successes as evidence to persuade the educational authorities to change the system.

Primary curricula:
In primary schools, because there is less exam pressure on children and staff, and because teachers usually teach several subjects to one class, teachers have often found it quite easy to get the Principals’ permission to teach human rights in a way which involves many subjects. Teachers in Rostov-on-Don describe their teaching about rights as a "line" running through all subjects, which they have used to help children to understand that different subjects, different people, and the world around them are interconnected..

Secondary curricula:
Introducing teaching for human rights at this level can be more difficult. A lot depends on the attitude of the Principal and the educational authorities, who are often worried about the already-overcrowded timetable and the students’ need to prepare for major examinations (especially in the last grades of school). The subject specialisation of secondary school teachers also means that co-operation between staff is needed to integrate human rights teaching across the curriculum.

 However, many teachers have successfully introduced teaching human rights at this level in the following ways:

- As an optional, separate subject after school or in weekly class "free time". This approach gives teachers and students the freedom to explore teaching human rights without pressure, but has the disadvantage that students sometimes do not take seriously subjects which are not essential for examinations.

- Some teachers have started teaching human rights within their own specialist subject. There are ideas for how to do this on the next few pages. In particular, human rights teaching fits well with Civics and Law, although teachers who have used this approach stress that it is important to avoid presenting human rights as an academic subject unrelated to real life.

- Teachers have also planned jointly with colleagues to involve students in project work (see page 30) which involves several core subjects. This avoids the danger that students might see human rights as one, academic subject, and helps them to see the relevance of school subjects to the real world around them.

 

Ideas for teaching human rights in core subjects

History
When teaching history, human rights can be introduced around traditional subject matter. Here are some examples.

Documents: Magna Carta (1215 England)                        
                        US Declaration of Independence (1776 USA)
                        The Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789 France)

Major events: War, slavery, colonialism, imperialism and Nazism, can all be studied with special attention to their violation of human rights. More recent history, for example apartheid, political oppression in Latin America, or under Stalinism, also provides lots of material about human rights.

The growth of human rights through history: For example, the origins and growth of democratic thinking and organization, the development of the United Nations, the growth of trade unions.

Historical Figures: Anne Frank (Netherlands)
                                Mahatma Gandhi (India)
                                Martin Luther King (USA)
                                Andrei Sakharov (USSR)
                                Rigoberta Menchú (Guatemala)

Electronic Resource Centre for Human Rights Education:
First Steps - a manual for starting Human Rights Education

 

 

 

"I don't teach my class their rights and responsibilities - they teach me!"

Moldovan teacher

 

 

 

Starting up -
introductory
activities

Because several of the activities in this part of the manual refer to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, here is an activity "Treasure Hunt" to help familiarize your class with them. The "Quick Quiz" activity can be used to test children's knowledge about rights. These activities are continued for older children in Part Four.

Quick Quiz
(Based on an activity by David Shiman)

Aim: This quiz is useful at any stage of teaching human rights. If the children have not studied human rights before, it is a way to find out how much they already know. It can then be used to check on how their knowledge grows over time. It is also very useful for finding out what special interests and concerns children have about human rights.

Learning Points:
- We already know a lot about human rights.
- Sometimes, there are no correct answers when we discuss rights

What you need: Quiz questions.

Time: One hour

How to do it:

Before the lesson, write the questions up on paper or the blackboard, or when the students arrive, read out the questions and ask the children to copy them down, without answering them.

Now, ask the children to move around the room for ten minutes, asking a different person for the answer to each of the questions. The person who answers a question should sign their answer. In this way, the children share what they know already about human rights. Alternatively, ask children to answer the questions on their own.

 

Go through the questions, asking children for their answers. Write them on the wall. There might be many answers for one question. Encourage the children to discuss their answers as you write them down (the advice on asking questions from the section Questioning in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two might be useful here).

The children will probably not be able to answer all of the questions. Also, their answers might be inaccurate. For example, they might not know that torture also happens in Western democracies. Remember that the purpose of the quiz is to raise human rights issues, not to get "correct" answers.

 

Questions which raise particularly interesting issues can form the basis of future discussions. For help with discussions about rights, see section Whole Class Discussion in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two.

If there is not much time, select a few questions instead, concentrating on those which are most relevant to the children.

Quiz questions:

Can you think of?.....

A human right?

A country where human rights are violated?

A document which proclaims human rights?

A group which was persecuted in the past?

A country where people are denied rights because of their race?

A country where people are denied rights because of their religion?

A country where rights of different groups are in conflict?

An organization which fights for human rights?

A film or a book about rights?

A country where people are tortured?

A country where the human rights situation has improved?

A country where people are denied the right to emigrate?

A right denied to you in school?

An individual who fights for human rights?

A right sometimes denied to women?

A right all children should have?

People who are denied the right to establish their own nation?

A human right denied to some people in your country?

A right your parents have which you don't?

A right of yours that has never been violated?

A violation of human rights that personally concerns you?

Choices:

If you have a photocopier, draw a grid on a piece of paper, write a question in each box, and make a copy of the paper for each child.

 

As a project (see section Projects in in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two) older students could select one of the questions and research it in depth, making a report of their findings to the class.

As an action, children could ask visitors these questions at a school open day.

 

Treasure Hunt

Aim: This hide-and-seek activity is a quick way to introduce the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is a helpful activity to use when the class first start learning about human rights. It can also be used to introduce the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Learning Points:
- Human rights are valuable
- They are written down in special documents

What you need: Convention on the Rights of the Child from Part Five of this manual. (If the children are quite young, it is better to use the Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child - see Part Five).

Time: Up to half an hour

How to do it:

Either write some articles from the Convention on the Rights of the Child on pieces of paper, or photocopy it and cut it up.

Before the children arrive, hide each article in a different place in the room.

When the children arrive, explain that there is something very valuable hidden on pieces of paper around the room. Ask the children to look for the articles. When an article is found, ask the finder to read it out, and to explain it in simple language, or give an example when the article might be relevant. For example, Article Seven:

"The right from birth to a name , to acquire a nationality and to know and be cared for by his or her parents"

When would this article be relevant?

Ask the finder of each article to keep the piece of paper. That is now "their" article. Later, when the class moves on to other human rights activities, the teacher can then ask students to help when "their" article comes up. Over time, students might be able to develop expert knowledge about the problems and issues surrounding "their" article.

Choices:

 

If you are using the full Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Summary of Rights from Part Five can be used by the teacher to explain any articles which students are unable to explain.

 

As a project (see section Projects in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two) children could create a play, poem , poster or painting explaining "their" one right.

 

As an action, children could share the products of this project work with the school, with parents and with the rest of the community. For example, at a school concert on Human Rights Day (see chapter Action! - taking human rights issues beyond the classroom).

 

You and me -
activities about
diversity

These activities are about diversity - similarities and differences between people. They are designed to show that we are all different, yet all equal. Some of the activities focus on why differences are good and important for us as individuals with our own identities. Other activities draw attention to the similarities that all human beings share - for example, our love of stories, or music. Some activities are about living together as a caring community. These are all basic principles on which formal human rights standards, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are based. These activities are continued for older children in chapter Living together - activities about respect in Part Four.

 

This is Me

Aim: Children reinforce their identity and raise their self-esteem through an art activity. The questions encourage them to think positively about differences between people.

Learning points:
- We are all different but we share many similarities.
- Rights are based on the similar needs of different people.

What you need: Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (see Part Five). Sheet of paper for each child. Pens, crayons or paints.

Time: One hour

How to do it:

Write each child's name on a sheet of paper, or ask them to do this themselves.

Ask them to decorate their name using crayons. They can colour the name and draw some of their favourite things around it, such as toys, places, food and so on.

Sitting in a circle, ask each child to show their name and explain their favourite things.

Ask the questions listed below as a way to the develop children's awareness of their similarities and differences.

Display all the work in the school with a title such as "This is Us".

Questions:

What did you learn about other people?

Did you learn anything about yourself?

How did it feel to see your name displayed?

Were our favourite things the same or different?

What would it be like if we were all the same?

Choices:

 

The class can look at the Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Part Five). Which rights mention children's similarities? Which rights mention children's differences?

If the group is too big, or the children are too small to concentrate for long, ask them to talk to another child about their work. After a few minutes, each pair can show their work to another pair.

Older children or adults can sit opposite each other in pairs and draw each other. Ask them to talk to each other, finding out about the other person's interests, history, dreams, family, work, etc. and drawing these things around their portrait of the other person.

For another adaptation, ask the class to move around the room while music plays. When the music stops, they must find a partner, and ask each other any question. For example, what is your favourite colour or food? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Where would you like to travel? Restart the music and repeat process until all children have exchanged their opinions. At the end, ask questions similar to those listed above.

 

As a project (see section Projects in in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two) children could do this activity with their family and adult friends, explaining the learning points themselves. The results of this project could be displayed either in or out of the school.

Look at me!

Aim: A variation on "This is me", this activity builds on the ideas for drawing activities in section Drawing in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two. It increases children's self-esteem, which makes them more likely to be tolerant of others and respect others' rights. The activity also introduces ideas about how children can make their classroom a happier place through their own actions.

Learning point:
- "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

What you need: Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Part Five), flipcharts, pens, crayons or paints.

Time: One hour

How to do it:

Divide the children into pairs.

One child lies flat on a long sheet of paper.

The other child draws around the child on the paper. (This is also a great opportunity for language development about the parts of the body!)

The child lies on the floor next to their outline. The other child can add details to the outline. For example, details of the face, colour of hair, clothing, and so on.

If children are in groups of more than two children, they can work on different parts of the drawing to complete the portrait.

Each child can then present the picture of their partner, explaining what he/she discovered about this person.

Ask the questions listed below.

The children can take their portraits home and place them in their bedrooms.

Questions:

The class can look at the Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child. How would people need to help each other to achieve these rights? (For example, by caring about her friends/family...).

How did it feel to be drawn?

How did it feel to be drawing?

Everyone needs to be cared for by someone - this is a right we all have. What happens when people don't get enough attention? (Children could write a story about a time when they felt lonely)

If you moved to a new school, how would you want people to treat you?

Can we think of any ways to make sure that no-one in our class is lonely?

Choices:

The whole class could also draw one child, if you think this would be useful. For example, to make a "different" child feel part of the class community.

The child can choose to be drawn as something they would like to be (a footballer, a dancer, a clown...)

If a child is joining or leaving the class, this activity can be used to make them feel part of the community. (A child who is leaving could have all the things they will need in their new life added to the picture: love, friends, sun, smiles)

Hands up!

Aim: This funny game helps children to develop feelings of community and to recognise that difference is necessary.

Learning point:
- Differences are useful and necessary.

What you need: Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (see Part Five. One blindfold.

Time: Half an hour

How to do it:

Ask the children to stand in a circle. Ask for a volunteer to be blindfolded.

Turn the volunteer around a few times then lead them to another child. By touching the hair, face and clothes the volunteer has to guess who the other child is.

Try to ignore children's usual friendship groups for this activity.

Continue until all children have had a go.

Now ask the questions listed below as a way to the develop children's awareness of their similarities and differences.

Questions:

Why did we do that?

How did you know who it was?

What if someone had a different skin colour or different coloured eyes?

What if everyone had the same nose, hair, ears?

Choices:

The class can look at the Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child and discuss the question

"Why do we need the same rights when we are so different?"

This activity can also be used for teaching about disability by showing the children how it might feel to be blind.

 

As a project (see section Projects in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two) children can "experiment" with other forms of disability and make a book recording how they felt and how they would want to be treated if they were a person with a disability.

As a variation, use different objects, foods or smells to show how appearances can be deceptive.

Children from around the World

Aim: This activity with pictures helps children to explore the similarities amongst the children of the world regardless of nationality, gender or ethnic group.

Learning points:
- We are all different but we share many similarities.
- Rights are based on the similar needs of different people.

What you need:
- Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child from Part Five.
- Photos of children from your local area and around the world. Choose pictures which show as many different sorts of food, climate, physical types and ways of life as possible. These can be cut from newspapers and magazines.

Time: One hour

How to do it:

Share out the picture collection.

Ask the children to help you to group the photos by obvious attributes. For example, boys and girls, hair colour, older or younger and so on. Try a mixture of attributes which mix up the pictures from around the world. For example, group together children who are talking, or playing, or who are older or younger than the class.

Ask the questions listed below as a way to the develop children's awareness of the similarities between the children in the pictures.

Questions:

What was the same about the children in the pictures?

What was different?

Were there any things in the pictures that you didn't recognize?

What do you think children the children in the pictures wouldn't recognize if they came here?

How would you want to be treated if you had to go to their school? Why?

Imagine that some children from the pictures are coming to visit your school. What would you say to children in other classes about how to treat the visiting children?

Choices:

Children could write a letter to one of the children in the pictures, telling them about your school.

As a project it may be possible for your class to get pen-friends from abroad or from another part of your country.

As an action, children could write and perform a drama about someone who moves to a new school far away and who is treated kindly and unkindly by different students at their new school.

Games from around the World

Aim: This activity with games helps children to explore the similarities amongst the children of the world regardless of nationality, gender or ethnic group. It also introduces children to the idea that they have inherent rights, including the right to play, which are written down in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Learning points:
- We are all different but we share many similarities.
- Rights are based on the similar needs of different people.

What you need: Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Part Five). The example games on the next page, and also the Convention on the Rights of the Child from page (see Part Five).

Time: About an hour and a half

How to do it:

Explain that children all over the world play different, but very interesting games.

Introduce games from different countries (if you have a globe or an atlas show them where those countries are). Play the games. There are some ideas given on the next page.

Ask the children which game of theirs they would recommend to children all over the world. Play that game.

If some children belong to an ethnic group, ask if they know some games from their own culture which you can play. (But if they don't want to, don't force them.)

Ask the questions listed below as a way to the develop children's awareness of the similarities between children all over the world.

Questions:

Did you enjoy one game more than the others? Why? What makes a good game?

Would the new games become more fun if you were used to them?

All children have the right to play. This right is written down in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Why do you think play is specially mentioned in this document ?

Would it be possible for you to teach children from another country your games, even if they didn't speak your language? How?

Choices:

This activity can also be done using songs from around the world, or from different parts of your country.

As a project, children can make a "collection" of games from their families, books, stories.

Children could split into two groups. One group shows the others how to play a new game by miming. Then swop.

Example games: Cover your Ears (Korea). This game is a favourite of both children and adults. Any number of players can join the fun. The players sit in a circle. One player is chosen as the leader, and places both hands over their ears. The player to the left of the leader places their right hand over their right ear. The player to their right must place their left hand over their left ear. (In other words, the ears nearest to the leader are covered.) The leader removes both hands and points to another player in the circle. The new leader puts both hands over their ears. Again, players immediately to the left and right of the leader cover their "near-side" ears. The new leader then points to another player and the game continues as quickly as possible. Any player who is slow to cover an ear, or who makes a mistake, is out of the game. The winner is the last player left in the game. Who is it? (Chile). This is a game for six to thirty players. One child is IT. The players stand in a line behind IT. IT should not see who is behind him/her. IT takes nine slow steps forward while the other players quickly change places. One of them takes the place directly behind IT. The other players ask IT: "Who is behind you? " IT can ask three questions before guessing who it is. For example: "Is it a boy or a girl?" , "Is she/ he short or tall?" , "Is she/ he dark or fair?" The other players give one word answers to the questions. IT must then guess who is standing immediately behind. If IT guesses correctly, that person remains IT for another turn. If IT guesses incorrectly, another player becomes IT. (For more games see Songs, Games, Stories from around the World. Details in chapter Useful Books in Part Six)

 

 

Stories from around the World

Aim: This activity uses stories to help children to explore the similarities amongst the children of the world regardless of nationality, gender or race.

Learning points:
- We are all different but we share many similarities.
- Rights are based on the similar needs of different people.

What you need:
- Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (see Part Five).
- Example stories on the next pages.

Time: About an hour

How to do it:

Explain that children all over the world listen to different stories.

Tell the children some stories from different countries (if you have a globe or an atlas show them where those countries are). There are some ideas given on the next page.

Ask them which story from their country they like most and would tell to children in other parts of the world.

If some children belong to an ethnic group, ask if they know some stories from their own culture which they might want to tell. (But if they don't want to, don't force them.)

Ask the questions listed below as a way to the develop children's awareness of the similarities between children all over the world.

Questions:

Which story did you like most? Why? What makes a good story?

Why do people all over the world tell stories? What sort of stories can we think of?

Why did we do that?

Choices:

"The Beggar's Soup" and "Dividing the Cheese" can be used to show the consequences of dishonesty. Ask the class to write their own stories about dishonesty.

Folk tales from your country can be useful for teaching about human rights. For example, stories where children suffer can be used with the Simplified Convention on the Rights of the Child

 

As an action, children could write their own stories or perform a play to illustrate one of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see Part Five).

Electronic Resource Centre for Human Rights Education:
First Steps - a manual for starting Human Rights Education

 

 

This part contains: Starting up - introductory activities Living together - activities about respect Who, me? - activities about responsibility Rights for Life - activities about universality of rights What's fair? - activities about justice My rights / Your rights - activities about situations where rights conflict Action! - taking human rights beyond the classroom

 

"All I need is an idea...".

Ukrainian student teacher.

 

 

 

Starting up -
introductory
activities

Because several of the activities in this part of the manual refer to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, here are two activities to help familiarize your students with it. These activities build on those for younger children in Part Three.

 

The Imaginary Country
(This activity is based on ideas from Ed O'Brien and Nancy Flowers)

Aim: This activity introduces students to the idea based of rights based on needs, and familiarizes them with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It raises ideas of how we value rights, and the "Choices" give options for making a list of "classroom rights."

Learning points:
- Human Rights documents are based on our own inherent needs.
- We value some rights more highly depending on our own situation, but every right is important to someone.

What you need:
- Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from Part Five.

Time: About an hour and a quarter for the basic activity.

How to do it:

Form the class into small groups of five or six.

Read out the following scenario:

AImagine that you have discovered a new country, where no one has lived before, and where there are no laws and no rules. You and the other members of your group will be the settlers in this new land. You do not know what social position you will have in the new country."

Each student should individually list three rights which they think should be guaranteed for everyone in this new country.

Now ask the students to share and discuss their lists within the group, and select a list of 10 rights which their whole group thinks are important.

Now ask each group to give their country a name and to write their 10 chosen rights on a large piece of paper or a blackboard where everyone can see them.

Each group presents their list to the class. As they do this, make a "master list" which should include all of the different rights from the group lists. Some rights will be mentioned several times, write them on the "master list" once, and tick them each time they are repeated.

When all the groups have presented their lists, identify rights on the "master" list which overlap or contradict one another. Can the list be rationalized? Can some similar rights be grouped together?

When the "master" list is completed, compare the Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. What are the differences/similarities between your list and the UDHR?

Use the following questions to draw out the learning points. The "Choices" below give options for extending the activity.

Questions:

Did your ideas about which rights were most important change during this activity?

How would life be if we excluded some of these rights?

Are there any rights which you now want to add to the final list?

Did anyone list a right themselves which was not included in any of the lists?

Why is it useful for us to make such a list?

Choices:

If you have time, ask students to put a mark next to the three rights on the "master" list which they personally think are most important, or which they think we could live without. (This could be done during a class break.)

This activity has been used in many different countries. In countries were war is a problem, students value the right to life most highly, while in those with economic problems the right to work comes first. You can explore this issue with the students by asking question such as: "Do you think the situation in our country has affected your choices of rights? Why? Why not?"

As a project (see section Projects in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two) this activity can be adapted so that students make a list of "classroom rights" which they think would improve their school environment. For example, the right to work in peace, the right to have your point of view respected, the right to privacy for your personal property.... Be open to their suggestions, but emphasize that all rights have corresponding responsibilities. This "living document" could be displayed in the classroom and updated as necessary. Ask the class "What do you think should happen if someone violates these rights?"

As an action, students and teachers could agree a list of "Our school is..." which could be displayed in the schools entrance for all to see. Some students who have done this chose to focus on the problem of violence in their school. They wrote: "Our school is: a place of safety, a place where older students look after the younger ones, a place where we respect each other's rights...".

Rights in the News
(Based on a demonstration by Nancy Flowers)

Aim: This analysis and discussion activity is a good introduction to rights for older students who might already have some mental picture of what human rights are. It helps them to recognize rights and to place a human rights "framework" on everyday situations.

Learning point:
- Rights on paper relate to everyday situations.

What you need:
- Old newspapers and magazines of all kinds, enough for small groups to have at least one each.
- Blackboard or large piece of paper and pens.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from Part Five of this manual.

Time: One hour.

How to do it:

Read the following text to the class:

"In our modern world we all have access to more information than ever before. For most of us, this information comes through the media, and especially via the news. Everyday, TV screens and newspapers are filled with situations and stories which are hopeful, tragic, happy, sad, simple or complex. Usually, we look at the terrible news stories and feel powerless. However, by looking again, using the ideas of human rights, we can see patterns of success, where rights are protected and acted upon, and patterns of problems, where rights are denied."

Ask the class to form small groups of four.

Distribute the newspapers and magazines randomly.

Using the whole of the blackboard/large paper draw a large circle. On the circumference of the circle write the following three phrases in such a way that they are as far away from each other as possible. (This allows lots of room for newspaper cuttings to be stuck up later).

Three phrases:

- Rights denied

- Rights protected

- Rights in action

Ask the groups to look through their newspapers and magazines to find things which illustrate each of the three phrases. Encourage the class to use all parts of the magazines and newspapers, including advertisements, classified adverts and other items.

If necessary, encourage the class with the following examples:

- Rights denied:

This could be an article complaining that a municipal health clinic has been closed without consulting  the local community. This would illustrate the denial of the right to health or even life!

- Rights protected:

This could be a story about children who have been rescued from people who were mistreating them.

- Rights in action:

This could be a picture of a footballer scoring a goal, illustrating the rights to leisure, health, freedom of association, or even travel (if it is an international match!)

When the class has completed the task (usually after about 10 minutes) ask them to look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or its Simplified Version to find the article or articles which relate to the stories or pictures which they have found in the newspapers. Allow another 10 minutes for this part of the activity.

Now ask each group in turn to stick up the findings on the blackboard/large paper. As they do this, they should explain why they chose that example and which specific UDHR articles it illustrates.

Some of the selected examples will involve situations where the same right or rights are denied, protected, and in action all at the same time! Use the questions below to help the class to analyze these situations.

Questions:

Was it easy to find examples to illustrate rights denied, rights protected and rights in action?

Was one phrase more difficult to illustrate? Why?

Were there any newspaper articles or other examples where all three phrases could be said to be relevant? Which? Why?

Were there any examples where one person or a group had their rights protected and this resulted in someone else's rights being denied? Could the concept that "my rights end where yours begin and vice versa" be useful in such a situation? Would using this concept give a better result for all concerned? Why? Why not?

Choices:

As a project, students could examine international efforts to protect the rights of civilians in conflict situations, or the defence of the rights of a vulnerable group in your local area. (Note: Although students need to know that rights are often denied, it is important for them to develop a knowledge of how they are protected if they are to feel that the defence of human rights is possible.)

Also see section Newspapers in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two for more ideas about monitoring media for rights stories. See section Human Rights News in chapter Action! - taking human rights beyond the classroom in Part Three for ideas about how to spread this awareness in the school.

 

Living together -
activities about
respect

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These activities emphasize that the way we interact every day has a direct effect on respect for human rights. A game with rules raises questions about how laws are made, and an activity about listening focuses on the right to an opinion and the responsibility to respect the opinions of others. These activities build on those for younger children in Part Three.

 

Camping Out
(Adapted from an idea in Understand the Law 1994, The Citizenship Foundation)

Aim: This game helps students understand how communities develop rules and laws to protect people's rights.

Learning points:
- Rules of conduct prevent conflict and protect rights.
- Such rules are best made democratically.

What you need:
A copy of the "situations" (see next pages) for each group.

Time: About one and a half hours

How to do it:

Form the class into small groups of five or six.

Tell the students:

"Imagine that you are going on a camping trip with a group of friends. Someone has told you about a wonderful location for a camp, a clearing in the woods near a lake, far from civilization. You have been planning together for several weeks, and finally the weekend arrives. After a long journey, you arrive at the clearing. You have brought everything you need for your holiday, including one large tent for all of you to sleep in. There is a well nearby with good water, and you have permission to cut wood and make fires. There are no other facilities, no rules, and no adults or camp administrator. You set up camp, swim, and prepare for a week of fun!

However, by the end of the first day at the campsite, there have already been some disagreements about how the camp should be run. You all realise that it would be better if you could agree on ways to make your holiday easier. You hold a meeting."

 

Ask the students in their groups to see if they can think of four or five problems that might face a group like themselves. Ask them to decide how each problem could be solved.

Ask the students to consider the following questions:

- How did they make their decisions?
- Did anyone disagree?
- Did everyone have an equal say?

Now read the following text to the students:

After the meeting, all goes well and things are much better. However, after a couple of days, more problems arise, which together you have to sort out to prevent them happening again."

If you are able to copy the "situations" from pages 104 and 105, distribute a set of them to each group. In their groups the students should place all the "situations" face down on the table and take them up one at a time. They should try to reach a decision about what to do in each "situation". If possible they should try to agree. (If you were unable to hand-copy or photocopy the "situations", read them out one by one, and try to reach a decision as a class, although this will be more difficult).

If some groups finish the game more quickly than others, ask them to think about the questions below.

When all the groups have finished playing the game, go through the "situations" asking the whole class what decisions they made. Don't ask every group to comment on every "situation" - that would take too long.

Follow the activity with a discussion using the questions below.

Questions:

In this activity you used rules to protect the rights of everyone in the camp. What would have happened if you were unable to agree on rules or if everyone ignored the rules?

What makes a good/bad rule?

What about laws? Should you always obey laws, even if they are bad?

Some rules and laws are unwritten. For example, "moral" or religious laws. Why do groups of people obey these rules/laws, even though they don't have to?

Rules and laws are usually enforced by a punishment or sanction. You probably decided to use sanctions against people who broke the rules in the camp. What is the aim of sanctions? What sort of sanctions are most effective? Can sanctions be counter-productive?

Choices:

This activity could be the starting-point for making a set of class rules which are agreed by the students and the teacher in a participatory way (see section Questioning in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two for more ideas about this).

In many countries, execution is the punishment for all sorts of "crimes", from murder to offences such as trading on the black market. This activity can be a starting-point for a discussion about whether or not execution is a real deterrent for crime.

 

Situation Cards for "Camping Out":

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Situation One Someone has to sleep near the door of the tent, which doesn't close properly. By the morning, this person's belongings have usually spilled out of the opening onto the wet grass. He or she complains that their belongings will be damaged. What do you do?

 

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Situation Two You all agreed at the meeting how the camp should be run. Now, one of you takes no notice of what was decided. How can you enforce the rules?

 

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Situation Three Someone left the kettle boiling on the fire and went away to swim. The kettle fell into the fire and sparks set fire to a corner of your tent. You all realise that you have a safety problem. There may be others. What do you do?

 

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Situation Four Getting water from the well is a very boring job. Everyone would prefer to go swimming than fetch water. However, one of you strains your arm while swimming and can't carry water anymore. This means that the rest of you will each have to spend more time carrying water. What do you do?

 

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Situation Five Two of you are smokers, the others are not. The non-smokers strongly object to the smell of smoke in the tent but the smokers feel they should be able to smoke whilst they are relaxing. What do you do?

 

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Situation Six One of you has brought a radio and plays loud music early in the morning. This makes everyone angry. What do you do?

 

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Situation Seven You all share one tent, but cannot agree about keeping it tidy. Some like the tent to be neat all the time, the others don't. The arguments are affecting the atmosphere in the camp. What do you do?

 

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Situation Eight Someone damages an expensive guitar belonging to someone else. She or he refuses to pay for the repairs. What do you do?

 

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Situation Nine A friend of yours joins you for a couple of days. She or he has brought their own tent, but ignores the rules which everyone else has agreed. What do you do?

 

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Situation Ten Two of you feel that the camp should have a rule about alcohol and drinking. They ask for a meeting to discuss the matter. Most of you are against a complete ban. What do you do?

 

 

Active listening

Aim: This listening activity helps students to improve their listening skills and to think about what makes "good" and "bad" listening.

Learning points:
- Listening is an important skill for respecting each others' right to an opinion. (See Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in Part Five of this manual).
- We can improve our listening skills by practice.

What you need: The boxes "What helps us to listen?" and "What prevents us from listening?" from the next pages.

Time: About 30 minutes

How to do it:

• Form the class into pairs.
• Explain that, in a moment, one person in each pair will have to speak without stopping while the other person listens as carefully as they can. The speaker can speak about anything they want to. For example, themselves, their family, an interesting experience....
• Allow a moment for the pairs to decide who will talk and who will listen.
• Give the signal for the speakers to begin speaking.
• Allow the speakers a minute or two of uninterrupted speech. Then, before they begin to run out of things to say, clap your hands and ask them to stop.
• Ask the listeners to repeat back to their partner the last two sentences which that person said. This request is usually a big surprise - few people will be able to remember the two sentences perfectly!
• The pairs exchange roles, the listener now speaks and the speaker listens.
• After a couple of minutes, stop the speakers again. It is likely that the listeners this time will have been listening more carefully - so ask them to repeat the last THREE sentences which their partner said!
• Use the questions below to draw out the learning points.

Questions:

• Could you remember the sentences?
• Was it easier to remember them the second time? Why?
• What did you do to help you to listen? Did you do anything special with your body? Or with your face? What about your mind?
• What prevented you from listening?
• Now show the class the information in the boxes "What helps us to listen?" and "What prevent us from listening?" from the next pages. Is there anything in these boxes which they did not think of? Why?
• Listening is an important skill for respecting and protecting human rights. It is especially important for Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also for all of the other Articles. Why is this so? What do we gain from listening to each other? Have you ever been in a situation where no-one would listen to you? How do we feel when our opinion is ignored? Do you agree with the idea that we can improve our listening skills by practice?

Choices:

• If you wish, you can continue the game, maybe swopping partners or increasing the number of sentences which the listener must remember each time.
• It can be fun to repeat the game, making it harder every time, over several days or weeks, so that the students can see their listening improve.

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What prevents us from listening? On-off Listening People think faster than they talk. This means that when you listen to someone, you have a lot of spare time for thinking. Often, we use this time to think about lunch, or what we did last night, instead of thinking about what the other person is saying! Prejudice Listening In every part of the world, there are words or phrases which cause people to stop listening. Words like "capitalist", "communist", "fundamentalist". When people hear these words, they stop listening and start to plan their defence, or a counter-attack.  Closed Mind Listening Sometimes, we decide quickly that the person (or the subject) is boring, wrong, or not relevant, or that we know what they are going to say. Then we stop listening. Distracted Listening Noise, lights, temperature, other things in the room, or what you ate for breakfast can all prevent us from listening to what people are saying. However, with practice, we can still listen well in these circumstances.

 

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What helps us to listen? We listen with our bodies as well as with our minds... face the speaker have good eye contact have an open posture (don't fold your arms, turn your back......) lean towards the speaker relax Listen to what is being said... listen for the central theme, not just the "facts" keep an open mind think ahead analyze and evaluate don't interrupt Listen to how it is being said... non-verbal signs (for example face expressions, body posture) tone of voice Listening is important because... It shows people that you value their experience and what they say It encourages people to talk honestly and freely It can help you to identify areas where people agree or disagree, and helps you to think of solutions to these disagreements

 

 

Who, me? -
activities about
responsibility

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These activities emphasize personal responsibility. A real-life moral dilemma is used to raise questions about honesty and everyday responsibility. Another activity about censorship looks at the responsible use of power. The overall aim of these activities is to show that rights have corresponding responsibilities. These activities build on those for younger children in Part Three.

 

Rights and Responsibilities

Aim: This short listing and discussion activity helps students to understand the connection between rights and responsibilities

Learning point:
- Every right has a corresponding responsibility.

What you need:
- Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see Part Five).
- Information about Rights and Responsibilities (see next pages).

Time: Forty-five minutes

How to do it:

• Ask the students to form pairs. Each student should write down five important rights which they think they should have in the school and five important rights which they think they should have at home. For example, the right to their own space.
• Ask each student to swop their list with their partner. Each student should think of the responsibilities which correspond with each right that their partner listed. For example, the responsibility to respect the space of the people they live with.
• Every pair reports to the rest of the class two rights and their corresponding responsibilities from their lists. The teacher should write the rights and responsibilities on the wall.
• Ask the students to read the Information about Rights and Responsibilities. Start a discussion using the following questions:

Questions:

• Was it easy or hard to think of each right's corresponding responsibility?
• In the example about seatbelts (see Information about Rights and Responsibilities on next pages), who do you think is right, the government or the people who refuse to wear seatbelts?
• What if someone you knew was injured because a driver refused to wear a seatbelt? How might this happen? How would you feel?
• What if a sick child died because the doctor was too busy helping a driver who had refused to wear a seatbelt and was injured? Look at the Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Part Five. Which rights are involved in this example?
• Can you think of similar examples where other rights and responsibilities conflict?

Choices:

• Because issues of rights and responsibilities are common in schools (for example the right to use equipment, and the responsibility not to damage it) this activity can be the basis for using the language of rights and responsibility in everyday situations.
• As an action, students and teachers can keep the list of rights and equivalent responsibilities on the wall. When conflicts occur, or when other rights issues come up, anyone is free to add to the list. For example, if some students have been "borrowing" other people's possessions without permission, a student might decide to add to the list: "I have the right to privacy and security for my belongings / And I also have the responsibility to respect the privacy and security of my classmates." It might be useful to write at the top of the list: "We all have the right to add to this list / And we have the responsibility not to write things which violate the rights of others".
• To help clarify rights and responsibilities, students could read the following information on "Negative" and "Positive" rights from page the next page, then go through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights identifying "Negative" and "Positive" rights (they will find that many rights consist equally of "negative" (responsibility) and "positive" (right) elements.

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Information about Rights and Responsibilities Every right has a corresponding responsibility. For example, your right to freedom of speech is limited by your responsibility not to say untrue things which will degrade another person and abuse their right to dignity and good reputation. The balance of our rights and our responsibilities to respect the rights of other people means that we usually have to exercise our rights within certain restraints. There are many situations where rights and responsibilities of different people conflict. For example, some countries have laws making the wearing of seatbelts compulsory in cars. Many people oppose these laws, arguing that it is a restriction of their right to act freely. The governments of these countries argue that people in cars have a responsibility to the hospitals, doctors, and the rest of society to do everything possible to avoid getting injured while they are driving. It is argued that if people do not wear seatbelts and are injured, they take time, money and hospital space away from people with illnesses, and therefore restrict the right of sick people to proper health care.

 

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Information on "Negative" and "Positive" Rights: The term "negative right" is used to describe a right which stops something harmful or unpleasant being done to us. Examples of negative rights are the right not to be killed or badly treated or to have your possessions stolen. These are negative rights because they say NO to someone who might want to hurt you. The term "positive right" is used to describe a right which declares our freedom to do something. For example, the right to be paid for your work is a positive right. These are positive rights because they tell you that YES you have this right, and they tell other people that YES they must support your right. For example, your employer has a responsibility to pay you.

 

Thief?
(Adapted from p.82 of Understand the Law 1993, The Citizenship Foundation)

Aim: This case study uses a moral dilemma to introduce students to ideas of responsibility in society. Although the person in the case study is accidentally overpaid a large amount, many students will have been given the wrong change in a shop and had to make a similar choice.

Learning point:
- Every right has a corresponding responsibility. For example, the right to be judged equally by the law has the corresponding responsibility to respect the law.

What you need: The Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see Part Five).

Time: At least one hour

How to do it:

• Form the class into small groups of five or six.
• Read the following text to the class:

"Every month Alexander puts a small part of his wages into his account at the local bank. It's not a lot, but it is the only way he can save enough for a holiday with his children.
Each month the bank sends Alexander a statement telling him how much he has in his account. This month Alexander sees that he has much more money than he thought. There must be a mistake. He writes to the bank to say it has given him $2,000 more than it should have.
'No,' says the bank, 'there has been no mistake. The money is yours.'
Alexander writes again. 'we have double checked,' says the bank, 'we have not made a mistake.'
Alexander still isn't happy. He writes for a third time, and the bank tells him again that the money is his.
After this, Alexander doesn't think he has anything to lose. He starts to spend the money on things he and his family need. He buys some new furniture, redecorates his flat and goes away on a week's holiday with his family.
A little later, the people at the bank realize that they have made a mistake. The $2,000 that Alexander has been given belongs to another customer who has the same name. The bank asks Alexander for the money back. He gives them what he has left, but he has spent more than $1,000. Alexander is charged with theft.

If Alexander is to be found legally guilty of theft, it must be proved in court that he:

- behaved dishonestly
- took or kept something belonging to someone else
- intended to keep it permanently."

• Ask the students to decide in groups whether Alexander should be found guilty of theft. To answer this, the students need to ask three questions:
  - Did Alexander behave dishonestly?
  - Did Alexander take something from someone else?
  - Did Alexander intend to keep it

If the student's answer to all three questions is yes, then Alexander is guilty in law.
If the students answered no to one or more questions then he is not guilty.

- If the students decide that Alexander is guilty in law of theft, what punishment do they think he should be given?
For example, in England, for a crime of this kind a judge can send a person to prison for up to 10 years or make them pay a fine of up to ,2,000 (about $3000).(You can find out what the punishment would be in your country and tell the students what this is.)
- If the students decide that Alexander is not guilty, would they make him pay back the money that he spent on his family and his home?

• Now tell the class what actually happened to Alexander:

"After a three day trial, the jury found Alexander not guilty of theft. Juries don't have to give reasons for their verdict, but we can presume that Alexander's attempts to draw the error to the attention of the bank convinced the jury that he had not behaved with dishonest intent.
Although Alexander was found not guilty of theft, there still remained the question of whether he should return the money that he had already spent. It was not within the power of the court to deal with this and the bank needed to bring a new case through a different court to reclaim the money."

Questions:

• What would you have done if you were Alexander? Why?
• Who was responsible for correcting the bank's mistake - Alexander or the bank? Why?
• Would it make a difference to your answer if the amount of money was smaller/larger?
• What about other cases? For example, is it the responsibility of a car owner to lock her or his car or the responsibility of everyone else not to steal it if it is unlocked?
• Imagine you were a friend of Alexander's. Would you report him to the police?
• Who is responsible for enforcing the law?
• Look at the Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Part Five). Which rights are involved in this case?

Choices:

• Students could write a story about a situation where they had to take responsibility and make a moral decision. For example, they find some money in the street - do they hand it in?
• As a project, students can find out about the legal system in your country. Many courtrooms accept visitors. The project could result in a mock trial of a case involving rights and responsibilities.

Let Me Speak!

Aim: This letter-writing activity examines the rights and responsibilities of the individual and the state regarding freedom of expression. Because it depends a lot on trust between the students and the teacher, it is better to use it only when the students have already had experience of other activities for teaching human rights.

Learning points:
- Every right has a corresponding responsibility.
- For example, the right to freedom of expression has the corresponding responsibility to respect the opinion of others.

What you need: The Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Information on Censorship from the next page.

How to do it:

• Ask the class to imagine that they are each writing to the local newspaper. (If your area does not have a local newspaper, you can invent one with the class, including the title, the frequency it is printed, etc) Ask them to write a short letter about something which they do not like at all in their local area. Explain that these letters will not be seen by anyone outside the class. Make sure that they are not.
• After the students have written their letters, form the class into pairs. Ask each pair to exchange their letters. Now ask them to imagine that they are all editors of the local newspaper. They have received this letter which they are worried will upset the local authorities and the Mayor. Ask them to cross out (censor) the parts of the letter which they think are dangerous. They are allowed to change the letter in any way they like.
• Return all the letters to those who wrote them. Either as a class, or in groups, discuss the questions below.
• After the discussion, go through the Information on Censorship on the next page and ask the class to think of a scenario to illustrate each of the points. For example, under "WHAT is being censored" the information lists "artists". Ask the students why they think someone would want to censor an artist. If your country has censorship now or in the past, refer to that, giving specific examples.

Questions:

• Did you use some self-censorship before you wrote your letter? Why/Why not?
• Did you use polite or offensive language?
• If you wrote a polite letter, was it because you felt responsible toward the feelings of others or was it because you were afraid of possible punishment?
• Were you thinking more about how to improve the situation or did you just want to show your anger?
• How did you feel when your letter was censored?
• How did your letter look after censorship?
• How did you choose what to cross out on your friend's letter?
• How do you think you would react if you were a local official who received a letter of complaint? What if the letter attacked your personality or used offensive language?
• Do you think a government has a responsibility to listen to all complaints, even if they are "dangerous"? Why/ Why not?
• Was your letter "dangerous"?
• Why do you think we did this activity?

Choices:

• If you think this is appropriate, the activity can be altered so that the students imagine that they are writing to a school newspaper.
• As a project (see section Projects in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two) ask the class to monitor newspapers over a period. They could choose one news item and compare how different newspapers write about the same issue according to their bias.
• If students feel strongly about an issue which they see in the newspapers, they could write a polite letter to the media as a class to express their point of view.

 

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Information about Censorship Freedom of expression is a human right set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 19). Many people believe that it is the heart of a democratic society. Others say that too much freedom of expression can be dangerous. In many countries, free speech is controlled when it causes violence by inciting riots, calling on people to revolt, or when it is racist or bigoted. In some countries, criticism of the government is also censored. WHO is doing the censoring: - official censors - the government - the law - the media - civil servants - employers - unions - pressure groups WHAT is being censored: - information - access to information - expression - collective action - attacks upon accepted values - artists. - writers - political opposition - critics of society WHY censorship is carried out: - to cover up incompetence and/or information - to defend status quo - to protect government policy - to protect privilege - to defend the vulnerable, for example, juveniles - to preserve power HOW censorship is carried out: - by stopping something from being carried out (preemptive censorship) - by punishment after the event (punitive censorship) WHEN censorship is carried out: - before an election - at a time of rapid social change - during a period of national/international crisis - when a government is weak and under threat

 

What would you do?

Aim: This case study about a political killing encourages students to discuss the responsibilities of the state and of the individual.

Learning point:

- Every right has a corresponding responsibility. For example, the right to personal security has a corresponding responsibility to defend this right for other people.

What you need:

- Case Study: Luis Diaz from the next page
- Information about political killings from the next page
- Text "What happened" from from the next page

Time: About one hour

How to do it:

• Read, or ask the students to read the Case of Luis Diaz.
• Tell the students that deaths like Luis's are called extrajudicial executions or political killings. Read, or ask the students to read, the Information about Political Killings from the next page.
• Luis's family want to bring the people responsible for his death to justice. The army don't want this to happen. Ask the class to discuss in groups of four or five why the family and the army have these points of view. Here are some questions to help start the discussion:
  - Who do you think is responsible for Luis' death: the army, the government, Luis, the soldier who shot him?
  - How would it affect other members of the security forces if the guilty soldiers are punished?
  - If the guilty soldiers are punished, would the power of the government, security forces and army increase or decrease? What about their image?
  - What if they are not punished? Will the army lose the trust of the people?
  - Does it matter if the army loses the trust of the people?
  - Do you think it is alright to say that soldiers cannot be prosecuted for killing anyone, even in these circumstances?
  - If the soldiers are not punished, what effect will this have on the public's perception of the legal system (courts, judges, etcetera) ?
• Ask the class to imagine that they were hiding nearby when Luis was killed. They saw the face and the army number of the soldier who shot him, but were not seen themselves.
  What would you do in this situation?
  Would you:
  - go home and forget all about it ? Would this be possible?
  - go to a police station and report it?
  - tell Luis' family or someone else what you saw?
  - do something else? What? Why?
• At the end of this activity, you can read to the class the text "What happened".

Choices:

• Ask the class to imagine that they are friends, family, or colleagues of someone who has been extrajudicially executed. Ask them to write a poem or a story or paint a picture to show how these people might feel.
• As a project (see section Projects in chapter Useful teaching methods, Part Two) ask the class in groups to pretend that one of them is a journalist who has come to ask Luis Diaz's family about his death. Each group should prepare a small drama about the meeting with the journalist. Some questions to think about are:
  Do they want to talk to the journalist? Is it dangerous? Can they trust him/her?
  What does the journalist want? What is his/her point of view about the killing?
  Can the journalist help to publicize the killing? Do the relatives/friends/colleagues of Luis want this?
• Each group can present their drama for the class.

 

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The Case of Luis Diaz On 17 September 1992 Luis Enrique Landa DÍaz, a 21 year old medical student at Carabobo State University in Aragua, Venezuela, was celebrating the medical school's 17th anniversary with fellow students and staff. According to witnesses, there was a verbal altercation - at a distance - between some of the students and the National Guards who were patrolling the area. Twenty members of the National Guard began firing teargas at the students. At 2.30pm the guards started to shoot live ammunition in the direction of the students. The whole incident was recorded on video. Luis Landa was killed by a bullet a few minutes later. An official investigation was opened into the killing and a member of the National Guard was identified as a suspect. Proceedings were opened by the military and civilian courts. However, in March 1993 the military courts requested exclusive jurisdiction over the case. In the past, the military courts have repeatedly exonerated members of the security forces accused of human rights violations. Luis Landa's family, who sought publicity for his killing, were the target of systematic harassment. They received threatening phone calls and shots were fired at their house. In December 1992 Luis Landa's father was shot in the knee by a group of armed men in a car.

 

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Information about Political Killings The term "extrajudicial execution" describes an unlawful deliberate killing carried out on the orders of a government or with its complicity. If the authorities refuse to investigate an unjustifiable killing by the security forces or bring the perpetrators to justice, then it is an extrajudical execution for which the government is responsible. The term "political killing" can also be used as it is more easily understood and includes deliberate and arbitrary killings by armed political groups. Political killings are different from killings which occur within a legally justifiable context. If someone is killed as the result of soldiers acting in self-defence, or by police during a riot, then the killing may be legally justifiable. Also, when someone is executed after being found guilty in a fair trial, the state responsible will argue that the killing is legally justifiable. Also, if a soldier kills for personal reasons and is punished like any other murderer, the killing he committed is not an extrajudical execution. Also, killing enemy soldiers during fighting is legal. Many governments who use political killings are bound by treaties pledging them to respect human rights. Some governments do not try to justify their actions. Some use methods of murder which conceal the crime. Killings are carried out at night, when the victims are alone. Bodies are mutilated and hidden to avoid recognition. But most governments lie or play down the facts. In June 1989, tanks of the Chinese army massacred pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Television cameras recorded it and it was headline news around the world. Thousands of people witnessed it. Hundreds of bodies were traced in morgues and hospitals. Nevertheless, the government initially said no one had been killed. This version was later amended: the government said 200 civilians had been killed in Beijing in clashes between soldiers and demonstrators, a gross underestimate of the reality. Some governments make the excuse that violence is endemic in their societies, or results from ethnic tensions. Violence will be endemic in any society where human rights are violated. And intercommunal violence is not the inevitable product of ethnic or religious tensions. It often starts or is made worse because of official policies.

 

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What happened Luis' case was taken up by the human rights organization Amnesty International. As part of the Amnesty International campaign on the case, ordinary people from all over the world wrote letters to the government of Venezuela asking for action on Luis' death and for an end to the harassment of his family. In July 1995, the National Guardsman who shot Luis was sentenced by a civilian court to eighteen years imprisonment, pending appeal. Luis' father said that this was: "...thanks to international pressure..I had already lost hope.. The threats and attacks had nearly finished me off. That all changed with your campaign".

 

Rights for Life -
activities about the
universality of
rights

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These activities help students to understand that all human beings have the same rights. Our rights can be violated, but they cannot be taken away from us. We are born with them and die with them. These activities build on those for younger children in Part Three.

 

Wheel rights
(Adapted from Human Rights Education Workshop on Women's Human Rights and Gender Equality, presented by the Croatian NGO B.a.B.e, Sljeme, Croatia, March 1996)

Aim: This activity uses life experience as a basis for thinking about how we defend our own rights and the rights of others.

Learning point:
- In our lives we have already defended our rights and the rights of others, even if we did not use the language of "rights".

What you need: Blackboard or large piece of paper and pens.

Time: About one hour

How to do it:

• This is an activity for groups of about six people. In a large class, do the activity first with a small group (maybe during lunch). These students can then act as the facilitators of small groups.
• Divide the class into groups of about six people, with a facilitator for each group.
• The facilitator asks each person in the group to remember a time when they "stood up" for their rights or the rights of other people. (For example, students might remember a time when they were unfairly accused of something as a child.) If they wish, the members of the group can describe their memory to a neighbour. At the end of five minutes, every person in the group should have the following information ready:
  1. A time when I "stood up" for rights
  2. What happened
  3. Where it happened
  4. The motive. Why I "stood up"
  5. Who or what were my sources of support
• While they are thinking, the facilitator draws a large wheel with spokes.
• The facilitator of each group now asks each member of the group to tell their story, keeping closely to the five points listed above.
• As each group member tells their story, the facilitator writes where each incident happened at the end of one of the spokes, and writes the motive and the sources of support along the spoke. (To make writing easier, the facilitator can summarize what is said, if the group member agrees.)
• When everyone has told their story, the facilitator can use the questions below to draw out the learning points.

Questions:

• Were your experiences similar/different? For example, did they happen in public/private, at home/work?
• Were certain places or persons both positive and negative?
• Did anyone mention the law or authorities as a source of support? Why? Why not?
• How did you feel when you remembered "standing up"?
• Were these positive experiences? Why? Why not?
• Did many of us experience support or solidarity from our friends/ colleagues/ family? Why do you think this sort of support is useful when we stand up for human rights?

Choices:

• This activity is very flexible. It can be used for analyzing any sort of past experience with any age group. It is particularly useful for showing that we share many experiences.
• Students can look at the human rights documents in Part Five of this manual to see which rights might have been relevant in their stories .
• As a project, ask students to monitor the media and their own experiences over a weekend. How many examples can they find of people "standing up" for their rights?

"Mignonette"
(Adapted from p.11 of Understand the Law 1994, The Citizenship Foundation)

Aim: This morally complex story about the right to life will help students to think about how rights work out in practice. It also links well with activities about conflict in the next chapter.

Learning points:
- Everyone has the right to life.
- There is a concept of "natural rights."

Time: About one hour

What you need: The Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

How to do it:

• Show the class article three of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see Part Five), which sets out the right to life:
  "Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."
• Form the class into small groups of five or six.
• Read the following story to the class:

"On 19 may 1884, four men set sail for Australia from England in a yacht called the Mignonette. They were Captain Thomas Dudley, First-mate Edwin Stephens, Seamen Ned Brooks and Richard Parker, the 17-year-old cabin boy. On 5 July a huge wave smashed into the side of the yacht. It started to sink. The men had time only to grab two tins of food and to get into an open boat before the Mignonette sank. The four unlucky sailors found themselves in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, 1,600 miles from land, with only a few tinned vegetables to keep them alive. After three days, the hungry men managed to catch a turtle. This provided them with food and drink, but nine days later that was all gone. Still 1,000 miles from land, with no food and only the occasional drop of rainwater to drink, the sailors became desperate. The Captain wrote in a letter to his wife that, if no ship should come, 'we must soon die... I am sorry I ever started such a trip...' There was, however, one chance of survival, at least for three of the crew, for a few more days. Someone would have to become food for the others. The Captain suggested that they draw lots to decide which of them should be killed, but Stephens and Brooks objected. 'if we are to die,' they said, 'we should all die together'. Young Richard Parker, lying hardly conscious in the bottom of the boat, said nothing.
After two more days without food and water, the Captain convinced Stephens that one of them ought to be sacrificed to save the others, and that the obvious candidate was Richard Parker. He was an orphan, had no wife or family, and was already on the brink of death. He woke from his coma only occasionally to drink sea-water which was making him even more ill. They knew their little boat was drifting towards the shipping lanes. They might sight a ship any day - or they might not. They agreed that if no help came to them by the next day, then they would kill the boy. None came. Seamen Brooks wanted no part in the killing. While he covered himself with a jacket at the end of the boat, Dudley and Stephens knelt over the unconscious Parker.
'Richard, my boy,' whispered the Captain, 'your time has come. Stephens stood ready to hold the boy's feet but there was no need. He was too ill to struggle as the Captain took out a pocket-knife and plunged it into the boy's neck, killing him instantly. All three men drank the blood and ate Richard's heart and liver for the next three days. On the fourth day, they were sighted by a German ship, the Montezuma. The three men were very weak. The First-mate and Captain needed to be hauled on board by rope.
The men landed in England on 7 September. Dudley, Stephens and Brooks went straight to the authorities and explained the reasons for the death of the boy."

• Ask the class in their groups to answer the following questions:
  - Do you think the three men did anything wrong?
  - Should they have been charged with a crime?
  - Should they all be charged with the same crime?
• Now read the next part of the story to the class:

"Incidents like this had happened before, and so Dudley, Stephens and Brooks were very surprised when they were immediately charged with murder - although the charge against Seaman Brooks was later dropped. There was a lot of public interest in the story as it was reported in detail by the newspapers. Money was collected to pay for lawyers to defend the men in court. At the trial, everyone agreed about the facts of the case, but the jury were faced with a difficult task. They sympathised with the three men, and would have liked to agree that it was not wrong for someone to kill another to save his or her own life. But they did recognize that to kill someone intentionally who was not threatening your own life must be murder. The judge offered the jury a way out of this problem by allowing them to take the unusual step of a 'special verdict'. In this, the jury stated the facts of the case, but left a panel of five judges to decide whether Dudley and Stephens were guilty of murder."

• Ask the class in their groups to answer the following questions:
  - If you were one of the five judges, would you find Dudley and Stephens guilty or not guilty of murder?
  - Why?
  - If they are guilty, how should they be punished?
• Now tell the class what happened:

"The court passed a verdict of murder on Dudley and Stephens. The sentence for murder was death, but in this case it was changed to six months imprisonment. By the standards of the time, and compared with the treatment given to other sailors in a similar position, this was still thought by many to be severe."

Questions:

• Richard Parker's right to life was violated. What about the right to life of the other men in the boat?
• What would you have done? Would you die rather than kill someone else?
• This story happened 64 years before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was made. Does this make any difference to Richard Parker's right to life?
• Some people argue that there are "natural" laws and rights which have always existed, and which are common-sense and fair. For example, the right to be free would be a "natural" right. Do you agree that with this idea?
• What other things, apart from life itself, do you think we might have a "natural" right to? Make a list and compare it with the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Choices:

• What if the men had not told the authorities that they killed the boy? Ask students to make a play, stories, poems, or imaginary letters in which they imagine that they are the three men ten years after the story. How would they feel about what they did? Would they feel guilty? Why/Why not?
• How would you react if you were a friend of Richard Parker?
• As a project, students could make a survey of their friends and family, asking
  "What do you think are your natural rights? A The resulting data could be collated and used for discussion or as the basis for maths work, for example, by displaying it as a pie chart.

Irina's Story

Aim: This case study about someone whose rights were systematically violated aims to improve students' knowledge about human rights violations and to develop the attitude that violations can be opposed by ordinary people.

Learning point:
- Individuals and especially groups of people can act to successfully oppose human rights violations.

What you need:
- Irina's Story from the next pages.
- Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Information about prisoners of conscience.

Time: About one hour

How to do it:

• Ask the class to quickly think of all the reasons why a government might legitimately imprison someone. For example, for murder, robbery, etc. Write these down on the wall. Don't spend more than five minutes on this part.
• Read, or ask the students to read, the Information about prisoners of conscience from page 130.
• Read, or ask the students to read, Irina's story.
• Form the class into groups of five or six. Give each group a copy of the simplified version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from Part Five. Ask them to find which of Irina's rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were violated (if you are not able to copy the Declaration, read each the rights out one by one and ask the class whether Irina had that right violated).
• If some groups finish quickly, ask them to identify the methods which the Milwaukee Amnesty International group used to get Irina released.
• Use the questions below to start a discussion about Irina's case.

Questions:

• Do you think it was correct to imprison Irina? Why? / Why not?
• Which of Irina's rights were violated? What do you think the authorities were trying to do by treating her like this?
• The people from the human rights organisation Amnesty International did not know Irina personally, and were not from her country. Why do you think they cared about what was happening to her?
• What effect, if any, do you think the actions of these people had on the Soviet government, the US government, and Irina? Why?
• The authorities who imprisoned Irina, and other governments which have abused human rights, use the argument that enemies of the state forfeit their human rights when they act against the state. The preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that we all have "equal and inalienable rights". Who do you think is right? Why? Why is this important?
• How would you like the world to react if you were put in prison unfairly?

Choices:

• For older children, use the standard, unsimplified version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in this activity.
• As an action, ask older students to write a poem from the point of view of a prisoner in solitary confinement, or to perform Irina's story as a play for the rest of the school.
• Irina wrote poems in soap. Younger children could experiment with writing poems using water on earth, or sticks etc....

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Irina's Story A day after her 29th birthday, on 5 March 1983, Irina Ratushinskaya, a poet from Ukraine, was sentenced to seven years' hard labour and five years of internal exile for anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda. Her sentence was based on five poems, which her husband said were as much to do with politics as is the Lord's Prayer. She had also participated in demonstrations calling for greater governmental respect for human rights. She was imprisoned in the Small Zone, a special unit for women political prisoners at Barashevo in the Mordvinian Autonomous Republic, in the Russian Federation. The Small Zone had the harshest regime of imprisonment allowed for women under Soviet law. Irina went on hunger strikes to protest against the unheated cells and lack of proper food and medical attention. She suffered from numerous medical problems, yet her family could neither visit nor send medication. In response to her hunger strikes, Irina was transferred to the punishment facilities at the Yavas prison. Upon arrival, she was beaten unconscious, left overnight in her underwear on the stone floor and was not allowed a prison cot for recuperation. After attempting to bring charges against the wardens who had beaten her, Irina was put in solitary confinement for "pretending to suffer from concussion." In a book called "Grey is the Colour of Hope", she described her prison life: "All those norms of human behaviour which are inculcated in one from the cradle, are subjected to deliberate and systematic destruction. It's normal to want to be clean? Then take your portion of salted sardelles through the hatch in your cell door with your bare hands! You will not be given plates or knives, not even a sheet of paper to put it on. And then, wipe the fish innards off your hands against your clothes, because you can't have any water! Contract scabies and skin fungus, live in filth, breath the stench of the slopbucket, then you'll regret your misdemeanours! Women are prone to modesty? All the more reason to strip them naked during searches, and when they're taken to the bathhouse while under investigation, a whole group of leering and jeering KGB officers will enter 'by chance'... a normal person is repelled by coarseness and lies? You shall encounter such an amount of both, that you will have to strain all your inner resources to remember that there is, there is another reality!" In 1983, Irina's case was taken up by the human rights organisation Amnesty International, which began to campaign for Irina's release. The Amnesty International Group in Milwaukee, USA, organized a major campaign to publicize Irina's plight in magazine and newspaper articles and radio interviews, including an interview with Voice of America which was broadcast many times into the USSR. They sent petitions and postcards about Irina to Soviet officials and tried to get the assistance of US officials, including the President. They also contacted Irina's husband and mother-in-law. In 1985, Amnesty International found that Irina had been transferred to an unknown location. The Milwaukee group organized a sold-out concert for Irina's birthday and International Women's Day. At the concert, her poems were read aloud by a famous poet, and descriptions of her case and letter writing instructions were given to the audience. By 1986, Irina's case had become well known. Senator Edward Kennedy discussed the case with Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev on his visit to the USSR. A hunger strike supporting Irina was held in England, and in Israel, Amnesty groups distributed brochures about Irina. Students in Denver, Colorado, held a birthday party for Irina and wrote to her every day. Irina was finally released early on October 9, 1986. The Soviet authorities also allowed her to travel abroad for medical treatment. Irina was forbidden to write poetry in prison and was denied paper and things for writing. However, she scratched poems into a large bar of soap in her cell, memorized them, then washed them away. She wrote 300 poems in this way. The poems were later published after her arrival in the West.

 

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Information about Prisoners of Conscience Prisoners of conscience are men, women and children detained for their beliefs, colour, sex, ethnic origin, language or religion who have neither used nor advocated violence. All over the world, hundreds of thousands of people are in prison, not because they are criminals, but for what they believe in. They are often held without trial, or after a secret trial, or a trial carried out in their absence. Such imprisonments are against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many prisoners of conscience have their freedom taken away for disagreeing peacefully with their government.

 

What's fair? -
activities about
justice

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These activities about justice use the discrimination faces by women and minorities as a way to examine everyday injustice. The aim is to show that large numbers of people are unfairly denied their human rights in everyday situations, and that this should be opposed and overcome. These activities build on those for younger children in Part Three.

 

Vesna's Story
(Adapted from p.16 of Understand the Law 1995, The Citizenship Foundation)

Aim: This case study about racial discrimination aims to explore issues of justice and human rights.

Learning point:
- Discrimination, including racial discrimination, is a violation of human rights.

Time: About an hour and a half

What you need: A copy of the Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (from Part Five) for each group.

How to do it:

• Form the class into small groups of five or six.
• Explain to the class that many countries have laws against unfair discrimination on the grounds of race or sex. Also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains articles against discrimination.
• Ask the class in their groups to look at different parts of the simplified version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to find which are the relevant articles against discrimination. (Note: Almost every article is relevant in some way.)
• After ten minutes, go round the class, and ask each group to tell the class about an article they think is relevant. Ask them justify their choice by giving a practical example of how that article counters discrimination.
• Read out Vesna's Story:

Vesna is a Roma woman. This is her story.

"I saw a job for a sales assistant advertised in the window of a clothes shop. They wanted someone between 18 and 23. I'm 19, so I went in and asked about the job but was told by the manageress to come back in two days because not enough people had applied.

I returned twice, and was always told the same thing. Nearly a week later I went back to the shop. The job advertisement was still in the window. The manageress was too busy to see me, but I was told that the vacancy had been filled.

After I left the shop, I was so upset that I asked a non-Roma friend if she would go in and ask about the job. When she came out she said that she had been asked to come for an interview on Monday."

• Now read out the manageress's response:

"I felt that Vesna would find it difficult to work here, because of the distance that she would have to travel in to work each day. It would be an eight-mile journey on two buses. It makes it very difficult to run the shop if staff are always late. I'd much prefer to appoint someone from this area.

The person to whom I offered the job seemed just right."

• Ask the class in their groups to decide:

- Do you think Vesna was discriminated against? Why?
- If so, what do you think the shop should have to do?
- What could Vesna do about this situation? Do you think her non-Roma friends should help her to get justice? How?

• Now tell the class what happened:

"Vesna took her case to a special European court which enforces the law about discrimination. The court agreed that she had been discriminated against. Several other people who lived far away from the shop had been interviewed. The girl who got the job was only 16, white, and lived the same distance from the shop as Vesna. The shop had to give Vesna some money for the injury to her feelings."

Questions:

• Vesna was unfairly discriminated against because of her ethnicity. The manageress didn't really know anything about her. Which groups of people are discriminated against in your country? Why? Do you agree with this discrimination?
• Do you know anything about these groups? Do you think this knowledge is accurate?
• "Ignorance encourages prejudice and makes discrimination possible". Do you agree with this statement?

Choices:

• As an action, ask the class to write stories, poems, a play or make cartoons/pictures about a time when they felt unfairly discriminated against. For example, because of their sex or age. What would it be like to be discriminated against all the time? If the students agree, display these in the classroom.
• As a project (see section Projects in chapter Useful teaching methods, Part Two) students could study a group in your country which is discriminated against, focussing on the question "Is this discrimination justified?"

She doesn't work

Aim: This project activity aims to draw students' attention to discrimination against women and to encourage them to challenge it.

Learning point:
- Discrimination against women is a violation of human rights.

What you need:
- Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Text "She doesn't work" from the next page.
- Advice on project work from section Projects (chapter Useful teaching methods, Part Two).
- Blackboard or large piece of paper

Time: Two lessons and homework

How to do it:

• Read, or ask the students to read the text "She doesn't work".
• With the whole class, make a quick list of all the jobs which the wife has to do.
• Now brainstorm reasons why the husband doesn't think his wife "works". Encourage the class to think of as many reasons as possible why the husband might think like this. For example, it might be because she is unpaid, or because he thinks his work is harder (for advice about brainstorming see chapter Useful teaching methods, Part Two). Spend about five minutes on this part.
• Now, brainstorm reasons why the wife's responsibilities are work. For example, her longer working day. Spend about five minutes on this part.
• Tell the students that Articles 1 and 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or it's summary, specifically mention sexual equality. Read these articles - either the full or simplified versions. (See Part Five of this manual.)
• Ask the students to form pairs. Each pair should make a list of all the work which has to be done in and around their home.
• After five minutes, go around the pairs, asking for one item from each pair's list until there are no more suggestions. Write all the suggestions up on the wall.
• Ask the students to form groups of four or five. Ask each group to write their own questionnaire about household work. The aim of the questionnaires is to find out about housework in their own area. They will need to phrase the questions in such a way as to find out as much as possible about the subject from the people they interview. They could include questions such as:
  - Who makes the meals in your house?
  - Do men and children help around your house?
  - How long does housework take?
  - Do the women have other jobs to do in addition?
  Each questionnaire will probably be different. Alternatively, the class could work together to make one questionnaire.
• Allow a week for students to make a survey about housework in the community, using their questionnaires. Remind them to question both men and women!
• After the survey has been done, have a report-back lesson. This could be done as a mathematical analysis of the survey answers, or a verbal report, or as a quick Talking-Stick exercise (see section Talking Sick in chapter Who, me? - activities about responsibility in Part Three) for advice about this method), where each student is allowed to say one thing which they discovered through the survey.
• During or after the report-back, use the following questions to help students to analyse their results:

Questions:

• Did you discover anything surprising?
• How did you feel about what you found?
• Did your discoveries change the way you think about the work women do? Why/ Why not?
• Did you discover any tasks which could only be done by men?
• Did you discover any tasks which could only be done by women?
• Boys, would you like to do all the work that women do? Why/ Why not?
• Is it right for women to have to do all this work?
• What can we do in this classroom, or in our homes, to treat each other more equally? Which tasks could be done by men or women? Which tasks could be done together?

Choices:

• As a project, ask the class to work out how many hours there are in each week and then to calculate for their family how much time each person spends sleeping, working, relaxing, playing, and so on. The results could be made into a statistical chart, or calculated as percentages. Then ask questions like those listed above to draw the student's attention to the burden of housework which women carry, and maybe the differences between boy's and girl's lives. It is likely that the girls will have less leisure time than the boys. Concentrate on examining whether the students think the present situation is fair.

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She doesn't work "Have you many children?" the Doctor asked. "Sixteen born, but only nine live," he answered. "Does your wife work?" "No, she stays at home." "I see. How does she spend her day?" "Well, she gets up at four in the morning, fetches water and wood, makes the fire and cooks breakfast. Then she goes to the river and washes clothes. After that she goes to town to get corn ground and buy what we need in the market. Then she cooks the midday meal." "You come home at midday?" "No, no. She brings the meal to me in the fields, about three kilometres from home." "And after that?" "Well she takes care of hens and pigs. And of course she looks after the children all day. Then she prepares supper so that it is ready when I come home." "Does she go to bed after supper?" "No, I do. She has things to do around the house until nine o'clock." "But you say your wife doesn't work?" "No. I told you. She stays at home."

Advantages and disadvantages
(Adapted from Amnesty International USA HRE Resource Notebook: Women's rights)

Aim: This activity helps students to examine their own attitudes and perceptions about the differences between the way men and women are treated in society.

Learning point:
- Discrimination against women is a violation of human rights.

What you need: The Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Pens and paper

Time: One hour

How to do it:

• Ask the class to form small groups of males and females. Ideally, there will be an equal number of male and female groups. Explain that each group will be asked to make a list and that this will be used for a discussion.
• Ask each group of males to make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of being female. Females do the same for males. Allow ten minutes for this.
• The lists should have an equal number of advantages and disadvantages.
• Now pair each group of males with a group of females. Each female group reports its list to a male group and responds to the male group's reactions.
• Now each male group reports its list to a female group and responds to the female group's reactions.
• If necessary, use the following questions to start a discussion.

Questions:

• Was it easy to think of the advantages and disadvantages of being a male or female? Why? Why not?
• Did you find yourselves listing things which could be called sexist?
• Do you thing those sorts of generalisations about people are realistic? Do they apply to the people you know?
• Was it a useful activity? Why? Did you learn anything that you didn't know before?

Choices:

• This activity can also be used to examine other differences apart from gender, such as ethnicity, social class, religion...

My rights / Your
rights - activities
about situations
where rights
conflict

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These activities use imaginary situations to help students to understand that where one persons' rights end and the rights of the next person begin, conflicts can occur. In the game 'What now', students must cooperate to find solutions to these situations where rights conflict. These activities build on those for younger children in Part Three.

 

What Now?
(Adapted from p.19 of Understand the Law 1994, The Citizenship Foundation)

Aim: This exciting game teaches two important lessons:
- That tensions can exist between the needs of the community as a whole and the rights of the individual.
- That to solve this tension (and other tensions in society) it is important to discuss carefully to reach an agreement with which as everyone is happy.

Learning points:
- Sometimes people are in situations where their rights come into conflict.
- These conflicts are best solved by open discussion.

Time: About one hour

What you need:
- The story "The crash on Mobius" from the next pages
- The gameboard from the next pages
- The problem cards from next pages
(You will need one copy of the gameboard and one set of problems for every four students in the class. Either ask the students to copy them by hand, or photocopy them.)

How to do it:

• Ask the class to form groups of about four.
• Give each group a copy of the gameboard and a set of the problems from next pages. Each problem must be on a separate piece of paper.
• Read the story "The crash on Mobius".
• Read out the following rules of the game:

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Rules: o                                Mix the problem cards together and put them face down on the table. o                                Lift up one problem at a time. Read out the problem. Each problem has two options: 'A' or 'B'. Your group MUST choose one of these options. o                                As each decision is made, colour in the relevant part of the gameboard, starting at the bottom and moving up towards the rescue beacon at the top. If you make an 'A' decision, colour in ONE square. If you make a 'B' decision colour in TWO squares. o                                Only move on to the next problem when you have finished with the last one. o                                Although 'B' choices score higher than 'A' choices, you must not choose B answers just to move faster. Always do what the group thinks is right, even if this slows you down. o                                You don't have to finish on the exact number of squares. o                                When your group reaches the rescue beacon, count how many moves you made. Enter the total of 'A' and 'B' moves in the box at the bottom of the gameboard.

• The students now play the game. Watch to make sure that they understand the rules, but do not interfere unless absolutely necessary.
• Some groups will finish more quickly than others. Ask these groups to discuss the questions below until the others are finished.
• When all the groups have finished, ask the groups for their scores, then read the following text.

What sort of group were you?

"8-10 moves: Your decisions have helped the whole group quickly reach the beacon but some people might have been lost on the way.

11-13 moves: You have tried to move the group on as quickly as possible but you haven't ignored the needs of certain members of the group.

14-16 moves: You have put the wishes of the individual members of the group before the needs of the whole group. This has meant that the journey has taken longer."

• Now look back at the aim of the game, then ask the following questions to draw out the important lessons of the game.

Questions:

• Was it difficult to make some decisions in your group? Which ones? Why?
• Were some decisions easier than others? Why? Were there some decisions that most of the class agreed upon? Were there some decisions that your group could not decide about? Were some people in your group more forceful in their opinions? Did everyone have a chance to say their opinion? Did you ever resort to voting to make a decision?
• The problems were all about individual and group rights. Which rights were involved? (Students can identify the relevant parts of the Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.)
• Many of the problems from the game also occur in real life. For example, about sharing money. The group of survivors was like a mini version of our own society. How are decisions like these made in real life? Do you think these ways of making decisions are fair? Do they result in "good" agreements? What is a "good" agreement? How else could decisions be made?

Choices:

• Every one of the problems is a starting-point for a big discussion. Several are related to issues such as abortion, disability, power, global distribution of wealth...Students could examine the real-life parallel of one of the imaginary Situation Cards as a project (see section Projects in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two).
• Ask the class to make a play, poem, story or painting about one of the problem situations. For example, they could pretend that they are the mother from Problem Five. How does she feel? What is she thinking?
• Imagine that your group decided to stay on the planet. Based on the problems, what sort of rules could you have to protect the rights of the poor, the sick and the old? How would these rules be agreed and enforced?

 

The crash on Mobius

The Cosmic Holiday's Spacecruiser Voyager on the way from Earth to the holiday planet of Funfaria has run into a meteorite storm. The craft has been severely damaged and all communications systems are destroyed before a distress signal can be sent. The pilot has managed to crash-land on Mobius, the nearest planet.

The planet is almost unexplored but the survivors of the crashed ship know that it has an oxygen atmosphere similar to that of earth and that past travellers installed a rescue beacon at Mobius's Northern pole. Unfortunately, the spacecraft has crashed near the opposite pole. The journey to the beacon could take months.

You are amongst the large group of survivors who are beginning the journey to the beacon. You have managed to salvage some food and supplies but, as you travel, a number of situations arise which you have to solve together. If the problems are not solved quickly, the whole group may suffer and you may never reach the beacon.

"What Now" Problems:

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Problem One One member of the group enjoys singing. Unfortunately, she sings all the time. Some people don't mind but a few say it's making them mad. Do you: a. Do nothing and allow her to sing whenever she wants to? b. Demand that she stops singing when others are near by?

 

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Problem Two A few people who were injured in the landing are slowing things down. you fear that you may not make it to the beacon before your food runs out. Do you: a. Slow down to their pace and risk the lives of everyone? b. Leave them, possibly to die?

 

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Problem Three There are disagreements about who should lead the group. It is wasting a lot of time giving everyone a chance to speak. Do you: a. Keep the system in which everyone has the chance to say their opinion? b. Vote for one leader who can take decisions quickly?

 

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Problem Four Members of one family with a badly disabled child claim that they can't look after her properly. The child is suffering. Do you: a. Provide the family with an extra person to help them? b. Do nothing. Leave the family to sort out its own problem?

 

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Problem Five A baby is born to one of the group. It is ill, and will probably die if moved. Do you: a. Hold up the group until mother and child can travel? b. Carry on and hope that the baby survives?

 

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Problem Six An old lady dies. It is discovered that she was carrying a large amount of money which her daughter claims is now hers. Do you: a. Allow the daughter to keep the money? b. Make her hand over the money, so she can't use it to buy unfair amounts of rations?

 

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Problem Seven The group finds a pond containing a pale green liquid. the liquid has the effect of making people feel happy people, but some people are drinking too much which makes them lazy. Do you: a. Allow them to drink it? b. Ban all drinking of the pond water?

 

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Problem Eight A 14-year-old is behaving very badly, disrupting the progress of the group. His parents can't control him but refuse to let anyone else try. Do you: a. Respect the parent's wishes? b. Put the child with another family?

 

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Problem Nine One of the leaders of the group has become ill and needs a blood transfusion. Several people have the same blood group but no-one wants to volunteer, for the fear of infection. Do you: a. Allow people to refuse if they want to? b. Force people to give blood?

 

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Problem Ten One person is always criticising the way the group is being led. His comments are affecting the attitudes of others. Do you: a. Allow him to continue? b. Tell him to keep quiet and separate him from the others?

 

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Problem Eleven One member of the group is refusing to carry out the tasks given to her. She says there is no point - they are all doomed. She is very depressed. Do you: a. Leave her alone and let her do want she wants? b. Threaten to punish her if she doesn't work?

 

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Problem Twelve An elderly couple, who feel the are holding the group back, volunteer to be left behind. Do you: a. Help them to cope with the travel? b. Accept the offer?

 

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Problem Thirteen You discover that the person you have put in charge of the food stores has spent six years in prison for theft. Until now he has been doing a very good job. Do you: a. Trust him and let him carry on with the work? b. Take no chances and put someone else in charge of the food?

 

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Problem Fourteen There is an argument between two members of the group. They plan to have a fight tonight. Do you: a. Let them fight? b. Stop the fight in case others join in?

 

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Problem Fifteen The weather on the planet is very cold. Some of the passengers lost their warm clothing when the spaceship crashed. Do you: a. Allow people to keep their own clothes, as sooner or later things will start to wear out? b. Make everyone share out clothing equally?

 

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Problem Sixteen Someone has been stealing. A woman is caught taking money from a bag. Do you: a. Punish her for one crime you know she has committed? b. Punish her very severely to make an example of her?

 

 

 

Refugee roleplay

Aim: This activity uses a roleplay where refugees and border officials express different points of view on the rights of refugees to increase students' knowledge about refugee rights.

Learning point:
- Refugees are a specially vulnerable group who have specific rights.

What you need:
- "Immigration officers' arguments and options' from next page
- "Refugees' arguments and options" from page next page
- Information about refugees from next page

How to do it:

• Start with a brainstorm to find out what students think about refugees. Write the word "refugee" on the wall, and ask the class to say the first things which the word makes them think of. (The advice on brainstorming from chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two may be helpful here).
• Read the Information about refugees from the next page to the class to introduce the subject.
• Consulting the advice on using roleplay (Useful teaching methods in Part Two) help the class to play the following roleplay.
• Read out the following scenario (if you wish, you can invent imaginary names for countries X and Y):

"It is a dark, cold and wet night on the border between X and Y. A column of refugees has arrived, fleeing from the war in X. They want to cross into Y. They are hungry, tired and cold. They have no money, and no documents except their passports. The immigration officials from country Y have different points of view - some want to allow the refugees to cross, but others don't. The refugees are desperate, and use several arguments to try to persuade the immigration officials."

• Ask one third of the class to imagine that they are the immigration officers from country Y. Give this group the "Immigrations officers' arguments and options" from the next page.
• Ask another third of the class to imagine that they are refugees. Give this group the "Refugees' arguments and options" from next page.
• Tell the players that they can use the arguments on their cards and any other relevant arguments they can think of. If it helps, draw a line along the floor to symbolise the border. Tell them that when the roleplay begins, they have ten minutes to reach some sort of conclusion, which may be one of the options listed, or another solution.
• It is up to you and the class to decide whether the "refugees" and the "immigration officers" will put their arguments as a group, or whether they will individually take responsibility for putting individual arguments.
• Ask the remaining third of the class to act as observers. (Half can monitor the "immigration officers", and half can monitor the "refugees".)
• Give the "refugees" and the "immigration officers" a few minutes before the roleplay to read through their arguments and options and to decide on tactics.
• Start the roleplay. Use your own judgement about when to stop.
• After the roleplay, discuss it using the following questions. This is important to draw out the points which the students learnt.

Questions:

• How did the situation work out? What happened?
• How did it feel to be a refugee?
• How did it feel to be an immigration officer?
• Refugees have a right to protection under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Were these refugees given their right to protection? Why/why not?
• Do you think that a country should have the right to turn away refugees?
• Would you do this yourself? What if you knew they faced death in their own country?

Choices:

• If there is time, play the roleplay again, but the students who were immigration officers must now be refugees.
• The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for protecting the rights of refugees. Ask the class in groups to pretend that they are an official team sent by UNHCR to help the refugees from country X. Ask the students to write an official report including the following issues:
  - What arguments could you use to persuade the immigration officers to let the refugees in?
  - Are the immigration officers doing anything wrong?
  - Are any of the articles of the Human Rights Documents in Part Five of this manual relevant?
  - What could be done with this report to make country Y protect the rights of the refugees?
• As a project, refugees in your country could be useful resources for your students to find out more about the problems of securing rights as a refugee. (See chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two for advice about how to interview someone with a class.)
• Ask students to write an imaginative account of the scene at the border. The account could be from the point of view of a refugee child.
• As an action, students could gather essential items and deliver them to refugees who are sheltering in your country.

Immigration officers' arguments and options: You can use these arguments and any others you can think of: o                                They are desperate, we can't send them back. o                                If we will send them back we will be responsible if they are arrested, tortured or killed. o                                We have legal obligations to accept refugees. o                                They have no money, and will need state support. Our country cannot afford that. o                                Can they prove that they are genuine refugees? Maybe they are just here to look for a better standard of living? o                                Our country is a military and business partner of country X. We can't be seen to be protecting them. o                                Maybe they have skills which we need? o                                There are enough refugees in our country. We need to take care of our own people. They should go to the richer countries. o                                If we let them in, others will also demand entry. o                                They don't speak our language, they have a different religion and they eat different food. They won't integrate. o                                They will bring political trouble. Before the roleplay, think about the following options: o                                Will you let all of the refugees across the border? o                                Will you let some across the border? o                                Will you split them up by age, profession, wealth...? o                                Will you do something else instead?

 

Refugees' arguments and options: You can use these arguments and any others you can think of: o                                It is our right to receive asylum. o                                Our children are hungry, you have a moral responsibility to help us. o                                We will be killed if we go back. o                                We have no money. o                                We can't go anywhere else. o                                I was a doctor in my home town. o                                We only want shelter until it is safe to return. o                                Other refugees have been allowed into your country. Before the roleplay, think about the following options: o                                Will you split up if the immigration officers ask you to? o                                Will you go home if they try to send you back?

 

Information about refugees Every year tens of thousands of people have leave their homes and often their countries because of persecution or war. These people become refugees. They nearly always have to move suddenly, leaving their possessions behind, tearing families apart. Many are never able to return to their homes. In 1992 there were almost 19 million refugees in the world. Most refugees seek safety in a neighbouring country. Others have to travel great distances to find safety. Refugees often arrive at airports and sea ports far from their native land, asking for entry. In 1951, the United Nations adopted the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. More than half of the countries in the world have agreed with the Convention. They give protection to refugees and agree not to force them to return to their country to risk persecution or death. Article 33 of the Convention says: "No Contracting State shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion." This also applies if a government wants to send a refugee to another country from which the refugee might be sent home. Also, governments must hear the claim of a refugee who wants to find safety (seek asylum) in their country. This principle applies to all states, whether or not they are party to the 1951 Convention. According to the Convention, a refugee is someone who has left their country and is unable to return because of a real fear of being persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. The 1951 Convention also says that refugees should be free from discrimination and should receive their full rights in the country where they go to be safe. Also, many articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protect refugees. However, countries disagree about who is a "genuine" refugee. The media and politicians often demand limits on the number of refugees, saying that they cause racial tension, and shortages of housing and jobs. In recent years the governments of many of the world's richest countries have reduced the number of refugees they allow in, for two reasons. First, air travel has become cheaper, meaning that more refugees from developing countries want to enter developed countries. Second, the world economic downturn has reduced the need for large workforces. This means that refugees who used to come as migrant workers now have to apply for refugee status. To justify restrictions on refugees, rich countries often say that refugees are not victims of oppression, but just want a better standard of living. They call them "economic migrants". To protect the rights of refugees the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) based in Geneva, was established by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 1950. Governments often argue that refugee's fears are exaggerated or untrue. Refugees are protected from this argument by organisations who use evidence of human rights violations in the refugee's country to persuade the government to let them apply for asylum.

 

Action! - taking
human rights
beyond the
classroom

These activities help students to think of human rights as something which they are able to defend and fight for, wherever they live. There are also suggestions for action in the "Choices" parts of many of the activities in the preceding pages. These activities build on those for younger children in Part Three.

 

The Power of Action

Aim: This case study about a famous human rights campaigner aims to show the power of action by giving an example of someone who acted successfully to obtain their rights.

Learning point:
- Individuals, and especially groups, can act to successfully oppose human rights violations.

What you need: Mahatma Gandhi's Story from the next page.

Time: About half an hour

How to do it:

• Read, or ask the students to read, Gandhi's story.
• Use the questions below to start a discussion (the advice on discussion in chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two may be helpful here).

Questions:

• The Indians protested without violence. Why do you think this was?
• If they had protested violently, for example, by killing British soldiers, what do you think the British would have done? Do you think many Indians would have died too?
• Gandhi asked for "world sympathy in this battle of Right against Might". Do you think that the other people of the world would have been so sympathetic if the Indians had attacked the British? Why?
• Do you think that peaceful protest was the right choice in this case? What about other cases? For example, in your own country?

Choices:

• Give the class an example of a person or a group from your own country who acted to obtain their rights. As a project, students could research this person or group and make a poster picture, story or play to show what they found out.

Mahatma Gandhi's Story The Mahatma (Great Soul) gave a new meaning to non-violence. He said that anything gained through violence was not worth having. Born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Gujarat, India in 1869, he qualified as a lawyer in England before practising in South Africa. There he experienced racial discrimination for the first time. There were laws to stop people without white skin from doing many things, such as becoming a lawyer or travelling in the first class compartments of trains. Gandhi saw that many black people in South Africa were poor and they were treated badly by the whites. He organized protests and went to prison fighting against injustice. From the beginning of his life as a protester Gandhi was directed by his deep religious convictions. He believed that violence was always wrong. Gandhi returned to India in 1915. There was a great poverty among the Indians too. The British were ruling India harshly, taking taxes that the people could not afford, preventing Indians from ruling their own country, discouraging their industry and using force to control the people. In 1930 Gandhi chose an issue to protest about that at first did not worry the British because it seemed so minor - the tax on salt. Salt can be taken from sea water but in India all salt was made and sold by British government who made money out of it. Gandhi said that the salt belonged to India and that he would break this law. First, he asked to discuss the issue with the head of the British government in India the Viceroy. The Viceroy refused, thinking it was unimportant. Then, on 12 March 1930, when he was sixty years old, Gandhi set out with his followers to march 322 kilometres from his home to the sea to make salt. For twenty-four days the people of India and the rest of the world followed his progress. The anticipation was intense. On 6 April, with thousands of onlookers Gandhi walked into the sea and picked up a handful of salt. This act of defiance was a signal to the nation. All along the coast of India people made salt illegally. He wrote, "I want world sympathy in this battle of Right against Might." A month later Gandhi was arrested and tens of thousands had been put in prison. Gandhi and the people of India spent many years protesting before the British finally left. They continued to march, to refuse to cooperate, and to stretch British resources by allowing themselves to be imprisoned. Finally India achieved success in 1947 when the British gave up their rule and India became independent.

Action Roleplays

Aim: This roleplay activity aims to encourage children to apply their rights in real situations.

Learning point:
- Human rights violation occur in everyday situations and can be opposed by everyday people.

What you need:
- Simplified version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from Part Five (enough for one copy per four or five students - these can be hand-copied).
- Advice on using roleplay from chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two.
- Roleplay situations from next page.

Time: One and a half hours

How to do it:

• Ask the class to divide into small groups of three or four. Read out roleplay One and ask the class to identify the articles of the Simplified Universal Declaration of Human Rights which are relevant to it. Below are some likely answers, but this list is not exhaustive. Allow five to ten minutes for this.
• Repeat for roleplays Two and Three.

In roleplay One, the most relevant articles are:
Article two, articles six and seven, and article thirteen.

In roleplay Two, the most relevant articles are:
Article twenty and article twenty-three.

In roleplay Three, the most relevant articles are:
Articles nineteen and twenty, and article twenty-four.

• Now re-arrange the class into three groups, and give each group one of the roleplay situations. Ask each group to roleplay their situation, with their own ending. They will need to decide who will play each role, and how to play the end of the situation. (For step-by-step advice on how to run roleplays, see the advice in section Roleplay, chapter Useful teaching methods, Part Two)
• Ask each group in turn to play their roleplay for the whole class. After each roleplay performance, ask the players how it felt, then ask the whole class to think of other possible endings. Encourage them to think about ways in which the people in the situations could prevent their rights being violated.

Choice:

• If the class is small, or there is a lack of time, a few students could perform one roleplay for the whole class.

Roleplays: One: Ida wants to cross the border into the neighbouring country to visit her daughter, who has married someone from that country. The border officials refuse to let her in. They say that she is too poor to pay for a hotel in their country. Two: Ivan is a cleaner in car wash company. In the winter his hands are hurt by pieces of ice. His boss said he will not buy gloves for Ivan because they are very expensive. Ivan can't afford to buy them for himself. He asks his Union to help. When his boss finds out, Ivan loses his job. Three: The last park in town is going to be made into a carpark. Ten people from the neighbourhood demonstrate peacefully in the park, saying they need a place to relax and for their children to play in. The Police come and say that they are not allowed to demonstrate and that they should go home. The demonstrators sit down on the ground and refuse to move. The police move them by force, hurting some of them.

 

Electronic Resource Centre for Human Rights Education:
First Steps - a manual for starting Human Rights Education

 

 

This part contains: Universal Declaration of Human Rights Simplified Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Simplified Version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Summary of Rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child

 

" We wrote the summarised documents on papers on the walls in the classroom - they were, literally, the background to every activity! "

Croation school visitor.

 

Universal
Declaration of
Human Rights

Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948

On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the full text of which appears below. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries of territories."

Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in all the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the people of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims

THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs whether it be independent, trust, now, self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.
(1) Men and Women of full age without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom whether alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion of belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) Everyone has the rights of equal access to public service in his country.

Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, of necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms. everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

 

 

 

Simplified Version
of the Universal
Declaration of
Human Rights

Summary of Preamble

The General Assembly recognizes that the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, human rights should be protected by the rule of law, friendly relations between nations must be fostered, the peoples of the UN have affirmed their faith in human rights, the dignity and the worth of the human person, the equal rights of men and women and are determined to promote social progress, better standards of life and larger freedom and have promised to promote human rights and a common understanding of these rights.

 

A summary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1. Everyone is free and we should all be treated in the same way.

2. Everyone is equal despite differences in skin colour, sex, religion, language for example.

3. Everyone has the right to life and to live in freedom and safety.

4. No one has the right to treat you as a slave nor should you make anyone your slave.

5. No one has the right to hurt you or to torture you.

6. Everyone has the right to be treated equally by the law.

7. The law is the same for everyone, it should be applied in the same way to all.

8. Everyone has the right to ask for legal help when their rights are not respected.

9. No one has the right to imprison you unjustly or expel you from your own country.

10. Everyone has the right to a fair and public trial.

11. Everyone should be considered innocent until guilt is proved.

12. Every one has the right to ask for help if someone tries to harm you, but no-one can enter your home, open your letters or bother you or your family without a good reason.

13. Everyone has the right to travel as they wish.

14. Everyone has the right to go to another country and ask for protection if they are being persecuted or are in danger of being persecuted.

15. Everyone has the right to belong to a country. No one has the right to prevent you from belonging to another country if you wish to.

16. Everyone has the right to marry and have a family.

17. Everyone has the right to own property and possessions.

18. Everyone has the right to practise and observe all aspects of their own religion and change their religion if they want to.

19. Everyone has the right to say what they think and to give and receive information.

20. Everyone has the right to take part in meetings and to join associations in a peaceful way.

21. Everyone has the right to help choose and take part in the government of their country.

22. Everyone has the right to social security and to opportunities to develop their skills.

23. Everyone has the right to work for a fair wage in a safe environment and to join a trade union.

24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure.

25. Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living and medical help if they are ill.

26. Everyone has the right to go to school.

27. Everyone has the right to share in their community's cultural life.

28. Everyone must respect the 'social order' that is necessary for all these rights to be available.

29. Everyone must respect the rights of others, the community and public property.

30. No one has the right to take away any of the rights in this declaration.

 

 

 

 

Simplified Version
of the Convention
on the Rights of the
Child

The aim of the Convention is to set standards for the defence of children against the neglect and abuse they face to varying degrees in all countries every day. It is careful to allow for the different cultural, political and material realities among states. The most important consideration is the best interest of the child. The rights set out in the Convention can be broadly grouped in three sections:

Provision: the right to possess, receive or have access to certain things or services (e.g. a name and a nationality, health care, education, rest and play and care for disabled and orphans).

Protection: the right to be shielded from harmful acts and practices (e.g. separation from parents, engagement in warfare, commercial or sexual exploitation and physical and mental abuse).

Participation: The child's right to be heard on decisions affecting his or her life. As abilities progress, the child should have increasing opportunities to take part in the activities of society, as a preparation for adult life (e.g. freedom of speech and opinion, culture, religion and language.

Preamble

The Preamble sets the tone in which the 54 articles of the Convention will be interpreted. The major UN texts which precede it and which have a direct bearing on children are mentioned, as is the importance of the family for the family for the harmonious development of the child, the importance of special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth, and the importance of the traditions and cultural values of each people for the child's development.

 

Article 1: Definition of the child
Every human being below 18 years unless majority is attained earlier according to the law applicable to the child.

Article 2: Non discrimination
All rights must be granted to each child without exception. The State must protect the child without exception. The State must protect the child against all forms of discriminations.

Article 3: Best interests of the child
In all actions concerning children, the best interest of the child shall be the major consideration.

Article 4: Implementation of rights
The obligation on the State to ensure that the rights in the Convention are implemented.

Article 5: Parents, family, community rights and responsibilities
States are to respect the parents and family in their child rearing function.

Article 6: Life, survival and development
The right of the child to life and the state's obligation to ensure the child's survival and development.

Article 7: Name and nationality
The right from birth to a name, to acquire a nationality and to know and be cared for by his or her parents.

Article 8: Preservation of identity
The obligation of the State to assist the child in reestablishing identity if this has been illegally withdrawn.

Article 9: Non-separation from parents
The right of the child to retain contact with his parents in cases of separation. If separation is the result of detention, imprisonment or death the State shall provide the information to the child or parents about the whereabouts of the missing family member.

Article 10: Family reunification
Requests to leave or enter country for family reunification shall be dealt with in a human manner. A child has the right to maintain regular contacts with both parents when these live in different States.

Article 11: Illicit transfer and non-return of children
The State shall combat child kidnapping by a partner or third party.

Article 12: Expression of opinion
The right of the child to express his or her opinion and to have this taken into consideration.

Article 13: Freedom of expression and information
The right to seek, receive and impart information in various forms, including art, print, writing.

Article 14: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
States are to be respect the rights and duties of parents to provide direction to the child in the exercise of this right in accordance with the child's evolving capacities.

Article 15: Freedom of association
The child's right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

Article 16: Privacy, honour, reputation
No child shall be subjected to interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence.

Article 17: Access to information and media
The child shall have access to information from a diversity of sources; due attention shall be paid to minorities and guidelines to protect children from harmful material shall be encouraged.

Article 18: Parental responsibility
Both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing of the child and assistance shall be given to them in the performance of the parental responsibilities.

Article 19: Abuse and neglect (while in family or care)
States have the obligation to protect children from all forms of abuse. Social programmes and support services shall be made available.

Article 20: Alternative care for children in the absence of parents
The entitlement of the child to alternative care with national laws and the obligation on the State to pay due regard to continuity in the child's religious, cultural, linguistic or ethnic background in the provision of alternative care.

Article 21: Adoption
States are to ensure that only authorised bodies carry out adoption. Inter-country adoption may be considered if national solutions have been exhausted.

Article 22: Refugee children
Special protection is to be given to refugee children.
States shall cooperate with international agencies to this end and also to reunite children separated from the families.

Article 23: Disabled children
The right to benefit from special care and education for a fuller life in society.

Article 24: Health care
Access to preventive and curative health care services as well as the gradual abolition of traditional practices harmful to the child.

Article 25: Periodic review
The child who is placed for care, protection or treatment has the right to have the placement reviewed on a regular basis.

Article 26: Social security
The child's right to social security

Article 27: Standard of living
Parental responsibility to provide adequate living conditions for the child's development even when one of the parents is living in a country other than the child's place of residence.

Article 28: Education
The right to free primary education, the availability of vocational educating, and the need for measures to reduce the drop-out rates.

Article 29: Aims of education
Education should foster the development of the child's personality and talents, preparation for a responsible adult life, respect for human rights as well as the cultural and national values of the child's country and that of others.

Article 30: Children of minorities and indigenous children
The right of the child belonging to a minority or indigenous group to enjoy his or her culture, to practise his or her own language.

Article 31: Play and recreation
The right of the child to play, recreational activities and to participate in cultural and artistic life.

Article 32: Economic exploitation
The right of the child to protection against harmful forms of work and against exploitation.

Article 33: Narcotic and psychotic substances
Protection of the child from their illicit use and the utilisation of the child in their production and distribution.

Article 34: Sexual exploitation
Protection of the child from sexual exploitation including prostitution and the use of children in pornographic materials.

Article 35: Abduction, sale and traffic
State obligation to prevent the abduction, sale of or traffic in children.

Article 36: Other forms of exploitation

Article 37: Torture, capital punishment, deprivation of liberty
Obligation of the State vis-a-vis children in detention.

Article 38: Armed conflicts
Children under 15 years are not to take a direct part in hostilities. No recruitment of children under 15.

Article 39: Recovery and reintegration State obligations for the reeducation and social reintegration of child victims of exploitation, torture or armed conflicts.

Article 40: Juvenile justice
Treatment of child accused of infringing the penal law shall promote the child's sense of dignity.

Article 41: Rights of the child in other instruments

Article 42: Dissemination of the Convention
The state's duty to make the convention known to adults and children.

Article 43-54: Implementation
These paragraphs provide for a Committee on the Rights of the Child to oversee implementation of the Convention.

The titles of articles are for ease of reference only. They do not form part of the adopted text. (UNICEF - UK)

 

 

 

Summary of Rights
from the
Convention on the
Rights of the Child

• Children have the right to be with their family or with those who will care for them best.
• Children have the right to enough food and clean water.
• Children have the right to an adequate standard of living.
• Children have the right to health care.
• Disabled children have the right to special care and training.
• Children have the right to play.
• Children have the right to free education.
• Children have the right to be kept safe and not hurt or neglected.
• Children must not be used as cheap workers or as soldiers.
• Children must be allowed to speak their own language and practise their own religion and culture.
• Children have the right to express their own opinions and to meet together to express their views.

(UNICEF - UK)

 

Electronic Resource Centre for Human Rights Education:
First Steps - a manual for starting Human Rights Education

 

 

This part contains: Building a Human Rights Education Network Organizing a Human Rights Education Workshop Example of a Human Rights Education Workshop Evaluating your Human Rights Education Workshop Useful Organizations Possible Funders Useful Books

 

" We didn't think so many people would be interested. "

Hongarian Workshop Organizer.

 

 

Building a Human
Rights Education
Network

Why build a network?

Efficiency: In your country, there will be many people who are already interested in introducing human rights in their teaching, or who have an official responsibility for this. If you identify these people you can share information, plan together, and act together, which saves a lot of time and energy.

Pressure: If your country has recognized international documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, officials are obliged to act to further human rights. Acting as a network can make it easier to persuade officials to support your Human Rights Education work. For example, by giving teachers paid leave to attend training. In some countries, officials have also provided money and space for workshops.

Materials: In some countries, such as Romania and Albania, networks have created Human Rights Education materials of their own, as well as translating and adapting foreign materials. These networks have also organized the testing of materials in the classroom, and their distribution to teachers.

Advice from other networks: Organizations in your country which campaign for the rights of women, minorities, children, disabled people and other groups, can give new networks advice based on their experience.

Foreign contacts: Teachers, students, university staff and people in other countries will probably be more interested in contact with a network than with individuals or single schools. This is because contact through a network is more efficient in terms of time, money and energy.

Access to funds: For the same reason, a network is more likely to be able to access funds. Grant-making bodies prefer to give money to a group of individuals who will have the energy to complete a project, than to an individual. If the network includes groups of people who are working on different aspects of the same thing, then a joint project and a joint application for funds will be possible. For example, a group of teachers in one town might be able to do the organisation for a teacher-training by trainers from another town. Both groups would benefit from this co-operation.

The following questions may help you to start a network:

 

 

Organizing a Human
Rights Education
Workshop

How long will it take? Before you do anything, make sure to have enough time, especially if this is your first workshop. If you want to organize a short workshop (one or two days) with one or two trainers you will need at least six or eight weeks to organize it. The more trainers and the longer the workshop, the more time you need. It is always better to have time left over than not enough!

What do I want the workshop to achieve? Think hard about this question. It will save a lot of time and energy if your aims are clear and understood by the training team, the organizers, and the participants.

Who will participate? For example, if they will be teachers, what age group will they be teaching, do they have experience of Human Rights Education, participative teaching methodology, or workshops. Where will they come from, how will they travel to the workshop, who will pay the travel costs? Are there other groups who could also benefit by participating? For example, students, representatives from local educational authorities, school inspectors, or principals. It can be useful to make invite important people such as principals - it makes them much more likely to support the teachers when they later try to apply what they have learnt in their own schools.

What do they need to learn, and how? For example, will there be theoretical presentations or development of practical teaching skills, such as roleplay and brainstorming. What subjects do they teach? Do you expect them to fit Human Rights Education into their existing timetable, or teach it after school? What are the specific human rights problems which they or their students face in their local area?

Who can help them to develop these skills? Will trainers come from abroad? Local trainers are cheaper, don't need translation, are easier to organize, and know more about the situation in your country. How many trainers will you need? It is easiest for a small group of trainers to design a workshop and communicate with each other. However, there need to be enough trainers so that they can take breaks, and so that participants don't get bored with the same person! Generally, the longer the workshop, the more trainers you need.
It is very important that the trainers work as a non-hierarchical team in planning, carrying out, and evaluating the workshop. Although some trainers might have more workshop experience, others might have equally valuable skills, such as a better understanding of the local situation. The training team should remember that they are "modelling" a democratic style of teaching which can be as important a lesson for the participants as the content of the workshop. A bossy "expert" can easily contradict with his or her body language the verbal message of equality and human rights.

How many participants and trainers? Having more than twenty-five participants makes communication and active participation difficult. However, larger groups can be split up for some activities. For example, two trainers could manage two groups of 8-10 people. To have too few participants can be wasteful of time, energy and money.

How long will it last? Usually no longer than three or four days consecutively, because participative learning is very tiring. Make enough breaks for participants and trainers to rest, but don't make them too long or time meant for activities will be wasted.

When is the best time? This depends mostly on participants and trainers. Can they take time off from work and family obligations? Some times are better than others. For example, the end of the school year may be bad for teachers who have more work at that time, but the Spring or Summer breaks might be ideal. If teachers have to take time off from school, it is a good idea to talk to the local educational authorities to try to persuade them to allow this.

What will need to be organized? Be realistic. It is much better to share responsibility than to have to do everything yourself. You may need to organize:

 

 

Example of a
Human Rights
Education Workshop

 

Day 1 An Introduction to Human Rights

• Arrival of participants (15 minutes)
  Hand out materials (parts one, two and five of this manual might be useful here) and name-badges (a piece of paper and a pin will do)
• Introductions (15 minutes)
  Introduce the host organization, and any co-operating partners
• Warm-up (15 minutes)
  Everyone (including trainers) introduce themselves (You can use the basic part of "The Name Game" from Part Four)
• Remarks (10 minutes)
  Introduce the agenda and the methodology. Explain that the agenda might change, depending upon what the participants say in the daily evaluations (for more about evaluating your workshop see the next chapter)
• Expectations (20 minutes)
  Ask participants "What are your hopes and expectations for this course?" If necessary, they can write private thoughts before sharing their expectations with the group. Write up the expectations on a large piece of paper and save them for the last day. If some participants have expectations which will not be met by the workshop, note this. If possible, meet with these participants in a break to discuss how they can find out about the things in which they are interested.
• Break (30 minutes)
• Mini-lecture (15 minutes)
  "What are Human Rights?" (see Part One)
• The Imaginary Country (60 - 75 minutes)
  Activity in which participants design a human rights document for a new country (see Part Four)
• Lunch (90 minutes)
• Mini-lecture (15 minutes)
  "What is Human Rights Education?" (see Part One)
• Animated video of the UDHR and discussion (45 minutes)
• Rights in the News (60 minutes)
  Participants use local newspapers and magazines to find examples of rights exercised, rights violated, rights protected, and rights in conflict.
• Break (30 minutes)
• Personal notes (15 minutes)
  Ask participants to prepare for the rest of the course by privately writing their own answers to these questions:
  "What do you think are the main rights issues in your country today? Especially think of situations where peoples' rights conflict." "How are they dealt with?" How could they be resolved? Is resolution possible?
• Evaluation (15 minutes)
  Explain that evaluation is important because it helps the trainers to tailor the workshop to participants' needs. Ask the participants to write anonymously their answers to the following questions: "What did you like best about today? What did you like least? What changes would you make?" Collect their answers. Allow time for the training team to look at them in the evening. If possible, make changes to the agenda to suit participants (for more about evaluating your workshop see next chapter).

 

Day 2 The Rights of the Child

• Warm-up (15 minutes)
  Active listening
• Feedback (15 minutes)
  Trainers summarise previous days' evaluation and any changes to the agenda.
• "What protection and rights are especially needed by children ?" (15 minutes) Using the rules on brainstorming (see chapter Useful teaching methods, Part Two) ask participants this question.
• Mini-lecture (15 minutes)
  "The Convention on the Rights of the Child" followed by questions. If there is time, small groups can list the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that are or are not provided for children in your country.
• Wheel Rights (60 minutes)
  Adapt the activity in chapter Rights for Life- activities about the universality of rights (Part Four) so that participants think of a time when they "stood up" for their rights as a child.
• Break (30 minutes)
• Teaching methods "Carousel" (first 60 minutes)
  Participants split into four groups. Each group visits each of the four corners of the room in turn. In each corner, a different trainer demonstrates a different activity. The trainers do not move, so each trainer demonstrates the same activity four times to four different groups. Each demonstration lasts thirty minutes - twenty-five minutes for the demonstration and five minutes for participants to identify the skills, attitudes, knowledge and methodology used in the activity. The "carousel" is a good way to demonstrate several activities quickly.

Any four short activities can be used, for example:

1. Advantages / disadvantages (see chapter What's fair? - activities about justice, Part Four)
2. The Calendar Game (see chapter Rights for Life - activities about the universality of rights,                        Part Three)
3. Conflict Webs (see chapter Rights for Life - activities about the universality of rights, Part                                  Three)
4. Know Your Apple (see chapter What's fair? - activities about justice, Part Three)

Note: These four activities range from 30 minutes to 60 minutes in length. For the "Carousel" they all need to be 30 minutes. This can be achieved by using only the basic part of each activity. If after 30 minutes the activity is not finished and it is time to change groups, quickly explain the rest of the activity to the participants. Do not delay the "Carousel".

• Lunch (90 minutes)
  (this can be taken in the middle of the "Carousel" - when each group has experienced two activities and still has two more to go.)
• Continuation of teaching methods "Carousel" (second 60 minutes)
• Break (30 minutes)
• Mini-lecture (30 minutes)
  "How to design your own human rights teaching activities" (see Part Two)
• Evaluation of day's work (15 minutes)

 

Day 3 Taking Human Rights Education Home

• Warm-up (30 minutes)
  "Quick Quiz"
• Feedback (15 minutes)
  Trainers summarise previous day's evaluation and any changes to the agenda
• Mini-lecture (15 minutes)
  "Human Rights Education and our country's National Curriculum"
• "How can human rights be part of the curriculum?" (30 minutes)
  Using the rules on brainstorming (see chapter Useful teaching methods in Part Two) ask participants this question. For more about fitting human rights into the curriculum, see Part Two.
• Personal notes (15 minutes)
  Ask participants to privately write their own answers to the questions: "How could you personally introduce Human Rights Education into your classroom, school, or community? Would it really make a difference?"
• Designing our own activities (90 minutes)
  With participants, make a quick list of the human rights issues about which they would most like to teach. Ask participants to work alone or in small groups to create Human Rights Education lessons on these issues that could be used in their own educational situation. If necessary, help participants by summarizing the mini-lecture "How to design your own human rights teaching activities" from Day 2. (Participants can take a break during this period as and when they need it).
• Lunch (90 minutes)
• Presentation of model lessons (60 minutes)
  (these do not have to be perfect or complete - the purpose of the activity is to have a first go at developing materials.)
• Back to the real world (30 minutes)
  Ask participants in groups to make two lists. One list of factors which could help them to do HRE at home, and one of factors which could be obstacles to doing HRE at home. Ask the groups to compare their lists. Do any of the things in the "help" list overcome things in the "obstacle" list?
  How can we deal with these obstacles?

• Final evaluation (30 minutes)
  Ask the participants to write anonymously their answers to the long evaluation form shown on the next page.
• Talking Stick ( ? minutes)
  Display the list of expectations from Day One. Using the activity from Part Three, give participants the opportunity to say whether their expectations were fulfilled, and anything else which they want to say. Remember, they do not have to speak if they don't want to.
• Presentation of certificates
  (These are a good idea - especially if the local educational authority signs them)

END

 

 

Evaluating your
Human Rights
Education
Workshop

Usually, anonymous evaluation forms are given to participants either daily and/or at the end of the training. Informal feedback can also be given orally in whole group meetings, or in smaller, more intimate groups to individual trainers, who then share that feedback with the other members of the training team.

Anonymous evaluation forms can be long or short. It might be appropriate to give out short forms daily, then finish off with a longer form at the end of the training. On the long form, it may also be desirable to include a question asking the participants how they intend to introduce teaching human rights into their classroom practices over the next four to six months. This data can then be used to co-ordinate support for the participants once they are back in their home situations.

Sample Short Evaluation Form:

1. What did you like most about today's training?
2. What did you like least?
3. What suggestions do you have for improvements?

(Because there are so few questions, they can be read out or written in a prominent place, so that participants simply copy them down. This saves the trainers' time.)

 

Sample Long Evaluation Form:

Organisational aspects of the workshop: (please tick / )

Excellent Good OK Problematic

1. Workshop rooms
2. Accommodation
3. Food
4. Transport

Educational aspects of the workshop:

Using the scale 1 = very useful , 2 = somewhat useful, 3 = not very useful rate how useful the workshop was for the following things

5. Learning about key human rights documents, principles and mechanisms for protection __

6. Becoming familiar with participative educational methodology __

7. Learning specific human right-related activities that can be applied in the classroom __

8. Using the scale 1 = very useful , 2 = somewhat useful, 3 = not very useful, rate how useful each session in the workshop was for you)

(Here, organizers list the individual sessions)

9. What was most valuable to you in the training?

10. What was the least useful aspect of the training?

11. What suggestions do you have for improving the training?

12. How do you expect to apply what you have learned in the training in your classroom, school or other educational environment?

 

Sample Visual Evaluation Method:

Forms and discussions are not the only way to evaluate. You might want to use a visual evaluation method for variety, or because you have a time shortage. Here is an example of a visual evaluation method:

Draw a dartboard on a large piece of paper or on a blackboard. (ie: several concentric circles radiating around a central red "bullseye", with lines dividing the circles into "slices", in the same way as you would divide a cake. The number of "slices" should be equivalent to the number of things which you want to assess, such as individual training sessions, organisational issues, etcetera.)

Tell the participants that the trainers will leave the room (maybe during a break in the programme). The participants must all make one mark in each of the "slices". If they thought a session was excellent, they should place their mark near the central "bullseye" in the relevant "slice". If they thought that the session was not useful, they should place their mark on one of the outer circles.

 

 

Useful
Organizations

 

 

Organization: Council of Europe
Address: Directorate of Education, Culture and Sport, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel: (33) 88413073 Fax: (33) 88412753
Use: Provides documentation, training and funding for human rights and European cooperation. The Human Rights Information Centre of the Council of Europe (same address) co-ordinates Human Rights Documentation Centres, which now exist in many Central and Eastern European countries.

Organization: Human Rights Education Associates
Address: Postbus 59225, 1040 KE Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Tel: (31) 20 524 1404 Fax: (31) 20 524 1498
E-mail: info@hrea.nl
Use: Work with local partners in Romania, Albania, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Estonia to develop curricula and train teachers in Human Rights Education.

Organization: Milan Šimecka Foundation
Address: Hviezdoslavovo nám. 17, 811 02 Bratislava, Slovakia
Tel/Fax: (0042 7) 333 552
E-mail: MSF@MSF.SANET.SK
Use: Produces books, cassettes and videos on Human Rights Education and hold workshops for elementary and high school teachers, as well as education officials.

Organization: Canadian Human Rights Foundation
Address: 1425, Rene-Levesque Blvd. W, Suite 307, Montreal, Canada H3G 1T7
Tel: (1) 514 954 0382 Fax: (1) 514 954 0659
E-mail: chrf@chrf.ca
Use: Quarterly newsletter "Speaking About Rights". Also The International Human Rights Training Programme, which brings over 100 participants from 35 countries together every June/July for a 3-week intensive training course. The aim is to provide practical tools to strengthen and develop capacity in human rights work, to facilitate the understanding of human rights instruments and their interrelationships, and to facilitate networking and partnership activities. The working languages are English and French.

Organization: The Citizenship Foundation
Address: Weddel House, 13 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9HY
Tel: 0171 236 2171 Fax: 0171 329 3702
E-mail: CITIFOU@GN.APC.ORG
Use: Produces materials which teach citizenship, some available in Russian and other Languages, for children of all ages.

Organization: Obshchestvo Memorial
Address: Maly Karetny 12, Moscow 103151
Tel: 7 095 299 1180
Use: Monitors and protests human rights violations in Russia, and seeks the rehabilitation of victims of Stalinism. It also has an active program of Human Rights Education. It has branches throughout Russia and the CIS.

Organization: Polish Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Address: Maryla Nowicka, Bracka 18, apt.62, 00-028 Warsaw, Poland
Tel/Fax: (48 22) 26 98 75, 29 69 96
E-mail: hchrpol@hchrpol.waw.pl
Use: An extensive Human Rights Education program including a human rights course for university graduates, education of police, prison guards, journalists and judges. Also education through TV, films and press.

Organization: Magna Carta, Centre for Human Rights Promotion
Address: Vojnoviƒeva 26, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel/Fax: (385) 1 412 420
E-mail: MILENA.BEADER@ZAMIR-ZG.ZTN.APC.ORG
Use: Magna Carta have a library of Human Rights Education materials in Serbian and Croatian and organize HRE workshops.

Organization: Amnesty International - Europe Development Team
Address: Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, London, WC1X 8DJ, United Kingdom
Tel/Fax: (44) 171 413 5500, Fax: (44) 171 956 1157
E-mail: jsherwoo@amnesty.org
Use: Can put you in contact with other people in your country and in other countries in Eastern/Central Europe who are interested in human rights and Human Rights Education.

Organization: Institute for Pedagogical Research
Address: Petrit Muka, Vice-Director, In-Service Training
Rruga 'Naim Frasheri' 37, Tirana, Albania
Tel/Fax: (355) 42 238 60; alternative Fax: 42 306 30
Use: The Institute has produced Children's Activity Books for Human Rights for Forms 1-8, and supportive guides for teachers. These materials have been accompanied by extensive in-service training throughout the country.

Organization: Ukrainian Centre for Human Rights
Address: Ludmyla Zablotska, Chervonoarmiiska 64, UKR-252005 Kyiv, Ukraine
Tel/Fax: (7 44) 227 2124, 227 2398; alternative Fax: 227 2220
Use: The Centre has developed a Human Rights Education program, with student texts and a teacher's methodological guide, for use in the 10th Form in the Ukraine.

Organization: Education in Human Rights Network (EIHRN) Address: Audrey Osler, Secretary, EIHRN, c/o School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, B15 2TT
Tel: (44) 121 414 3344
Fax: (44) 121 414 4865
Use: An informal group of individuals and organizations concerned with human rights education, established in England in 1987. The network publishes the "Human Rights Education Newsletter", which is available from Margot Brown, University College of Ripon and York St. John, Lord Mayor's Walk, York, England YO3 7EX.
The network also holds an annual summer school mainly intended for UK participants.

Organization: NICEL
Address: 711 G Street, Washington, DC, 20003-2861, USA
Contact person: Mr. Edward O'Brien

Organization: German Marshall Fund
Address: 11 Dupont Circle, NW, Washington, DC.20036, USA

Organization: North American Partners for Human Rights Education (NAPHRE)
Address: University of Minnesota Human Rights Center, 229 - 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 55455
Tel: (1) 616 626 0041
Fax: (1) 612 625 2011
E-mail: NFLOWERS@IGC.APC.ORG
Use: Membership of NAPHRE ($35) includes a subscription to the newsletter "The Fourth R", access to the materials and consultants of the Human Rights Education Clearinghouse located at the University of Minnesota's Human Rights Center, newsletters of many other NAPFRE member organisations, and information on conferences and courses in human rights education. Partners of NAPHRE include Amnesty International USA, Amnesty International Canada and the National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law.

Organization: The World Association for the School as an Instrument of Peace (EIP)
Address: 5 rue de Simplon, CH-1207 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel/Fax: (44 22) 736 44 52, 753 06 53
Use: The EIP is an international non-governmental organization with consultative status to the United Nations, UNESCO, ILO, and the Council of Europe. In 1984 EIP formed the International Training Centre on Human Rights and Peace Teaching (CIFEDHOP). CIFEDHOP is an international foundation which trains teachers of primary, secondary, and vocational schools and teacher training colleges in human rights education. The annual International Training Session on Human Rights and Peace Teaching has English, French, and Spanish speaking sections and financial grants are available for Eastern Europeans who wish to attend it.

 

Possible Funders

 

• Write a short letter first, asking for details of their application process. Specify the type of help you need and how much money it will cost. Be brief.
• The funder will either send you a standard application form, or will ask you to submit your own application.
• If you have to write your own application, include:

- Brief background: who you are

- The need. Say what you want (for example, $1000 for a computer)

- Say why you need the things which you are requesting. Include a clear budget.

The funder will reply, saying yes or no. If they say yes, you will need