University of Houston



Lesson Plan 5: What are Human Rights Part IIGoalsWork on their reading abilities to understand the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Work on their oral and written communication skills – through handouts and oral participation through the human rights scenarios.Test their critical thinking abilities by asking them to provide their opinions for the human rights scenarios.Evaluate their ability to understand the history and role of international institutions in enforcing human rights. Objectives Provide a broad overview of the 30 human rights articles.Evaluate their understanding of the 30 human rights articles through scenarios.Give them a broad understanding of international institutions and how they enforce human rights. Recap 10 minutes What is law?Is there a law you would like to change?What are the origins of human rights?What happened during World War II?What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?Is it a binding document?What is the government’s responsibility? Know Your Rights What does the American Civil Liberties Union do? What is the First Amendment? What is the Fourth Amendment? What is the Fifth Amendment? What is the Fourteenth Amendment?What are the 30 articles of human rights?Give them handout and review all 30 articles.Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 30 Articles SummaryEveryone is born free and equal in dignity and with rights.You should never be discriminated against for any reason.Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.No one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. You have the right to be treated as a person in the eyes of the law.We’re all equal before the law, and everyone has a right to protection.Our human rights are protected by law, and you have the right to see justice done in a court if your rights are violated.No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.We have the right to a fair and public trial by an independent and impartial court.We are always innocent until proven guilty.We have the right to privacy. We have the right to freedom of movement within your county. Everyone has the right to leave a country and to return home.We have the right to seek a safe place to live, and seek and to enjoy asylum from persecution from other countries.We have the right to a nationalityWe have the right to marriage and family. Men and women have the same rights when they are married and when they are separated.We have the right to have our own thingsWe have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and to peacefully express those beliefs.We have the right to freedom of opinion and expression.We have the right to public assembly.We have the right to democracy We have the right to social security.We also have worker’s rights.We have the right to rest and leisure.We have the right to a decent life, including enough food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services. We have the right to an educationNo one may stop you from participating in the cultural life of your community.We have the right to a free and fair worldWe have the right to responsibility to the people around us and should protect our rights and freedoms.Nothing in this declaration can take away your rights.Inspired from: overview/rightsActivity 15 minutes Assume the following events take place in the United States.Do you think it is a human right violation?Can you identify what article from the UDHR it corresponds to?First write about it and then someone can present what they think. Talk about in pairs and then someone from your presents what they think.Talk about it in a group and then someone from your presents what they think. A woman is ill and is turned away from a hospital because she does not have health insurance or the money to pay her medical bill.Summary and Transitioning video 5 minutes are human rights enforced in the UN System? 15 minutesRecap of videoAs the video said, how do we really protect and enforce human rights since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not binding, but the governments still have a duty to protect, respect and fulfill. The United Nations has some mechanisms but they are weak… because they monitor/investigate but they can’t force the states to change the laws, and cannot compensated a victim because there are state powers that are still strong state interests.So although it is still difficult to enforce, these are still very important international standards that help activists do their work around the world, and help change the law to continue to better protect everyone based on our evolving societies.There are some laws that are more binding, and we will look at that next week they are called international treaties. For now – we will briefly look at the UN mechanisms that the video says are a little week.UN Charter 1945 gives the UN authority to develop international Human Rights norms. Activity – hand out an information sheet about each of these organs. Let the students read their organ, they I will ask the question and the person with the respective hand sheet will explain it to the rest of the class, as they write it out in their handout.UN Charter Article 1:To maintain international peace and securityTo achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. UN Charter Article 7 says that there are UN Organs:Security CouncilTotal of 15 members 5 permanent US, China, France, Russia and the UK and they have a veto power.Current countries on Security council Bolivia (2018), Egypt?(2017), Ethiopia (2018), Italy?(2018), Japan?(2017), Kazakhstan?(2018), Senegal?(2017), Sweden?(2018), Ukraine?(2017), Uruguay?(2017)They are charged with maintaining international peace and security. They can investigate Human Rights violations.Impose sanctions.Authorize peacekeeping operations and armed force in situations where such human violations pose a threat to peace and global security.Cannot receive individual complaints.General AssemblyComposed of all UN member states 193 countriesThey meet up, discuss and adopt new human rights treaties, declaration or resolutions. A Treaty is a formally concluded and ratified agreement between states. The US president can sign Treaties, but they are not ratified until the Senate has given its advice and consent of 2/3 of the Senate. Treaty Clause Article II Section II Clause II.The General Assembly created the Human rights Council.They are 47 UN member state elected by the General Assembly. Their role is to strengthen and promote protection of Huma Rights.They Provide technical assistance and training in human rightsOrganize conferences on Human Rights issues.Makes recommendations to the General Assemblies for the development of new Human Rights. They pass resolutions on topicsCarry out the Universal Periodic Review since 2008Universal periodic reviewExamine the human rights situation in all member statesComposed of government diplomatsMethodology allows for an open exchange of ideas and positions between civil society, states examined, observers and UN Agencies;They look at a report from the state, and then 1 reports submitted by other UN bodies, and one last one submitted by NGOs and civil societies. UPR Review of US GeneralCreated the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human RightCoordinates and supports the special procedures of the human rights council.Special procedure, independent Human Rights experts can investigate and make recommendations to all UN Members states on a specific HR issues, they are organized by themes or country. They report the findings to the Human Rights Council, the Secretary General and the General Assembly. They can send urgent appeals when they is a grave HR violations.Individuals can directly communicate to special procedures and don’t need to exhaust all the domestic remedies before sending a communication to the special procedure.International Court of Justice United Nations established The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).Court as rules on some Human Rights issues that were contentious but look at other issues like land dispute issues.Homework 5 minutesHand out the sheets for each group and talk about their group presentations ................
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