Chapter 16:Human
Rights
Objectives
• What are fundamental human rights
and how have they been honored or
violated throughout history?
• How do human rights connect to
sustainability?
3
Human Rights:
are those basic rights and freedoms to
which all humans are entitled.
The human rights include:
1-the freedom of thought and
expression
2-the right to life and liberty
3-equality before the law
4
Human Rights
Human rights relate to freedom ,justice and
equality.
Freedom is the ability to express yourself
religiously, politically, and socially.
Justice is the fair and the ethical treatment
of individuals.
Equality is having equal access to rights
and opportunities.
5
Human rights and sustainability
> When people are able to live peaceful and secure
lives with access to natural resources , a clean
environment ,employment ,education and social
services. They are likely to contribute to
sustainable communities.
> When people are not able to meet their basic needs
or secure their fundamental human rights they
won’t be able to maintain a sustainable society.
6
1.Society
Governments that can’t or do not provide
services to their people often pose a risk to
citizens and their human rights. Countries
which do not protect the citizens’ rights, they
will experience conflict and instability.
When citizen rights are not observed, they
won’t participate fully in a society.
Some examples of the person’s rights which
are taken away are:
1-unjust imprisonment
2-torture
3-unfair trials of political prisoners
4-attacks on journalists and the the press
5-concerns about working conditions
6-presecution of religious minorities
8
Economy
>We live in a global economy. For the most part, countries can trade with each other
,borders are open ,and businesses can go where they want.
>This globalized world has the potential to increase jobs and improve the economy.
>At the same time, certain economic decisions may violate human rights. For
examples:
>if a business decides to invest in projects that that enhance child’s labor or human
trafficking, that business is responsible for violating people’s rights.
>Working conditions in sweatshops are an issue that is raised by human rights
organization.
>Corporations have come under criticism for forcing people to work in dangerous
environment and not paying a living wage.
9
Environment
>Access to basic needs like food,water,and shelter are necessary to
human being.
>Pollution is responsible for the death of around 2 billion people each
year.
>A corporation operating in a developing country that pollutes a local
water source and makes it un usable; violates human rights.
>Environmental issues such as water shortage, fisheries depletion,
and deforestation can threaten the human rights.
>Climate change can affect the human rights.
10
Background on
human rights
11
In the year 539 B.C.E
Cyrus the Great- Cyrus Cylinder:
Cyrus,the founder of the Persian Empire conquered
Babylon.As he entered the country ,he freed the slaves
,proclaimed the right of all people to choose their religion and
established racial equality.
His principles were written on a baked clay cylinder which is
known as Cyrus Cylinder which regarded as the first
documentation of human rights. His principles influenced the
others.
12
Before world war II
The declaration of
independence was signed
on 1776,the 4th of July.
In 1215,King John of The idea of the
England signed The human rights
Magna Carta.which flourished in
guaranteed the
Europe during the
-It was followed by the
fundemental human enlightenment era.
Declaration of rights of
rights of his
Man and Citizen in 1789
citizens.
in France
13
Before World War II
Before World War II ,the
international law gave
countries exclusive
power over how they
dealt with their citizens.
A government was free
to treat its people
however it wished and no
other country can
interfere.
14
After world war II
In 1941,U.S. President
Franklin Roosevelt spoke
to the Congress of his
State about four
essential human
freedoms:
-freedom of speech
-freedom of worship
-freedom from want
-freedom from fear
15
-During Word War ӀӀ, the Nazi regime has killed
over 6 million people, including, Jews, gypsies,
homosexual and people with disabilities.
-In response to these atrocities, 51countries joined
together as a collective organization called the United Nations.
-Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President
Roosevelt, was elected head of the United
Nations Human Rights Commission and helped
draft a human rights declaration.
16
Background on human rights
-In 1948, the United Nation adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which can
be defined as a document outlining a number of rights that all people are born with.
-This Declaration was not accepted Internationally.
It was criticized then it had too much of Western focus with the only input from
nonwestern countries coming from China and Lebanon
-Critics believed that housing, health and education should be considered as public policy
goals rather than unalienable rights.
-Discrimination: the unjust treatment of different groups of people.
-Self-determination: the right of all nations to govern themselves without foreign rule or
interference.
-Many countries used articles from the Declaration of Human Rights to support their
cause such as India and Zambia.
17
Civil Disobedience in India
C.W. 1
Go to your
google
classroom and
summarize the
case study in
page 288
18
Human Rights Today
Human Rights are meant to provide people with
basic protection and securities regardless of
where they are born, who the are, what they
look like, and what they believe in. Some of
these rights are:
1. Political Rights
2. Gender Rights
3. Education Rights
4. Civil Rights
5. Religious Rights
6. Labor Rights
7. Rights to Health and Well-Being
19
Political Rights
20
Political Rights
-Around the world, certain countries give people complete
political freedom ,allowing them to express themselves
publically and to assemble peacefully.
-In a country without a political freedoms, people may be less
likely to participate politically.
-Two Factors influences the degree of political freedom citizens enjoy:
1.
2.
The occurrence of major historical events. Events that impact the country’s
security and stability can affect the government’s decision about the political
freedoms it provides its citizens.
The country’s type of national government, whether it applies the authoritarian
regime or the democratic one.
21
Political Rights
-Two Factors influences the degree of political freedom citizens enjoy:
1-The occurrence of major historical events. Events that impact the country’s security
and stability can affect the government’s decision about the political freedoms it provides
its citizens.
Ex. After the attack of the twin tower on September 11,2001,the U.S.A. gave the priority
to fight against terrorism in exchange for certain civil liberties .The government was
given a permission to wiretap phones related to any individual suspected of terrorism.This
gave the government more access to its citizens’ personal lives and impacted people’s
daily life.
2-The country’s type of national government, whether it applies the authoritarian regime
or the democratic one. Authoritarian regimes are less likely to allow political
participation and rights ,while democracies are more likely to encourage civic
participation in political manners.
22
The Berlin Wall C.W. 2
Go to your
google
classroom and
summarize the
case study in
page 290.
23
Gender Rights
24
Gender Rights
-Women have historically suffered from
inequality. Because of gender based
discrimination ,women’s rights were taken away
from them as they can’t own a property ,gain
employment, or earn education.
-In 1993,the Vienna UN conference on Human
Rights affirmed women’s rights as human rights.
This confirmation happened after 45 years after
the Declaration of Human Rights was written.
25
Gender Rights
-Till today, women around the world are still suffering from in equality.
-Look at these situations:
1-Women make up 5% of the workforce in Saudi Arabia.
2-Women own less than 15% of land worldwide.
3-Of the 100 million children in the world with no access to primary
schooling,60% are girls.
-Women have suffered the loss of their rights in many different ways such
as trafficking, slavery, and abuse.
-Human rights violations against women are more severe in situations of
poverty or conflict.
EX. The Congo violence against women increased 17-fold between 2004
and 2008 because of the conflict and instability within the country.
26
THE EFFECTS OF GENDER EQUALITY
1-If women gain their rights, they
can help support a country’s
sustainable development.
2-Countries that work towards
gender equality are more likely to
have lower poverty rates.
27
Education Rights Article 26-1
28
Education Rights-Artcle 26 -2
29
Education Rights-Article 26-3
30
Education Rights
-Many rights prevent the children from attending schools such
as:
1-conflict
2-poverty
3-distance
-Many children around the world don’t attend schools, because
they need to work in order to provide a financial support for
their families.
Ex.in the Ivory Coast around 109,000 children work in the cocoa
industry. These children are working for long hours and they are
exposed to dangerous tools, pesticides,and hot temperatures.
As a result 60% of adults in Ivory Coast are literate.
31
-Pros
Education Rights
of child labor:
-immediate increase in income.
-Cons of child labor:
1-Children who don’ attend schools are less
likely to educate their own children.
2-Children who work are more likely to be
low-wage earning adults.
32
-Childhood lost:
In some parts of the world, children are getting married at the
age of 12 or they are forced to work on farms at the age of
10,or some are fighting in a war at the age of 8.
-Consider the following statistics:
-300,000 children under the age of 18 are child soldiers. They
have been kidnapped or forced to join the armed conflicts.
-120 million children between the age of 5 and 14 work full –
time.
-In many countries in Asia and Africa, over 40% of girls are
getting married before the age of 18
33
-In 1989,The United Nations General Assembly adopted the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
-This Convention included 54 articles that were created to
protect and uphold the rights of the children.
-Many governmental ,nongovernmental organizations, and
human rights advocates helped in creating this document.
34
Civil Rights-Article7
35
Civil Rights
-Civil rights are the rights that protect individuals within a country from
unjustifiable actions from the government and give individuals the ability
to participate in a society without discrimination.
-When citizens have a voice within the country, they can make a
contribution to it.
-When oppression and corruption exist within a country, people are less
likely to enjoy political and civil rights.
-After slavery ended in the U.S.A ended in 1865,there remained a number
of restrictions that prevented African –American people from participating
in civil actions such as voting, and denied equal access to public spaces
and services such as seats on buses and trains or attending school with
white children.
36
Civil Rights
-The Civil Rights Movement which
began in 1948 and continued through
the 1970s ,involved a number of
actions from court cases to public
protests which laid the foundation for
guaranteeing rights for African
Americans that did not exist in the
past.
-
37
Civil Rights/Ending APARTHEID
-Many countries denied the civil rights to certain groups.
-In South Africa, black South Africans were heavily discriminated
against. Whites first came to power in South Africa during the
1650s ,when the Dutch government took control of the country.
-Over the next centuries, Dutch farmers known as Boers seized
South African land and forced Black Africans to work for them.
-A number of laws passed through the 1900s took away political,
civil, and educational rights of Black people within South Africa.
-Apartheid is a period of time between 1948 to 1993,when the black citizens
could not live or work in “white” areas without special permission.
-The word apartheid means separateness was created by the National Party
government to enforce legal segregation.
38
Civil Rights/Ending APARTHEID
-Years later, the anti apartheid movement in South Africa fought
against the discrimination between the black and white.
-The African National Congress was one group that sought to
liberate South Africa from apartheid.
-By the 1980s ,people around the world were speaking out against
the apartheid.
-After that, the black people achieved their rights.
-Nelson Mandela, a black South African was imprisoned for 27 years
because of his resistance against apartheid was elected the
president of South Africa in 1994.
39
Religious Rights –Article 18
40
Religious Rights
-Around the world ,people practice a great number of different
religions ranging from:
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism
Judaism
Jainism
Hinduism
-For centuries, people from different religious backgrounds have
lived alongside with each other.
-People can live peacefully in countries that have a multitude of
different religions. However, there are also times when religious
minorities face persecution and discrimination.
-Conflicts between Hindus and Muslims in India is an example which
is related to religious tensions throughout history.
41
Rights To health and well-being
42
Rights to health and well-being
-The basic needs such as water, food ,and shelter are necessary for
survival.
-Enjoying the highest standards of health is a fundamental human
right.
-Many people struggle to meet their basic needs.
-Many people don’t have access to health care systems and are
living on less than 1 $ per day.
-Without health services ,people may be prone to poor health and
poverty.
43
Rights to health and well-being
-Those living in poverty often do not have access to safe drinking
water, education, and an adequate housing.
-As a result, life expectancy may decrease.
-In some countries like Mozambique, Malawi, and Rwanda ,the life
expectancy is 40years old.
44
Labor Rights
45
Labor Rights
-Labor rights include respect for human life in the work place.
-Throughout the world , people are forced to work for low wages in
unsafe conditions.
-Some countries use migrant workers to fill labor shortages
,especially in jobs that are low paying, dangerous, and poorly
regulated.
-Human rights abuses are more likely to happen in these types of
situations because migrants may not have legal status or speak the
language of the host country.
46
Labor Rights
-Some people don’t have the right to choose their employment or
even be paid for their work.
-Nowadays, we have more slaves than in the past. This is due to
population growth.
-Many are debt slaves who are under the debt bondage to lenders,
while others are trafficked.
-12 million people are considered modern-day slaves.
47
Forced Labor
-In Myanmar during the 1900s,U.S. oil companies made an
agreement with the government to build a pipeline that would
deliver gas to Thailand.
-The creation of this pipe would bring millions of dollars to
Myanmar.
-Between 1993 and 1996,oil companies and the government cleared
lands and built roads to support this effort.
-Between 1996 and 1998,pipelines were constructed and many cases
of human abuses were reported.
48
Pathways to Progress
-Advocacy:
The organization Amnesty International was founded in 1961 to
safe guard human rights for people around the world.
-It has offices in 80 countries and a membership of 2.8 million
people.
-Beliefs: human rights should be respected and protected for all
people
-They research human rights abuses and campaign internationally
to protect people whose rights have been violated.
49
Pathways to Progress
-Transitional Justice:
-is a response to large-scale human rights violations that happen
within a country.
-This justice includes measures by different countries that address
massive human rights abuses.
-When a national government decides that its people’s human
rights are violated, it seeks justice through criminal prosecutions,
truth commissions or reparation programs.
E.g.: Japanese American community (1979)
50
Pathways to Progress
-Transitional Justice:
During World War II,thousands of Japanese Americans were forced
to relocate and live in internment camps out of fear they were a
threat to national security.
-After the attack on Pearl Harbor,the FBI began rounding up
leaders of the Japanese-American community and questioning
them.
-Soon after that ,President Roosevelt signed an act that forced
110,000 Japanese Americans to relocate in Internment camps
across the U.S.
51
Pathways to Progress
-Transitional Justice:
-Those camps were fenced and guarded and many of them were
located in the desert.
-Japanese –Americans who were interned in these camps suffered
from famine and some of them died because of the inadequate
medical care.
Several years later, hundreds were released from these camps.
-The case of those Japanese-Americans was introduced to the
Congress and they survivors were compensated for the bad
treatment by 20,000
52
Pathways to Progress
-Governance:
⦿ -Governance and human rights support each other.
⦿ Governance helps strengthen the democracy.
⦿ Gives all groups a voice
⦿ Improves services to support basic needs
⦿ E.g.: Brazilian Government formed parliamentary group to
make sure legislation was adopted to support human rights of
those with HIV/AIDS
53