LESSON PLANS FOR FOR AGES 12-14 IN HUMAN RIGHTS AND REFUGEES:
Rights, Responsibilities and Refugees
Purpose
No one likes or chooses to be a refugee. To be a refugee means more than being simply a foreigner. It means living in exile. According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country".
This unit has several aims: to have students understand that people become refugees because their basic human rights have been violated in their own countries; to familiarize students with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; to understand why such a declaration was drawn up at the time and its continued relevance. While working through this unit, students will also learn that it is the responsibility of the international community to recognize and ensure that refugees are able to enjoy their basic human rights.
LESSONS 1 and 2: Rights and Responsibilities: The Two Sides of a Coin
Introduction
The teacher could begin by asking the children how they would feel if everyone in the class did what he or she liked all the time. For example, everyone can talk when they want to, even at the same time; everyone can say what they like; everyone can use whatever they like, even if the object does not belong to them; everyone can lose their temper and even hit others if they want to. Try to involve as many class members as possible in this discussion.
Encourage the students to think about the consequences of anarchy in the classroom, and to think about the desirability of class rules that allow each student to feel secure and valued in class.
Group discussion
At this stage, the students could work in groups to discuss what should be done to maintain a friendly and working environment in the classroom. This exercise will help students to think in terms of rights and responsibilities.
First, the students need to decide what their basic rights are in the classroom. An example to start them off could be: Every student, and even the teacher, should feel safe in this classroom. Have the students identify at least five classroom rights. When the students get back together again, a representative from each group can write on the blackboard what basic rights were agreed upon in their groups. If the combined list is long, the students need to agree which rights are the most basic and important. The students should give reasons for their choices.
Then, ask the students to decide collectively how each of these rights can be realized. In other words, how should everyone in the classroom behave to ensure that these rights are respected. For instance, if everyone has the right to feel safe in the classroom, then no-one should physically or emotionally hurt anyone else. The students should draw up a set of rules to ensure that everyone’s rights are respected. Stress that each member of the classroom is responsible for obeying these rules to maintain a friendly and working environment in the classroom. Explain the problems that would be encountered if no one accepted these responsibilities.
For homework
Having agreed that each member of the class has certain basic rights, and that there needs to be certain rules to establish those rights, the students are now required to broaden their perspective to consider the basic rights and responsibilities of members of society.
Ask the students to imagine that they have been given the job of planning the rules to manage the global community. As planners, they do not know who they will be when they join that community themselves. They could be male or female, rich or poor, young or old, disabled in some way, or be a member of any particular race, ethnic group, culture or religion.
Each student should write a list of fundamental rules for the planet, designed to define human rights and responsibilities.
LESSON 3: THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Preparation
Either have ready a class set of the Student Resource Sheet: Universal Declaration of Human Rights (abbreviated), or have it prepared on an overhead transparency.
Have available copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its full form.
Link to previous lesson
Ask around the class what rules the students invented for managing the global community?
Build up a blackboard summary of the most frequently mentioned rules.
As each student offers a rule, ask for the reasons behind the suggestion.
Introduction
The students are asked in the light of the discussion from the previous lessons and of their homework to give their interpretation of the meaning of the words "rights" and "responsibilities".
Lead the children to see that while every person in the world has basic rights, these rights need to be guaranteed through the maintenance of a framework of rules. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is such a framework of rules.
Development
Individual copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (abbreviated) can be handed out, or display it on an overhead transparency. If possible, copies of the Declaration in its full form should be made available to the students.
Convey the following information to the students:
Human rights could be generally defined as those rights which are inherent in our nature and without which we cannot live as human beings.
Human rights and fundamental freedoms allow us to develop fully and use our human qualities, our intelligence, our talents and our conscience to satisfy our needs. They are based on mankind’s increasing demand for a life in which the inherent dignity and worth of each human being will receive respect and protection.
The denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms is not only an individual and personal tragedy, but it also creates conditions of social and political unrest, sowing the seeds of violence and conflict within and between societies and nations. As the first sentence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, respect for human rights and human dignity "is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world".
In 1945, after the horrors of World War II, an international organization was established, known as the United Nations, dedicated to maintaining peace and security and to seek co-operation in solving economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems. In 1948, a code of conduct for the protection of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, to which all men and women, everywhere in the world, are entitled without any discrimination, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. This was called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration is not legally binding, but its content has been incorporated into many national constitutions, and it has become a standard measure of human rights.
Recommended Readings:
Teaching Human Rights (New York, United Nations, 1989), p. 19-27
David Selby, Human Rights (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1987)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights |
Ask the students to explain the most important articles of the Declaration to the rest of the class (articles 1-5, 13-14, 17-21, 25-26). Some are reasonably straightforward; others will require some interpretation by the teacher. Be sure to ask the students to give concrete examples from everyday life, or from history or current events, of the rights which are more difficult to grasp.
LESSONS 4 and 5: THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RIGHTS OF REFUGEES
Preparation
Have available A4-sized copies of the UNHCR Lego posters Spot the Refugee, How Does It Feel? and What’s Wrong Here? Display large format copies of the posters prominently in the classroom.
Introduction
Explain that the three posters on the wall were produced by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the international organization which provides protection and assistance to refugees.
At this point, the teacher may wish to introduce portions of other lessons available on UNHCR’s website, in the Teaching Tools section. For example, the teacher can use the Geography units for ages 9-11 or 12-14. With many examples, these lessons will make the concept of a refugee clearer to the students.
The teacher should now define the word refugee for the students:
"a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country."
Go through the definition carefully, to ensure that the concepts are clearly understood.
These Lego posters can be seen in mass-circulation magazines, and are pasted on walls in public places, such as bus shelters and train stations. Ask the students why they think UNHCR is publishing such posters. What message are they trying to convey?
Referring to the posters, ask the students which article(s) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are especially relevant to refugees and the people of their host countries. Answers may include Article 14 (Right to Asylum), but also Articles 1 (Right to Equality), 2 (Freedom from Discrimination) and many others not explicitly mentioned in the poster texts, for example, Article 3 (Right to Life, Liberty and Personal Security; Article 5 (Freedom from Torture, Degrading Treatment), and Article 9 (Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest, Exile). Violations of any of these articles have caused people to flee their home country.
Discussion questions
UNHCR has the responsibility to ensure that refugees are protected in their country of asylum and to assist refugees by coordinating the provision of shelter, food, water, sanitation and medical care in emergency situations.
How does UNHCR suggest, through these posters, that individuals can help refugees? Do the students agree? What else can governments do to protect the rights of refugees? What responsibilities do you think refugees might have in their host countries?
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