Human Rights Projects, UN Schools Projects

Take part in ETA projects (there are 2 projects below, A and B) or simply reply to the questions - every reply will be entered in the free prize draws - your replies will help to make a real difference in addressing real issues. Open to all ages.

The following matters were raised recently in human rights discussions (initiated by the UN schools project):

"One of the Education and Training Academy's aims is to promote the vision that every individual should have the opportunity of reaching his or her full human potential irrespective of who, or where, he or she is. Easy ? Not in the real world. But that doesn't mean we run away from such issues.

The meeting between Abou and Hazel raised highly relevant, practical, issues: gender and equality. Most of us, children included, have very little difficulty recognising gross abuses of human rights when this involves, say, physical torture or genocide.

When it involves, what we term, 'highly sophisticated abuses of human rights', highly sophisticated arguments can be offered to disguise such abuses. If made aware at an early age, children can "spot" such sophisticated abuses.

Let the students consider the following hypothetical example involving gender and equality issues:

Since we live in an ever smaller world, we form an organisation to promote justice and fairness. Fortunately we get members from 100 countries. Unfortunately, for all practical purposes, only (say) 50 individuals can be selected to sit on the management committee:

1. How would the students decide on the 50 individuals ?

2. If the committee happens to end up with, say, 45 men and 5 women, what would the students say ?

3. If the committee ends up with, say, 40 women and 10 men, what would they say ?

4. If the committee ends up with 95 % of the members sharing the same religious faith, what would the students say ?

5. If the committee ends up with 90 % of the members from the same race and or colour, what would the students say ?

6. If the argument is run that the committee cannot find suitable candidates to alter the above compositions, what would the students say ?

Tomorrow's generation will face real life questions about basic human dignity and basic human rights. How they deal with those questions will determine whether the human race they inherit will be a more enlightened one.

Hypocrisy bleeds truth and humanity. You don't have to be a patronising professor - just look around and you will find many examples of modern day "slavery" in action. However, it has been "cleverly" replaced with a "less" repugnant word - discrimination. Just like "African" slavery was "cleverly" replaced with indentured labour.

Get students in your school or educational institution to discuss the above example and allow free and open discussions.

Write an essay or a letter - less than 750 words - dealing with the above issues. You can (i) address the hypothetical "50" committee members who perpetuate or condone the abuse of human rights - or (ii) imagine you were a diplomat addressing the United Nations on the issues.