Trousse sur les droits de l’homme > Classroom activities: Human Rights Tools for Schools

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Ideas for general applications in classes, grade 9-12/OAC:

Individual Research and Class Discussion:

1 Divide up the different articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights among members of the class and have them answer questions about each article such as:

What right(s) does the article protect?’

Which groups in society would benefit most from this article?’

How has the Canadian government incorporated this article into our own laws and our constitution?’

Give examples of countries where these articles are not fully respected’

Why is this article important to you?’

Have students present their findings to other members of the class.

2 Create a Universal Declaration of Human Duties: match the human rights of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with their corresponding duties that each of us must fulfill.

3 What do you believe are human rights? Use the CREDO98 Kit (call 1-888-852-3456 for your free copy) and submit your entry in the CREDO contest. This can be an individual or class project; the expression of your CREDO can take many different forms—be creative!

4 Research the profiles of key human rights activists and leaders.

5 Research how local, national, or international human rights organizations were founded and analyze their mission statements and/or statements of purpose.

6 Contact local businesses and multinational corporations to find out more information on their human rights policies; partner this with comparative research on workers’ rights in Canada and in developing countries.

7 Write an essay describing a personal experience of human rights violations or the experiences of someone you know; exchange essays with other members of the class.

"I wondered why somebody didn’t do something for peace, then I realized that I am somebody."

Full Class Participation - Mock Trials, Debates, Drama and Artistic Expression:

1 Attend a local trial and identify the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that are in practice in our judicial system; contrast the Canadian justice system with the rights of political prisoners in countries around the world.

2 Create a mock trial of a famous person or of a group of people in the news or in history; assign students different roles to play, i.e., as prosecutor and defence, witnesses for and against, judge and jury, defendant(s); choose a case that will stimulate discussion on contemporary human rights issues.

3 Hold a debate in class on a contemporary human rights issue such as freedom of speech and hate literature, freedom of the press and censorship, the rights of prisoners, aboriginal self-government, labour rights and multinational corporations; or choose a topic from history and debate the issues from both points of view.

4 Produce a human rights video that presents your concerns about human rights in a creative and informative way; send the final product to the Canadian Government or the United Nations Association in Canada and encourage them to listen to your ideas.

Total School Participation - Forums, Simulation Exercises, Speakers:

1 Simulate an international conference: assign students to be representatives of different countries and debate the issues; e.g. a case study on the landmines treaty, a case study on strengthening international labour rights, or the signing of a new international treaty on the environment.

2 Create a forum for students to bring in newspaper articles on current events in international affairs and in Canada that might relate to human rights; encourage them to write to their local Mayor, Town Councillors, Members of Parliament, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Canadian Heritage or the Prime Minister to express their concerns on Canada’s response to international human rights violations and human rights violations in Canada or their community.

3 Organize a speaker’s panel of members of your community to discuss human rights issues; make the event a general assembly and focus on an issue that is a concern in your school such as racism, homophobia, or violence.