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To show you what I mean, I’ve taken a number of
statements from the UN Declaration (in bold text) and raised some
questions about each. These questions are not criticisms but an
attempt to find answers that will assist human rights education to be
more effective.
The United Nations asks for its Universal
Declaration of Human Rights to be displayed, read and expounded
principally in schools and other educational institutions.
If human rights are so important I wonder why the
UN didn’t ask for The Declaration to be displayed in all public
institutions?
In the preamble to the list of rights there is
mention of the ultimate objectives of freedom, justice and peace.
Could there be
duplication between peace education and human rights education? What
is freedom and justice – these are complex issues and people will want
to know what is being asked of them?
The preamble also stresses education to promote
respect for these rights and freedoms and to secure their universal
and effective recognition and observance.
Clearly, human rights education is
not just recognition but also observance – in other words behaving in
ways to protect human rights.
Article 1
asks for people to act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
However, what does the spirit of
brotherhood (humanhood) mean?
Everyone has the right to life … no one shall
be held in slavery. No one shall be subjected to torture, cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment.
Human rights education, I assume is aimed at
convincing people not to take the life of another, not to enslave
people and not to torture others. However, simply calling something a
right and saying, “thou shall not” will not change behaviours for the
better. Also, if someone or some state is taking another’s life,
enslaving people and torturing others, what can I do as an individual,
except express disgust? If I am a president or prime minister should I
use force to stop others doing the enslaving and torturing?
Here’s another dilemma for discussion in a human
rights education class. There are 30 young children in a school class.
A blackmailer has rigged the class with several bombs and is demanding
£1 million. The only way to defuse the bombs is with a special 7-digit
code. The bombs will go off in 30 minutes killing all the children.
You manage to catch the blackmailer but he refuses to tell you the
7-digit code. Should we torture him to save the 30 children?
The right to privacy
What if I am a film star or pop star – have I
given up that right? What can I do about it if there is a train crash
and I’ve been injured and my picture appears in the newspaper without
my consent? In a human rights education session for journalists, would
it be the objective to get them not to take and publish photographs of
people against their wishes? What if we suspect someone of criminal
activity – are we not allowed to tap his telephone? If human rights
education is to have any credibility, these and similar questions
would have to be raised.
The right to seek and to enjoy in other
countries, asylum from persecution
What happens if a country is already struggling
with 10,000 refugees – can it not turn away another asylum seeker? If
someone from an African country seeks asylum in Britain or Spain or
France, can’t those countries say – no please find asylum in another
African country? Who decides what is persecution?
Everyone has the right to freedom of religion
including the freedom to change his religion.
Again, we can assume that human rights education
will encourage others to allow all people these freedoms and not to
threaten to kill or punish someone who wants to change his religion.
However, what can I do as an individual if I hear that someone is so
threatened? What if a person’s religion requires him to slaughter a
goat at the full moon and he lives in Britain and the law prohibits
that? Is this infringing the person’s religious right?
Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom
of opinion and expression.
Even if what is expressed is derogatory to
others?
Everyone has the right to work, to free choice
of employment, to just remuneration and to rest and leisure, including
periodic holidays with pay.
What does the right to work really mean? What if
there are no jobs to be had? For this right to be practical there has
to be a whole bunch of other people willing to give people jobs. What
if a person (for whatever reason) has dropped out of school and hasn’t
bothered to gain any skills? Does the right to work mean someone
should employ him just because of a right? Who decides what is just
remuneration? Why is it a right to have rest and leisure and holidays?
If I am self-employed and times are tough and I just can’t take
holidays – what does the right to holidays mean in practice? Why
should someone pay someone to have a holiday?
The UN goes some way to answering some of the
questions raised by stating that everyone has duties to the
community and that these rights and freedoms may in no case be
exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United
Nations.
However, this begs the question, what are those
duties and purposes and principles?
Human rights education will entail answering
these questions. However, the underlying flaw is still there – why
engage youngsters in discussions on these topics anyway? Surely, it
can only be to encourage more responsible behaviour towards all
others. In my view, some of the other educations can do this more
effectively than human rights education. There is no need to be side
tracked down political and economic system byways.
Dr Bill would be delighted to talk at your next
conference or event and facilitate discussions about clarifying just
what human rights education is aiming to achieve. Contact him on
bill@valueseducation.co.uk
Copyright © 2008 Values Education Ltd
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