Rights and Responsibilities (page 25 - 46)
Rights and responsibilities
There are basic human rights which everyone is entitled to regardless of income, nationality, gender, disability or background. These human rights have been established to ensure that the dignity of everyone is properly and equally respected, so that each person will be able to fully develop. Denial of these human rights is oppression.
Along with these rights comes a responsibility to act in a way that is in keeping with our own rights and those of others. We are all responsible for our actions and denying others their rights, for example through bullying or racism, can be damaging to people in many ways.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is central to this module, as is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Key terms: Human Rights, UN Declaration of Human Rights, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Apartheid, Segregation
Key figures: Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela
Essential Learning
- Rights and Responsibilities
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Denial of Rights
- Human Rights Issues:
- Racism
- Child Labour
- Animal Welfare
- Human Rights Activists:
- Nelson Mandela
Christina Noble - Amnesty International
- Our Responsibilities
- Documents:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
European Convention on Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a document laying down the Rights that ALL people should have. It helps people to understand the Rights that everyone is entitled to and also helps us to see if people are being denied their Human Rights.
The UDHR was written after World War II. It was a reaction to the abuses of people's Rights that had taken place in the war, particularly at the hands of the Nazis. By writing down a list of people's Rights it would be clear to people in the future if people's Rights were being abused.