HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 1/17

Introduction

This briefing sheet is aimed at providing a detailed level of information on Human Rights
particularly for the A/AS level aspects of Citizenship. Those not from a politics or law background
should find this especially useful as a map/guide to the key information needed.

Section One:
Concepts, Theories and Debates in the conception of Human Rights

Section Two:
Summary of Key Legal Instruments and Organisations related to Human Rights

Section Three:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Section Four:
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
The European Count of Human Rights (ECtHR)

Section Five:
The Human Rights Act (HRA)

Section Six:
Controversial Human Rights

Appendix One:
Choosing Content

Appendix Two:
Lesson Plans/Ideas

Appendix Three:
Quotes Bank

Appendix Four:
UDHR Articles
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 2/17

Section One

Concepts, Theories and Debates in the conception of Human Rights

Summary of the key areas of debate on Human Rights:

 Human Rights as: Natural Rights v Legal Rights

 Policy: Human Rights v National Security
 Universalism v Relativism (Universal Rights v Culturally Relative Rights)
 Divine Law v Man-Made Law
 Controversial Human Rights: Environmental, Punishment, Rehabilitation, Future
Generations, LesbianGayBisexualTransgender, Trade, Water, Reproduction, Foetal

Summary of the key concepts/terminology and issues involved in Human Rights:

[for reference purposes, see after for a narrative]

 Rule of Law: all members of the state as well as the state itself are bound by law:
accountability, validity, punishment under law
 Reciprocity: the principle of respecting the rights of others as you respect your own
 Indivisibility: 'The ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom and
freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby
everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as his social, economic and cultural
rights' - International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant
on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ie. they are inseparable)
 Parliamentary Sovereignty: parliament can make or repeal any law; it cannot bind a future
parliament; any legal and valid law it makes cannot be questioned by the judiciary
 Separation of Powers: Executive, Legislative and Judicial political functions are separated
 Fusion of Powers: UK legislative and executive are overlapping
 Judicial Activism: the judiciary exceeding their function and entering into lawmaking
 Natural Rights: the concept of rights that are universal and unchanging
 Inalienable Rights: rights from natural law that are superior to positive law and can neither
be surrendered nor taken
 Erga omnes: a duty or right that applies universally to all people absolutely
 Jus cogens: a law that applies to all people in all circumstances absolutely
 Legal Rights: rights in law are not natural but positive ie. Man-made
 Liberalism: the doctrine stressing the right of an individual to freedom from interference
 Utilitarianism: laws are made on the basis of doing the greatest good for the greatest
number (Benthemite utilitarianism) human rights are not natural rights but qualified by the
utility calculation.
 Social Contract: the notion of you as part of a wider community collectively giving up your
rights to a sovereignty in order to be subject to rule of law.
 Universal Jurisdiction: the notion of a lawmaking entity having complete jurisdiction over
all other lawmaking authorities and over all people
 Categorisation: Economic, Social and Cultural rights are subjective, ideological, content
varied and aspirational. Civil and Political rights are objective, categorical and legally
definable. The first are not easily amenable to the judicial process and the latter are more
easily so.
 Universalism: the notion that a right applies continuously throughout space and time
 Cultural Relativism: the notion that a right is varied in manifestation to particular cultures
and times
 Legal Positivism: the notion that laws and rights are purely man-made legal constructs
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 3/17

and that laws do not necessarily have moral and ethical value attributed to them and nor do
they require it to be held as laws (contrary to natural laws).

To make sense of all these concepts, a flowing developmental narrative or connecting chain has
been given below:
[for learning purposes]

Aristotle: the concept of a 'natural justice' which is universal and natural and above positive
(man-made) law. Natural justice should govern all (Rule of Law)

Stoics: 'natural law' is rational and humans are equal before it. Virtue comes from a will that
accords to natural law, natural law is rational/logos, virtue is rational reason (Seneca, Marcus
Aurelius). Natural law confers some inalienable rights inherent in the human condition. When all
are equal it is a logical contradiction to uphold your own rights and not those of another i.e. do unto
others as to oneself (reciprocity).

Cicero: natural rational law is divine and confers some form of duty/obligation. The function of
natural law is to reform moral character and a means to evaluate and reform positive law (man-
made law). Lawful actions are aimed at promoting virtuous actions.

Thomas Aquinas: posited the rational mind cannot fully comprehend natural/eternal law so divine
law is revealed as guidance. The virtue/moral value of positive law (man-made) is measured by
rational comparison to divine law. Positive (man-made) laws are valued in teleological and
deontological terms i.e. ethical content not consequences or outcomes. The function of the state
is to make positive laws leading to good moral character in its subjects. The laws of the state can
be challenged in their capacity to fulfil this function.

Thomas Hobbes: rejected divine law and rejected the view that natural law is deontological in
value. He rejected that morality was necessarily implicit in natural law. He rejected the universal
applicability of an innate human propensity to a duty of virtuous moral behaviour. Instead he
posited innate human propensity is to rights not duties and to rugged brutal self interest not
altruism. The natural human state leads to a 'war of all against all'. For society to function
liberties/rights must be limited by a state (legal positivism) to give affect to maximal freedom from
interference over exercise of rights. Thus 'Hobbesian natural law' is a human social construction by
means of contractual sacrifice (social contract). The state has then sovereign power consolidated
within itself alone.

[social contract and liberalism strands]

Jean Jacques Rousseau: differed in conception of the contractual sacrifice in social contract
theory and in the concept of sovereignty of power residing with the state. The contractual sacrifice
is a gain in freedom not a loss of rights and the legislative function of the state is accessible to the
individual by use of a 'common will' so that power is spread out in a 'popular sovereignty'.

John Locke: incorporated the notion of natural law and natural inalienable rights into the social
contract setting. So that the state has to uphold inalienable rights on pain of legitimate revolt but
that it is the state who has sovereign power albeit removable and not absolutist.

Thomas Paine: problematised the transformation of natural rights into legal rights. Powers of the
sovereign in creating law conferring inalienable rights also means they can repeal them which
would reduce these rights to privileges. The problem of conceptualising the legal status of natural
laws through codified legislation presents difficulty. This leads to a discussion of the difficulty of
viewing human rights as natural rights stemming from natural law.

John Rawls: argued for a system of formulating Human Rights principles by reducing all
participants in the debate to a common denominator and forcing all to abandon unsharable axioms
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 4/17

and then to work their way up on rational grounds to obtain an agreed principle (game theory
fairness).

Karl Marx: heavily criticised the liberal concepts of natural rights particularly freedom and justice
posited by Hobbes and Locke and the liberals. He rejected that freedom to exercise rights meant
freedom from interference. He conversely held that freedom resides in positive interaction in
community and not in negative rights of isolation which serve to advance capitalist society.

UN 1981,1990: Representations by several Asian countries challenged the liberal view of Human
Rights and the notion of universalism of Human Rights. They advocated that Human Rights were
culturally relative. Although the debate is fundamentally important nevertheless the UN summit
2005 reaffirmed the universal applicability of Human Rights.

[legal positivism strand]

John Austin: developed a system of legal positivism with the state being denoted by evidence of
majority obedience. The state as the highest lawmaking authority the 'uncommanded
commander'. The state enforcing law through sanctions. i.e. Rule of Law by gunpoint. This theory
held that moral theory and natural law concepts are rejected in the formation of Human Rights
which instead are internationally agreed through organisations like the UN and are changeable,
ammendable, and repealable.

Jeremy Bentham: applied principles of utilitarianism, the welfare/greatest good principle and
rejected the concept of natural law favouring legal positivism and the social human construction
of law. Human rights are in this view purely legal constructions in a social setting and not
stemming from divine or natural rights.

Section Two

Summary of Key Legal Instruments and Organisations related to Human Rights

Instruments
 Magna Carta 1215 (UK)
 Bill of rights 1689 (UK)
 United States Declaration of Independence 1776 (USA)
 The Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen 1789 (France)
 William Wilberforce: Slave Abolition Act 1833 (UK)
 Geneva Conventions 1864-1949
 *Universal Declaration of Human Rights UDHR, UN 1948
 *European Convention on Human Rights 1950 (active 1953, incorporated 1998/2000)
 Official Secrets Act 1989 (UK)
 *Human Rights Act 1998 (UK)
 Data Protection Act 1998 (UK)
 Freedom of Information Act 2000 (UK)
 Terrorism Act 2000 (UK)
 Terrorism Act 2006 (UK)
*(items in bold are the main focus of the curriculum and are fleshed out in the following sections)
Organisations/Institutions
 United Nations UN: international jurisdiction
 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO
 United Nations Human Rights Council, UNHRC (old UN Commission on Human Rights)
 United Nations Security Council: can advocate military force
 Council of Europe CoE
 European Court of Human Rights EctHR: private individuals can bring claims
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 5/17

 Supreme Court of the United Kingdom SCUK (the old House of Lords)
Pressure Groups
 Amnesty International
 Human Rights Watch (Helsinki watch)
 International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
 People and Planet (old Third World First)
 Oxfam (particularly: Starbucks issue; blood drenched orange slice picture israeli fruits
issue; pro new labour political views; aggressive marketing)
 Oslo Freedom Forum

Section Three

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

“ ...recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the
human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world ”
—Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

The UDHR was drafted as a direct response to the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany during
WWII. The UN had received international pressures to make more clear the human rights of
individuals that were protected in the United Nations Charter.

“...achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social,

cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights
and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, gender, language, or religion. ”
—Article 1–3 of the United Nations Charter

The legal status of the UDHR is an explanatory document to the United Nations Charter UNC
which is legally binding on all member states of the UN. The UDHR articles are presented in
Appendix 3.

How do Human Rights (HR) Develop in the UK?

If HR is publicly developed through operation of religion, culture, society, and family using HR as
stemming from natural law then problems would ensue with democratic accountability, social
acceptance and incorporating into rule of law.

If HR is defined through common law principles and built up through a body of case law then there
is a danger of problems in democratic representation, separation of powers, parliamentary
sovereignty, judicial activism, certainty of law. (the House of Lords warned on some occasions of
such dangers during the 1953 – 2000 gap when ECHR was not implemented as yet because the
HRA had not yet come into force; a time when judges constantly sought to fill the gap by finding
common law principles from time immemorial to make judgements in line with the ECHR)

However, when HR are defined through legislation of the state then a process is created for
democratic development of HR whereby:
 parliament creates law – judiciary applies the law – rule of law provides accountability of
state
 individuals challenge the law - judicial review – declaration of incompatibility – parliament
amends law – HR is developed through valid democratic political processes

So, in post-WWII times international development of HR was primarily through policy and
legislation drives for national security and prevention of international conflict which lead to
incorporation of HR using law and legal instruments. Also, in the UK, the rising increase in a
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 6/17

'litigation culture' and more HR related codified law increased development of common law HR
prior to the Human Rights Act and development of HR through challenges to laws in view of
convention rights and the HRA.

This has facilitated the process of incorporating HR into all aspects of law. In other words, active
citizenship is very powerful in affecting the development of HR law with many major developments
in HR law being facilitated by private individuals bringing cases.

The trend in the UK is a shift in development of HR from perspectives of moral/natural rights to

instead legal rights.

Section Four

The European Convention on Human Rights

The reasons for the formation of the ECHR are similar to those of the UDHR in all but one respect:
there was a clear desire to suppress the spread of communism in western democracies and the
language of the articles makes it clear that the convention is aimed at promoting democratic
society.

ECHR is not an absolutist document but pragmatic and shared by states that have common values
and common levels of economic and political structure. Its a malleable document that can be
manipulated. On the one hand:

“...without a doubt the most successful HR instrument in the world...” - Bruce Dickson.

But on the other hand:

“... the document is too vague and unclear.. leading to poor understanding and conflict: recoil from
it with fear and horror” - Lord Jowitt (Lord Chancellor 1964)

ECHR Articles:

Articles 2- 14: Rights

Articles 2,3,4,7 Absolute rights (cannot be derogated by state)
Articles 5,6,12 Limited rights (may not lawfully apply to person ie. they are in prison)
Articles 8,9,10,11 Qualified rights (can be derogated by state)
Article 15: Stipulates that a state can put in derogations for all except absolute rights.
Articles 19-57: Procedural

The ECHR established the European Court of Human Rights ECtHR to hear cases brought for
breach of the ECHR.

The European Court of Human Rights (EctHR)

ECtHR structure: 3 types of court 3 lower 7 main 17 higher. Pre 1990: a petition took 5 years for a
hearing. After restructuring, in 2010 there is still a backlog of 120 000 pending cases. Pressure
groups cannot bring a case because it would open floodgates. A legal person (including legal
persons such as businesses) can only make a petition to ECtHR after highest domestic court (HL)
is exhausted but they can do to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) from any domestic court. All
cases are against the member state. A petition can be made if there is a gap in law not upholding
ECHR rights. Judgements of ECtHR are not binding on UK but only persuasive. ECJ judgements
are binding though.
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 7/17

Six Principles governing the operation of the ECtHR:

1. to assess if there is a 'margin of appreciation': ie. leeway to domestic state to decide what is
best in the particular circumstances.
Handyside v. United Kingdom 1976: freedom of expression article (10): 'little red school book'
case: UK banned anarchist schoolchildrens handbook sales on grounds of margin of appreciation
that it wasn't suitable for the UK population to read, held no breach
2. to assess 'proportionality': the potential breaching action or the ground for derogation by the
state must be proportional to the nature of the harm they sought to prevent. If the state is
excessive then there is a breach.
3. to conduct a purposive, not literal, interpretation of convention
Tyrer v. the United Kingdom 1978,the 'birching' case: stick beating by police in Isle of Man found
to be breach of Art (3)torture when read as inhuman and degrading.
4. to assess if the state has actually qualified its derogation for qualified rights
Sunday Times v UK 1979: the Thalydomide drug trial: held that derogation was not merited and
article (10) freedom of expression was breached
5. to assess if the state has a good reason/legitimate aim for derogation.
Campbell v UK: prisoners' letters being read by governors to prevent drug/weapon smuggling, UK
lost, held breach of article (8) privacy.
6. to assess if the states derogation is necessary in a democratic society:
Smith and Grady v UK 1999: gay soldiers kicked out of navy, UK lost, breach of article (8) privacy.

Prior to the Human Rights Act (during the interim period 1953-2000) no remedies were available
for breach of convention rights within domestic UK courts unless principles of common law were
invoked to fill the gap and provide UK domestic law remedies.

Section Five

The incorporation of Convention Rights through the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA)

 1948 UDHR
 1950 ECHR: UK signed but not bound
 1953 ECHR in force but again UK not bound because the view was that common law
principles upheld rights through the courts.
 1998 HRA codified into statutory law under the 'New Labour' manifesto: 'Bring Rights
Home' which incorporated convention through HRA 1998. All convention except (13)
[forcing courts to construct remedies] are accepted because UK wants to maintain
parliamentary sovereignty and separation of powers to not burden the judiciary with
lawmaking.
 2000 HRA in force in UK

The Human Rights Act 1998

Pre 2000, the legal view of HR in UK law was based on Dicey's rule of law. Rights were upheld by
the court and determined by the judiciary using common law principles. Post 2000, judgements are
now based on interpretation of HRA and in light of ECtHR case law. But nevertheless there was
not much difference in this respect to pre 2000 as most judgements applied convention rights
vicariously by holding them to exist at common law anyway.

How the HRA works in incorporating convention rights is marked by the struggle of the courts with
interpreting UK law in line with the convention: the line between the judiciary becoming legislative
law makers and between only applying the law (ie. Judicial activism using the lord Denning
approach).
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 8/17

When it is not possible to interpret UK law in line with convention rights then a Declaration of
Incompatibility (DOI) is made and the act is sent to parliament by fast track where it is reviewed.
The presence of DOI is a tool that can be used by the judiciary to protect itself from trespassing
into law making and to preserve the separation of powers and the democratic legislative function of
parliament.

Examples of cases involving convention rights:

(2) Right to Life

 McCann 1996, IRA shooting, Gibraltar, 'death on the rock'
 R (Amin) v SoS 2003, Feltham young offenders, 'romper stomper killing', prison officers put
asian with white racist to take bets on fights. Amin killed.
 Re A (children)(conjoined twins: surgical separation) 2000 4 All ER 961, Conjoined
twins case, lawful killing case.
 Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993) 1 All ER 821, Hillsborogh football stadium disaster,
vegetative state case.

(3) Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment

 Ireland v UK 1979, British forces torturing IRA suspects, 'the five techniques'
 Soering v UK 1989, extradition to USA from UK for execution, denied, 'death row
phenomenon'
 Chahal v UK, extradition to punjab India, fear of abuse by police: deportation leading to
breach of art (3) is unlawful.

(5) Right to liberty (limited right)

 A v SoS, Belmarsh case, detention without trial, Declaration of Incompatibility, Control
Orders. HRA had a derogation for art (5) making indefinite detention lawful in terrorist cases
on the basis of national security. Derogation found in breach due to excessive detention.
DOI issued. Terrorism act amended giving control orders. Good example of how human
rights given affect through litigation. But control orders can still be a breach of art (5) if they
are too draconian. Public debate was focused over 28-90 day detention debate and not on
control orders.
 PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act), on lawful arrest: some sections were repealed
and new ones written to avoid breach of article (5).

Section Six

Controversial HR issues

 LGBT (lesbian gay bisexual transgender) Rights: almost 100 countries hold them as
criminal offences. The Yogyakarta Principles (2007) are set out for protecting these rights
and 67/192 UN countries supported them but 57/192 opposed them.
 Environmental rights
 The right of future generations to demand we preserve the environment
 The right to Trade
 Capital punishment
 Right to water
 Abortion debate
 Right to have children
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 9/17

Appendix One

Choosing Content

Controversial Human Rights

Discussing these controversial rights with pupils engages them with real unresolved issues it gives
them the chance to deal with something cutting edge and important and to get the feel of active
citizenship when discussing in the classroom exactly the same issues being discussed at the UN.

Repealed/Amended Acts

Again, talking about this act gives pupils the opportunity to feel right in the middle of the real
problems of the UK and not separate and isolated in a classroom learning stuff that is not
debatable.

Important Case Law

I think these can be extremely useful as narratives. Pupils can get involved and can construct a
large holistic view and test their view and also take on the view of the courts and look at things
from a different perspective. Also, case law can allow them to disengage temporarily from their own
personal views and allow them to look at the issues critically and objectively and from other points
of view which is very difficult for pupils to do. Also by applying the HRA they can see how the
litigational function in the UK has changed to incorporate the European context.

NGO Activities

Looking at these will give pupils food for thought and they will be more motivated because it is
something they can research and get involved with and can readily find people that are actually
involved with it. It may stimulate their active citizenship project and help them to evaluate their
methodology for it.

The role of active citizenship in developing accessing, challenging, creating and applying Human
Rights

The litigation culture is rising and through it private individuals have formed organisations and also
taken cases to court which develops HR in the UK. This is because the govt is accountable under
the principle of rule of law. Issues of HR and convention rights and the HRA can all be used by
individuals or groups to challenge laws that are incompatible or actions of govt that are
incompatible. This litigation process is one major way HR has developed in the UK as well as
through pressure groups lobbying parliament. So, introducing pupils to the cases will enable them
to do informed research independently later on.

The relationship between Citizenship education and government drives to promote development of
Human Rights

Educating pupils to become active citizens surely also increases development of HR through
increased judicial review and political lobbying. Educating pupils on HR and political function
increases knowledge and informs action making formation of policy by social consensus more
possible. Democracy becomes more possible and more stable since active citizenship is a
necessary condition for democracy to function.
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 10/17

Appendix Two

Lesson Ideas
(1)
6:01 pm., April 4, 1968, Lorraine Motel, Memphis, USA. The time and location that Martin Luther
King Jr. was shot dead.
Students go in groups of 4:
• 1 group has to come up with the front page news headline and opening paragraph for a
broadsheet newspaper. Indicate the non-emotive and unbiased and factual language
aspect.
• 1 group has to come up with the front page news headline and opening paragraph for a
tabloid newspaper. Indicate the emotive speculative and opinionated language aspect
• 1 group has to come up with 3 points 9 seconds 27 words newscaster TV headline
• 1 group has to come up with icon/symbol/image about his cause

At the end, a member of each group can read their bit out inbetween the 6 o'clock news gongs.

Time 10- 15 mins.

End/start lesson with a video except from King's speech on the Washington march 'I have a dream'
speech.

Homework: write his eulogy/tribute and write the etch on his gravestone

(2)
Part One: brainstorm 'what are gypsies?': probably pupils describe them in negative terms and in
terms of poor devaluing socioeconomic status (you can lead them into this kind of line of thought at
first). Then turn it around and remind them of how blacks in America used to be described just the
same because they were different. Remind them of the principle human rights designed to protect
minorities. Remind them of the principles of liberalism and dangers of racism and intolerance.

Part Two: talk about Gypsy travellers living on local council land. Use the Connors v UK case law
to create a narrative for them to read. Legal issue is Article 8 (right to private and family life).
Connors v UK held at EctHR: they held breach of art 8 and since UK must consider EctHR case
law, the UK has to give effect to the ruling and the UK must respect and strive to protect the 'gypsy
way of life' and protect this minority group. The point is how operation of EctHR applies and
influences human rights in the UK; how small minority groups can change the law and fight for their
rights; how one man can make a difference; how minorities are protected in the UK by the ECHR
and HRA; and how this one case had a fundamental life changing impact on the gypsy traveller
minority here in the UK.

Part Three: making them evaluate this learning and make it their own and critically evaluate it and
test their own opinions on it and how convicted they are to upholding them and realising the effects
of their views. 4 pupils have a secret sheet on their table. These are 4 characters: local counsellor
who is pro-ASBO; school headmaster who is fighting for his students rights against an unfair
ASBO; shop owner who is pro-ASBO because his shop keeps getting vandalised; and a multi
national business who is threatening to relocate offices because of troubles resulting in loss of
1000 local jobs. Local counsellor pushing for a community wide ASBO for children because of
increased petty offences in the area and danger of massive loss of revenue which seem to have
coincided with gypsy travellers moving into the area. Pupils have a mock local council meeting
debate to wrestle with the issues in this complex situation and appreciate feelings of prejudice
towards the gypsies or drives to uphold their rights. They have to be able to deal with this wide
issue after the teacher has unpacked it. So, their job is to re-pack it and try it out in practice.
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 11/17

The main point of the lesson is that there is not a clear answer and that there are many sides and
many good points for and against. Impress upon them that the council ultimately has to reach a
decision and has to reach it fairly and critically.

Homework: an essay to critically evaluate the whole issue and make a decision and back it up.
Scaffold the essay with paragraph headers etc.

All tables to back of room. Semi-circle of seats in centre of room. 4 chairs at front and 1 table for
the debate part.

The task is probably in need of being split up into 2 lessons. Either one lesson summing up and the
second one a whole lesson on the debate conducted by the pupils .. or first lesson about Connors
v UK and finish there and next one about the local council debate.

(3)
Pictionary game for explaining the ECHR articles done in pairs. Pupils have to act out the rights
and others have to guess.

(4)
Pupils have to design a sign/logo etc about a human right or an article in ECHR etc.

(5)
Pupils have to write a poem; a short one that can be read out in class. 4 or 5 lines about a breach
of one of the human rights.

(6)
Pupils get a newspaper between 4 and they have 10 mins to find all the human rights related
articles in it and say which right it is about.
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 12/17

Appendix Three

Quotes Bank

Quotes from famous Human Rights Activists

[The content of the quotations is selected to illustrate active citizenship and the ethos of human
rights]

'It has long been recognized that an essential element in protecting human rights was a
widespread knowledge among the population of what their rights are and how they can be
defended.'
- Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian, Secretary General for UN during Yugoslavia breakup and
Rwanda genocide

'The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.'
Steven Biko, South Africa, anti-apartheid activist

'You've got to be involved in the solutions. Because we create the problems, we have to be part of
the solutions.'
- Betty Williams, Northern Ireland conflict, Nobel peace prize winner

'It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions
to our work, our dreams, our hopes. We are not guaranteeing success, but we must guarantee
effort.'
-Elie Weisel, holocaust survivor

'When more and more people want something, it becomes easier to achieve that goal.'
- Shirin Edabi, Iranian human rights lawyer, Nobel peace prize winner

'It was my teacher's genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact which made the first years of my
education so beautiful. It was because she seized the right moment to impart knowledge that made
it so pleasant and acceptable to me.'
- Hellen Keller, deafblind political activist

'Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk
about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or
nonexistence.'
- Martin Luther King Jr.

'Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't
know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not
communicate because they are separated.'
- Martin Luther King Jr.

'When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won.
There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they
always fall... think of it, always.'
-Mahatma Ghandi

'Citizenship has not delivered Indigenous Australians the same quality of life other Australians
expect. Basic human rights involve health, housing, education, employment, economic opportunity,
and equality before the law, and respect for cultural identity and cultural diversity. These human
rights must be capable of being enjoyed otherwise they are empty gestures.'
- Jackie Huggins, Aboriginal Rights activist
HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEFING SHEET 13/17

'Today, whether it is a student who holds a sit-in to get the army recruiters off his campus, or the
mother of a dead soldier who refuses to leave the front gate of the president's ranch, we continue
to be saved by brave people who risk ridicule and rejection but end up turning huge tides of public
opinion in the direction of righteousness. We owe them enormous debts of gratitude. It is not easy
to stand up for what is right, especially when everyone else is afraid to leave the comfortable path
of conformity.'
- Michael Moore, filmmaker liberal

'For me, campaigning and good business is also about putting forward solutions, not just opposing
destructive practices or human rights abuses.'
- Anita Roddick, Bodyshop founder

'I have come to believe, deeply and firmly, that we can create a poverty free world if we want to. I
came to this conclusion not as a product of a pious dream, but as a concrete result of experience
gained in the work of the Grameen Bank.'
- Muhummad Yunus, Bangladeshi, Nobel Peace Prize winner, founder of microcredit
financing for poverty

'I did something that challenged the banking world. Conventional banks look for the rich; we look
for the absolutely poor. All people are entrepreneurs, but many don't have the opportunity to find
that out.'
- Muhummad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner, founder of microcretit/financing for poverty

'The accent is on youth because the youth have less at stake in this corrupt system and therefore
can look at it more objectively.'
- Malcolm X

'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only
thing that ever has.'
-Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist, cross cultural sexual behaviour

'Human rights in the sense of human solidarity has created a new universal and equal language
going beyond racial, gender, ethnic or religious boundaries. That is why we consider it a doorway
to dialogue for people of all socio-cultural groups and all ideologies.'
-Munir Said Thalib, Indonesian, anti-corruption activist east timor

'It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.'
-Wangari Maathai, Kenyan, environmental activist, Nobel peace prize winner

'I think I should be active politically. Because I look upon myself as a politician. That's not a dirty
work you know. The democracy process provides for political and social change without violence.'
-Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese, democratic activist, Nobel peace prize winner

"What is the argument on the other side? Only this, that no case has been found in which it has
been done before. That argument does not appeal to me in the least. If we never do anything
which has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand whilst the rest of
the world goes on; and that will be bad for both."
- Lord Denning, long-standing Judge and judicial activist, held as the most prominent UK
judge of the century
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Appendix Four

The United Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (Articles 1-30)

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of
any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the
political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs,
whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all
their forms.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the
law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and
against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating
the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial
tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11
1.Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty
according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2.No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not
constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed.
Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal
offence was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or
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correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the
protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13
1.Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2.Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

Article 14
1.Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2.This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political
crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15
1.Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2.No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his
nationality.

Article 16
1.Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the
right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during
marriage and at its dissolution.
2.Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3.The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by
society and the State.

Article 17
1.Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2.No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom
to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public
or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any
media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20
1.Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2.No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
1.Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely
chosen representatives.
2.Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in their country.
3.The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be
expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and
shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization,
through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organisation and
resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity
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and the free development of his personality.

Article 23
1.Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of
work and to protection against unemployment.
2.Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3.Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and
his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means
of social protection.
4.Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and
periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25
1.Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself
and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services,
and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or
other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2.Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born
in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
1.Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and
fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional
education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all
on the basis of merit.
2.Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the
strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall
further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3.Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
1.Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts
and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2.Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any
scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in
this Declaration can be fully realised.

Article 29
1.Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his
personality is possible.
2.In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as
are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights
and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the
general welfare in a democratic society.
3.These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles
of the United Nations.

Article 30
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Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right
to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and
freedoms set forth herein.