Topic: Violations of human rights

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

high school / technical school student

Core curriculum:

• old curriculum:

standard level:

5. Human rights.

The student:

4) finds information in the mass media (including the Internet) about violations of human rights around the world.

extended level

36. Human rights.

The student:

4) considers, relating to historical and current examples, why large‑scale human rights violations by authoritarian regimes are taking place.

• new curriculum:

standard level:

IV. Human rights and their protection.

The student:

5) obtains information about human rights violations in democratic countries from the mass media (among others, from the websites of non‑governmental organisations defending human rights) and prepares an analysis on this subject.

extended level

XII. Human rights and their international protection.

The student:

8) obtains information on cases of confirmed violation of human rights or freedoms in the Republic of Poland; prepares a public speech on this subject.

The general aim of education:

The student recognises the cases of human rights violations.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• explains the causes of human rights violations.

• indicates the types of human rights violations and lists those that are particularly drastic.

• presents the activities taken by the international community to eliminate various types of human rights violations.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• brainstorming,

• mind map,

• Philips 66 method,

• metaplan,

• teaching conversation using interactive board, interactive exercises.

Forms of work:

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will analyse the reasons for human rights violations and their various forms.

2. The teacher informs students that they will identify the various reasons for human rights violations using the brainstorming method. The teacher sets the time for completion of the task and assigns a moderator who writes down the students' suggestions on the board. The creative part of the task is followed by the stage of verification and organisation of the ideas. After completing the task, the teacher asks a willing/selected student to summarize it.

Implementation:

1. The teacher divides the class into six groups and informs them that they will work using the Phillips 66 method. The students' task is to do Exercise 1 (interactive board). The teacher makes sure that each group chooses a different cause of human rights violations for analysis. The teacher sets the time for completion of the task and, if necessary, explains the working method to the students.

a. Students analyse in groups selected causes of human rights violations and discuss their consequences. They have 6 minutes to complete the task.

b. Then, they confront their solutions with the whole class and resume work for the next 6 minutes to improve their own concepts.

c. The ideas are again confronted with the whole class – a comparison of the maturity of solutions and their improvements.

d. Students write down their final conclusions or introduce amendments again for the next 6 minutes.

The teacher corrects and complements the students' statements, if necessary.

2. This time, the groups, working using the Metaplan method, will analyse violations of selected human rights – their causes, manifestations, consequences and possibilities of combating them. Students can choose one of the reasons suggested in the exercise or come up with their own. The teacher sets the time for completion of the task and, if necessary, explains the method. Students work in groups using the Metaplan from Exercise 2. After the time set by the teacher, the groups present the results of their work, while other students and the teacher ask additional questions and comment on the Metaplans.

3. The teacher initiates a short discussion on possibilities of prevention of violations of human rights. Willing/selected students give their suggestions, the teacher verifies, complements and writes them on the board in the form of a mind map. At the end of the exercise, the teacher asks a willing/selected student to summarize the discussion.

Summary:

1. At the end, the teacher evaluates the work of the randomly selected group. The teacher asks the students for self‑assessment concerning the teamwork and the completed task. The teacher evaluates the work of selected students.

2. Homework proposal:

a. Choose one human right the violation of which particularly affects you (other than those discussed during the lesson) and analyse it using the Metaplan from Exercise 2.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Violations of human rights

We already know that every man is entitled to his freedoms and rights. They are inalienable and inviolable, they result from the principle of respect for human dignity and its protection. The catalogue of rights and freedoms has been confirmed in various national and international documents. Respect for human rights is the foundation of justice, peace and security in the world. The entity that has a special responsibility for respecting human rights is the state. In practice, however, all states, even the most democratic ones, violate human rights. Of course, the scale of violations of rights and freedoms in democratic countries is much smaller than in undemocratic ones. In addition, in democratic countries, citizens may demand the execution of their rights in the event of violation of rights and freedoms. They are equipped with appropriate instruments that help them reduce violations or obtain compensation for the harm they have suffered. In a totalitarian state, a citizen is deprived of such mechanisms of pursuing claims.

Examples of executive instruments in case of human rights violations:

• efficient functioning of the judicial system and maintaining all elements of a fair trial,

• efficient police operation,

• the possibility of submitting complaints to the Ombudsman,

• the possibility of making complaints to international institutions.

There is a variety of manifestations of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms. The most dangerous are human rights violations on a large scale (so‑called mass violations of human rights) - genocide or ethnic cleansing, persecution of minorities (national, ethnic, racial), sending political opponents to labor camps.

Examples of types of violations of human rights:

• genocide,

• ethnic cleansing,

• persecution of minorities,

• extrajudicial executions,

• adjudication and execution of the death penalty,

• „disappearances” of people,

• limiting the freedoms of speech, association, assembly,

• detention without charge or initiation of legal proceedings,

• unreliable court proceedings,

• various manifestations of discrimination,

• the use of torture or other forms of degrading treatment or punishment.

We must remember that any, even individual, violation of a single right or freedom is inconsistent with the principle of respect for human dignity and should be stigmatized.

Despite the efforts and numerous mechanisms monitoring the observance of human rights in many parts of the world, human rights violations still occur on a large scale. China, Russia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Belarus - these are just a few examples from a large group of countries violating fundamental rights and freedoms. According to the organizations monitoring the observance of human rights in the world, totalitarian and authoritarian states commit much more violations of rights and freedoms. Among the reasons for violations of human rights, one can also mention armed conflicts, as well as racist and xenophobic attitudes. The most dangerous are human rights violations on a large scale in the form of genocide or ethnic cleansing, persecution of minorities (national, ethnic, racial), sending political opponents to labor camps and human trafficking.