Part One
What are Human Rights?

Purpose — To give the students a general understanding of human rights, to introduce the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and explain its origins, and to briefly examine the state of human rights in the world.

Section 1: What are Human Rights?

The opening of What are Human Rights? contains a simple explanation that should be used in teaching this section.

1. Ask the student to point to a human near by. Make sure they understand the meaning of human. Have them shake hands with six humans, confirming that each person they meet is very much a person like them. (This can be made into a competition to see who can shake six hands first). This can be altered to similar activities such as getting ten signatures of humans in their class.

2. Define rights. Have them give an example of a right (for example, the right to have lunch or go to school or eat ice cream).

3. Go over the following paragraph from What are Human Rights?:

“Every person is entitled to certain rights — simply by the fact that they are a human being. They are ‘rights’ because they are things you are allowed to be, to do or to have. These rights are there for your protection against people who might want to harm or hurt you. They are also there to help us get along with each other and live in peace. There are thirty basic Human Rights and we will explain them in this booklet.”

4. Give each student their own booklet and let them flip through it and see what is there.

5. Divide the classroom in half: have one half be the “Pizza Guys” and the other half be the “Hamburger Guys” (these groups can be changed to suit the students). For the rest of the day, have the students pretend not to like the other group. The “Pizza Guys” should avoid communicating and interacting with the “Hamburger Guys” and vice versa. (Make sure the students know to not express their “dislike” of the other group in a physical manner.)

6. After they have done this for a day or a couple of hours, bring them back together and ask the children whether or not this shows someone having human rights. “They are ‘rights’ because they are things you are allowed to be.” Ask them if they would like to be treated like that and be unable to make a friend because they were from a different group.

Section 2: History of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

This section describes the history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the document on which What are Human Rights? is based. The purpose is to give the children an understanding of the context in which the Declaration came to be written. The section “About the United Nations” in the booklet gives a short and simple history that can be used.

1. Define united.

2. Define nation. Have the students give an example of a nation.

3. Have them put the two words together and ask what “united nations” means.

4. Give a very simple concept of World War II if they do not already know. Many countries were at war, many people died and many were angry with each other. Detail can be added. Ask them if they would like that to happen to them.

5. Tell them about the United Nations: “The United Nations came into being on October 24, 1945, shortly after the end of World War II. It was started by the five major powers that won the war: China, England, France, the Soviet Union and the United States. They got together with forty-seven other nations and created an organization to save future generations from the threat and destruction of war. Over the years more countries decided they wanted to unite with these nations and today 191 nations are part of the United Nations.”

6. Tell them that the United Nations created the document they will be learning about in the booklet, called the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

7. Define Universal.

8. Define Declaration.

9. Go over with them the following paragraph from the booklet:

“Because the purpose of the United Nations is to bring peace in all nations of the world, a committee of persons headed by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a special document which ‘declares’ the rights that everyone in the entire universe should have. This document is called the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Note: Explain who Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt was if needed.

10. Have them pretend they are the United Nations, with a Secretary and President and have them run a conference pretending to make up a document on human rights. Let them add whatever human rights they want and see what it takes to put something like this together that all can agree on.

Section 3: How human rights are abused

This section is designed to teach the children that not everyone is able to enjoy their rights and to encourage them to think how to protect their own and other people’s rights.

1. Give examples that are real to them of human rights violations. Provide pictures or figures to show that these situations occur and need to be handled. Examples follow:

• Children kidnapped and forced into slavery, working long hours away from home with little to no pay.
• People in some areas are not allowed to believe as they choose and get in lots of trouble if the government disapproves of their religion.
• Discrimination: Some kids are hated because of their color or clothes or some other characteristic unrelated to their character.
• Unfair treatment under the law.
• Deprivation of property.
• Invasion of privacy.
• Have the kids give examples of human rights abuses they have observed.

  Section 4: How they are protected

  This section teaches that human rights are being protected in certain areas and that there are ways to protect them.

  Use real examples and provide photos if possible. The aim is to make them aware that not only their own but also other people’s rights need protection.

  1. Freedom of religion in various countries

  2. At home, their parents protect their toys. They have their own possessions.

  3. They protect each other’s rights, as when they defend or help their friends.

  4. Have them give examples of how they have protected other peoples’ rights.