The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations¡¯ General Assembly in 1948. It was the first attempt to create a global standard of human rights ¨C to define what human rights are and what they encompass. As such, the UDHR is highly relevant to each and every global citizen.
This teaching guide is designed to help students understand the UDHR in their daily lives and in the world around them. It is devised to turn human rights from abstract concepts into concrete experiences. The guide takes inspiration from Eleanor Roosevelt¡¯s words:
¡°Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home ¨C so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps 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 seek equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." - Eleanor Roosevelt, 1958
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Teaching Guide:
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - An Adaptation for Children by Ruth Rocha and Otavio Roth:
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The United Nations, Human Rights and You: Challenging Racism, Prejudice and Bigotry
This teaching guide relates to the three mandated outreach programmes of the United Nations: history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Holocaust and the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Please feel free to use elements that will be suitable for your students. While teaching about human rights violations can be challenging, it is important for educators to illuminate the values that underpin a rights-based society. Included are suggestions about approaches that may be helpful.
Supplemental Teaching Guide:
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