Being Human Sympathy Intelligence

What is a Right? truth Moral Principles social claim Fairness conduct affairs without government interference Moral Principles social claim Fairness legal guarantees truth

What are Human Rights?

Human rights belong to all people regardless of their sex, race, color, language, national origin, age, class, religion, or political beliefs They are universal, inalienable, indivisible, and interdependent People have the right to receive equal treatment, to be free from prohibited discrimination and harassment, and to have access to places, services, opportunities

Universality: The character or state of being universal; existence or prevalence everywhere meaning universal inclusiveness in scope or range and relation, extension, or applicability to all Inalienable Rights: Entitlements that are guaranteed and cannot be surrendered or transferred to another, for example, equality and liberty

Indivisible: Not divisible; not separable into parts; incapable of being divided: one nation indivisible. Interdependent: Mutually dependent; depending on each other. Prohibited: To forbid by authority; to prevent; preclude.

Discrimination is often based on stereotypes – where a person creates an oversimplified, false or generalized portrayal of a group of people Stereotyping involves taking the characteristic of one member of a group and applying it to all members of a group Stereotypes are often the basis of many ethnic or gender jokes – they can be offensive “All teenage male drivers are reckless drivers” is an example of stereotyping

Prejudice is a preconceived opinion based on a stereotype or inadequate information Individual merit and characteristics are not taken into account when a person is judging someone There is no way of knowing all male drivers are reckless if opinions are based on a stereotype

The End Result… When someone’s behaviour towards another is based on stereotypes and prejudices the result is discrimination Example: An owner of a pizza restaurant refuses to hire Joe as a pizza delivery driver because he thinks all teenage males are reckless drivers is discrimination

What is considered prohibited varies from province to province Usually includes protection from discrimination against race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, and family or marital status

Adopted by the UN in 1948 as a direct result of the experiences of World War II Represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled Printed in over 375 languages and dialects – it is the most translated document in the World Canadian John Peters Humphrey was the principle drafter of the document

Applies to federal government departments, Crown corporations, and business and industries that are under the jurisdiction of the federal government Prohibits discrimination based on: Race, colour, national or ethnic origin Religion Age Sex, gender, marital and family status, and sexual orientation Physical or mental disability Pardoned criminal convictions Addresses pay equity and hate messages

All provinces have human rights codes and are subject to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms Human rights codes must be amended to reflect the Supreme Court’s judgements regarding the enforcement of the Charter Example: Rights provided to gay and lesbian people under the Charter