Human Rights Grade 7 PDF

HUMAN RIGHTS Subtopic 1: Understanding rights Human rights are a set of principles concerned with equality and fairness. They recognise our freedom to make choices about our lives and to develop our potential as human beings. Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communi...

HUMAN RIGHTS Subtopic 1: Understanding rights Human rights are a set of principles concerned with equality and fairness. They recognise our freedom to make choices about our lives and to develop our potential as human beings. Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments, private institutions, and other controlling bodies. What is Article 10 in UDHR? Freedom of expression (Article 10) protects the right to hold your own opinions and to express them freely without government interference and to express those views aloud or through published articles, books, television, media, art or social media. At times, freedom of expression needs to be restricted. Why? Although you have freedom of expression, you also have a duty to behave responsibly and to respect other people’s rights. One person's ideas or actions can inflict pain or hurt for another person's thoughts and lifestyle. Hence, at times freedom of expression is restricted to protect everyone's peace. An authority may be allowed to restrict your freedom of expression if you express views that encourage racial or religious hatred. In some cases, public authorities may restrict this right in order to protect national security, prevent crime, protect health, or protect the privacy of others. Freedom of expression may be restricted: 1. to respect the rights and reputations of others 2. to protect national security, public order, public health or morals. Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War. The UDHR consists of 30 articles detailing an individual’s “basic rights and fundamental freedoms”. It is universally applicable for all human beings of varying race, religions and nationality. Human rights are the same for all people everywhere – men and women, young and old, rich and poor, regardless of our background, where we live, what we think or what we believe. This is what makes human rights ‘universal’. They include civil and political rights, which refer to a person’s rights to take part in the civil and political life of their community without discrimination or oppression. These include rights and freedoms such as:- 1. the right to vote, 2. the right to privacy, 3. freedom of speech and 4. freedom from torture. They also include economic, social and cultural rights, which relate to a person’s rights to prosper and grow and to take part in social and cultural activities. This group includes rights such as the right to health, the right to education and the right to work. Some of the rights protected by the UDHR are considered to be ‘absolute’, which means that under no circumstance can they be interfered with, however, others are classified as ‘limited’, which means they can be restricted in some specific situations. Examples of absolute rights include: freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment; freedom from slavery and forced labour; protection from discrimination. Examples of limited rights include: the right to participate in free elections; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly and association; or the right to liberty if a person is convicted and sentenced to prison. Subtopic 2: Violation of rights Case of transatlantic slave trade : Between 1501 and 1867, nearly 13 million African people were kidnapped, forced onto European and American ships, and trafficked across the Atlantic Ocean to be enslaved, abused, and forever separated from their homes, families, and cultures. During the early years of the transatlantic slave trade the Portuguese generally purchased Africans who had been taken as slaves during tribal wars. As the demand for enslaved people grew, the Portuguese began to enter the interior of Africa to forcibly take captives. As other Europeans became involved in the slave trade, generally they remained on the coast and purchased captives from Africans who had transported them from the interior. At the coast captives were put on slave ships bound for the Americas. This trip became known as the Middle Passage. The effect of the transatlantic slave trade in Africa was devastating. The loss of so many people and the frequent slave raids and violence weakened many societies there. After arriving in the New World enslaved Africans were typically sold at auction. They were then put to work on plantations. Victimisation is treating someone poorly because they have made or are involved in a complaint of discrimination or harassment, for example, playing tricks on someone in the workplace because they have given evidence in relation to a claim being looked into. Harassment is unwelcome treatment of any kind that violates your dignity or creates a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. This can range from repeatedly mocking a worker’s accent to psychologically intimidating employees by making threats or displaying discriminatory behaviour. Violation of human rights and discrimination suffered by the slaves. 1. The slaves lost their freedom and were treated harshly and unjustly by those who captured them. 2. The slaves suffered extreme human rights violations. As well as losing their freedom, they were treated harshly and unjustly by those who captured them. Their treatment was a result of discrimination due to their ethnicity. More examples of human rights violations include the Holocaust, the mass extermination of the Jewish race by the Nazis in Germany, racial segregation between the white and Black communities in the USA, women’s universal suffrage, not being given the same rights to participate in free elections or to have the vote. Who can protect people's human rights? It is the responsibility of the government to protect our rights through the passing of laws and legislation. These laws are enforced by the police and public authorities (for example, government departments, and so on) whose role it is to protect, promote and respect human rights when decisions are made about individuals. If this is not done then injustice can occur, such as discrimination, harassment or intimidation towards an individual.