HUMAN RIGHTS

Objectives  Define human rights and identify the 2 basic categories.  Identify key international human rights documents.  Review major international hr law.  Evaluate the role various organizations play in promoting and protecting human rights.  Identify opinion of US HR policy.

Warm Up  What are human rights?  What are the 2 basic categories?  etail.php?id=198 etail.php?id=198  Basic freedoms & rights to which all individuals are entitled.  Political & Civil  Economic, Social, and Cultural

Activity  Ranking Human Rights  Take 2 rights at a time and place them in order.  Pick up your next right, place it within existing order…repeat until all rights placed.  Class Top 3 and Bottom 3

Activity: What are Human Rights? Reading ~30-45 min  Students will each receive a packet to read, introducing them to Human Rights and giving them background information on the Development of Human Rights  Review

Closure: Quote Analysis What is Eleanor Roosevelt's message? Reflect on her message, why is she saying this? What is the significance of her words?  “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person…Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”  -Eleanor Roosevelt

How did international human rights laws develop? Provide 3 examples. Human Rights Day II: Warm up

Activity: Video  Story of Human Rights video (~10 minutes)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights  Adopted Dec 10, 1948  Formal, universal recognition of human rights  All human beings born free and entitled to:  Civil Rights  Legal Rights  Economic Rights  Social Rights  Standard not yet attained  Read preamble

International Law of Human Rights  UDHR (1948)  ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)  ICESCR - International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)

Vienna Conference  What happened?  Reaffirmed commitment to UDHR

Debating Human Rights Law  Sets govt responsibilities  Improve quality of life  Establishes ideal to strive for  All talk – no reality  Imposition Western ideals  Many accept, few implement  Major nations don’t ratify (binding)  HRC is hypocritical and ineffective PROSCONS

Making Rights a Reality How can they protect/promote hr?Limits or shortcomings? National Govts Guidelines for domestic laws; guide econ & social policy within nation Sovereignty issues; can interpret & even limit laws; hard to put into practice; limited resources in poor countries; tool of foreign policy The UN Internatl Cts NGOs

Making Rights a Reality How can they protect/promote hr?Limits or shortcomings? National Govts The UN HRC sets standards; monitors & investigates conditions (sanction/intervene); special agencies for hr issues & aid Slow to work; fails to achieve goals; can’t enforce resolutions Internatl Cts NGOs

Making Rights a Reality How can they protect/promote hr?Limits or shortcomings? National Govts The UN Internatl Cts Strengthen enforcement: ICJ/World Ct – tries countries ICC – tries individuals unbalanced prosecution; disrupt efforts in conflict areas NGOs

Making Rights a Reality How can they protect/promote hr?Limits or shortcomings? National Govts The UN Internatl Cts NGOs Lobby govts; educate ppl; support victims; take legal action Authority; involvement w/local populations; funding

Human Rights Video  Read intro and complete worksheet as you view the film

Activity – 1 = Strongly Support 2 = Support 3 = Neutral/ No Opinion 4 = Oppose 5 = Strongly Oppose  Human rights are not universal. The US should respect other cultures’ interpretations of human rights.  Human rights can only be addressed through international cooperation.  The US should improve its own track record on human rights.  Promoting human rights should be the US’ most important foreign policy.  The US should promote economic, social, and cultural rights as actively as it supports civil & political rights.  The US has a moral obligation to try to stop injustices around the globe.  Human rights violations abroad will eventually affect US interests and security.

Closure  Why should people fight to maintain human rights?

Homework  Wiki Post  Are all rights universal? Are economic, social and cultural rights more or less important than political and civil rights?

Universal Declaration of Human Rights  How does membership in UN promote human rights?  /allee/sa9.php /allee/sa9.php

Review: Dvpt of Human Rights  3 things that led up to…  US & French Revolutions  Haitian Constitution   p p  Geneva Conventions  League of Nations  WWII Justification  online/kennedy/dk7.php online/kennedy/dk7.php  Nuremburg Trials  UN Charter  online/allee/sa9.php online/allee/sa9.php  online/pinheiro/psp5.php online/pinheiro/psp5.php  online/pinheiro/psp4.php online/pinheiro/psp4.php  online/pinheiro/psp9.php online/pinheiro/psp9.php

Activity: Scholars Videos  Students will watch a series of videos and complete the activity that accompanies  s/scholars_humanrights.php s/scholars_humanrights.php