Introduction
This lesson encourages students to explore the historical basis for the modern human rights movement born in the aftermath of the Holocaust and deepens understanding of the Charter for the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Readings include selections from various ancient legal codes, the United Nations Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
During this lesson, you will:
- Develop a deeper understanding of the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
- Explore how various cultural values have been blended into the UDHR.
- Consider how contemporary states respond to violations of human rights and how closely they respect the articles in the UDHR.
- Consider how your school and community deal with human rights.
Task
Your task for this webquest is to find out how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created and what is the connection between UDHR and previous documents which tackled this issue.
Process
Step 1:
As an introduction to the theme of human rights, examine the codes of ancient societies from the East and the West in this Human Rights Documents page. Work in 4 groups. Within each group, focus on one of the codes:
https://www.facinghistory.org/universal-declaration-human-rights/links-human-rights-documents
Step 2:
Do an Internet search and match the name with the information and date about each important development in the history of human rights. You can use these websites to help you:
www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cyrus_c…
www.bl.uk/treasures/magnacarta www.britannia.com/history/docs/petition.html
www.ushistory.org/declaration www.historyguide.org/intellect/declaration.html
www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/history.shtml
Name:
1) The Cyrus Cylinder
2) The Magna Carta
3) The Petition of Rights
4) Declaration of Independence
5)The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
6) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Information:
A. Established that all men are created equal with the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
B. It freed slaves, allowed freedom of religion, and promoted racial equality.
C. It guaranteed the rights of the church and gave people more legal and political rights, to ensure that the king followed the law of the land.
D. A document stating the rights of man and the citizen to be born free and equal in rights.
E. A document setting out the rights and liberties of the people, as opposed to the prerogatives of the crown.
F. The first document that listed 30 rights for all human beings, ratified internationally.
Date:
a. The USA, 1776
b. The United Nations, 1948
c. France, 1789
d. England, 1628
e. England, 1215
f. Babylon, Southern Iraq around 539–530 B.C.
Step 3:
Enter this link, where you can find the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html
Carefully examine the Preamble, and then the 30 articles included in the UDHR. Once you had time to review the codes, form new groups in which each of the six ancient codes is represented. Within these new groups, consider the following questions:
- Do you recognize any of the rights in the ancient codes in the UDHR?
- How does the UDHR differ from earlier codes?
- What values from these earlier Eastern and Western societies do you see reflected in the UDHR?
Discuss these questions in each group, then transition to a full class discussion moderated by your teacher.
Evaluation
As a concluding activity, have students reflect on the following quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, made at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, March 27, 1958:
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 map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person: the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.
Either as a journal entry, or in small groups, respond to the following questions:
- How do you recognize respect for human rights near your home or community?
- What challenges exist in your own community for recognizing and acting on fundamental human rights?
- What opportunities also exist?
Credits
This webquest was created by a team of teachers, within the co-funded Erasmus plus KA2 partnership “UNITED STATES OF EUROPE: FRATERNITY, UNITY, LIBERTY” (USE:FUL), project no: 2018-1-PT01-KA229-047349, KA2 - Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices, KA229 School Exchange Partnerships.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.