*4AL 2021/2022 LET'S TALK ABOUT "HUMAN RIGHTS: DEVELOPMENT, RESPONSIBILITY, SUSTAINABILITY... AND VIOLATIONS..." by Ms Patrizia Malausa

4AL 21/22 "Our Class Website"

patriziamalausa — 2021-09-09 17:04:03 UTC

Step 0. Our Objectives...

patriziamalausa — 2021-09-09 17:08:56 UTC

Our Learning Objectives in this module on "Human Rights":

know what 'Human Rights' really are - and the possible existing violations;

understand Human Rights and that Human Rights belong to everybody;

understand that every Human Right is important for every single Human Being to live and grow;

analyse Human Rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and clearly see who is responsible for upholding Human Rights;

appreciate the relationship between Rights and Responsibilities;

appreciate the meaning and significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

develop a more aware and positively active attitude toward one's fellow Citizens in a Globalised World.

Linguistic Competence CEFR B1+ > B2 > B2+

MIUR / Civic Education as a school Subject: international bodies; sustainable and environmentally friendly development; digital citizenship. 
Dalle Indicazioni Ministeriali:
“Area Tematica 1. COSTITUZIONE, diritto (nazionale e internazionale), legalità e solidarietà
La conoscenza, la riflessione sui significati, la pratica quotidiana del dettato costituzionale rappresentano il primo e fondamentale aspetto da trattare. Esso contiene e pervade tutte le altre tematiche, poiché le leggi ordinarie, i regolamenti, le disposizioni organizzative, i comportamenti quotidiani delle organizzazioni e delle persone devono sempre trovare coerenza con la Costituzione, che rappresenta il fondamento della convivenza e del patto sociale del nostro Paese. Collegati alla Costituzione sono i temi relativi alla conoscenza dell’ordinamento dello Stato, delle Regioni, degli Enti territoriali, delle Autonomie Locali e delle Organizzazioni internazionali e sovranazionali, prime tra tutte l’idea e lo sviluppo storico dell’Unione Europea e delle Nazioni Unite. Anche i concetti di legalità, di rispetto delle leggi e delle regole comuni…”

patriziamalausa — 2021-09-09 17:12:53 UTC

patriziamalausa — 2021-09-09 17:13:12 UTC

patriziamalausa — 2021-09-09 17:13:33 UTC

Step1. Let's become aware of some current issues: "Gold costs more than money"!

patriziamalausa — 2021-09-09 17:16:14 UTC

Step2. Let's discover what Human Rights are exactly and their development...

patriziamalausa — 2021-09-09 17:18:29 UTC

Step3. "WHAT ARE 'HUMAN RIGHTS'"? LET'S BUILD OUR "RESEARCH COMMUNITY"!

patriziamalausa — 2021-09-09 17:22:09 UTC

Students watch the video with great attention and take down a few notes on the content
Guiding questions: what is the video about? Is the video divided in different parts? Which ones? What are the main ideas, the message/s the video conveys through images and words?...
Focus on the last part of the video (min 6:20):
AGENDA - Students select sentences and/or ideas from the video and write down what they consider some extremely striking, meaningful, thought-provoking, inspiring sentences; they share their choices with the group and write down all the selected phrases so that the whole group eventually creates a whole new "Text" - the Research Community's Text. This new text is the starting point for new reflections, analysis and research work ....
DISCOVERING OUR MAIN AREAS OF INTEREST: Students in small groups analyse the points in the Agenda and jot down a couple of QUESTIONS on a point of their choice. They share ONE QUESTION with the whole Class so that at the end of the lesson we have a list of questions on every aspect of our "new text".
CLASS DISCUSSION and RESEARCH WORK: Students try to answer all the questions and recognise the main areas of interest, focusing on controversial points.
Students come up with a CLAIM and start a research work - in favour and against the Claim (Motion).

Step4. Violations of Human Rights…

patriziamalausa — 2021-10-27 10:36:40 UTC

Sabrina’s resources

2021-12-17 20:02:30 UTC

I chose to dig deeper into the article number 4 of the “Universal declaration of human rights “ of 1948 which deals with slavery, it literally states that

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

This article and in particular the violation of this fundamental right that is happening in Asia caught immediately my attention because before doing my research work, I had no idea of how this plague of the child prostitution is still happening and is still affecting the lives of thousands creatures, that should live their childhood peacefully.

I think that it’s shameful that no one is really doing anything to help these children, we should be more aware of this serious problem and that is the main reason why I decided to deal with this serious problem.

Before starting to present the websites that I have analysed I would like to share with all of you some pieces of information about this little known topic:

Japan is the major destination country for trafficked women, especially women coming from the Philippines and Thailand. Sure enough UNICEF estimates 60,000 child prostitutes in the Philippines.

Unfortunately the situation has worsened since 2019, when parents have lost jobs during strict anti-pandemic shutdowns and allowed their children to work the sex trade, often through online connections, sure enough to support this affirmation I collect some verified data: International advocacy group End Child Prostitution and Trafficking estimates a 264% increase in online sexual abuse and exploitation of children during the pandemic. Officials in the Southeast Asian country believe COVID-19 is fueling an increase in online sexual exploitation of children, UNICEF had already described the Philippines four years ago as “the global epicenter of the live-stream sexual abuse trade.”

Now, to make you understand that this atrocity is really happening, I found a video that tells the story of Marilyn Capio, that was forced into prostitution as a child, but now she wants to give the chance, that she never had, to choose between prostitution and education to these children. She rescues young girls from sex trade, in this video she tells us her story and she demonstrates us how she behaves to save a girl .

Child prostitution in the Philippines | DW News - latest news and breaking stories | DW | 23.01.2016

Then I found another webpage that really helped me to consider another point of view that I was not taking in consideration: this website collects some personal stories about the young sons and daughters of the sex trade of Philippines.

'Do you ever think about me?': the children sex tourists leave behind | Sex tourism | The Guardian

Martina’s resources

2021-12-21 19:19:13 UTC

I often ask myself whether we ignore what’s happening worldwide because we decide to, or because we do it unconsciously. This is precisely why I decided to dig deeper into slavery: to understand how normalized it is. It is a reality that seems incredibly far from us however, enslaved people can be found in several parts of the world still nowadays and they are exploited to produce items that we probably all own.

“At least 24.9 million people are thought to be in trapped in forced labor worldwide.” Many international businesses are known because of their cheap products, that fit the people’s interest. These businesses violate human rights by exploiting people, whose only choice is to do what they are told, following orders because of fear.

“Almost 20% of the world’s global cotton production is linked to China’s forced labour of meaning almost every high-street garment company could be implicated.”

“Those who generate the most profit from victims are in developed countries. Most victims are in the Asia-Pacific region,” says Christina Stringer, a researcher. “It crosses borders. It is not just constrained to developing countries.”

STORIES OF MODERN SLAVERY

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jun/05/female-garment-workers-gap-hm-south-asia

http://www.endslaverynow.org/learn/modern-slave-narratives

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jul/29/slept-floor-flat-near-harrods-stories-modern-slavery

SOURCES

https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/slavery-in-global-supply-chains/

https://smith.queensu.ca/insight/content/three_reasons_why_slavery_thrives_in_the_global_economy.php

Alessandro’s resources

2021-12-21 21:42:21 UTC

Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that:

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

I chose to deal with this article because I think that the privacy is a fundamental component of freedom of expression. For example its protection is crucial for those, like journalists, politicians, activists, must avoid intimidation and risks in general for their activities and ideas.

Doing my research work I found four types of invasion of privacy:
Intrusion on a person’s seclusion or solitude;
Public disclosures of embarrassing private facts about a person;
Publicity that places a person in a false light in the public eye;
Appropriations, for the Defendant’s gain, of a person’s name or likeness

SOURCES

https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights/videos/right-to-privacy.html

https://www.goldstarlaw.com/our-focus/invasion-of-privacy/

Gianluca's resources...

2021-12-22 07:30:34 UTC

I chose article 18 which protects the freedom of thought. This article states that

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion."

Even though the right clearly stated and widespread, there are some situations where this and other rights are neglected or ignored. We often think that violantions of human rights concern poor or poorly industrialized countries. However, it also happens in the most developed countries. Thus, I decided to bring an example that proves the participation of the Russian government in repressing the rights of the citizens.

SOURCES
https://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/violations-of-human-rights/freedom-to-move-and-thought.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-16057045

Elisa’s resources...

2021-12-22 10:18:23 UTC

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Rights that affirms:

“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”; instantly caught my eye because of the imperative values suggested in this article. Plus, it made me reflect on the fact that these values, such as freedom, are announced in this article in order to turn them into human rights; they are still nowadays neglected worldwide, which is ghastly.

To begin with, I would like to briefly explain the article of Human Declaration of Human Rights I chose and especially to tell you why I chose to dig deep into it, so that you can understand better the testimony I am going to present subsequently.

Having said that, I decided to carry out a brief but efficient reserach on the article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Rights. It affirms: “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”. This article instantly caught my eye because of the imperative values suggested in it. I mean, it’s like the perfect definition of freedom, that should be accessible from everyone. Plus, it made me reflect on the fact that these values, such as freedom, are introduced in this article in order to turn them into human rights. This means they are still nowadays neglected worldwide, which is ghastly. Consequently, this article inspires me to roll up my sleeves and work hard to make sure everyone has access to those imperative values.

For instance, doing some research, I found out that nearly half of all countries penalise blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion. In 13 countries, atheists can be put to death for their lack of belief. These countries not only suppress religious expression, they sistematically torture and detain people who cross political and social red lines around faith. The worst countries from this point of view are Burma, China, Eritrea and Iran.

Considering China, this country continues to violate the right to freedom of religion, although the worst forms of persecution, such ash long-term imprisonment and physical abuse of religious activists, appear to have eased, in part because of the effectiveness of other means to achieve the same ends. The number of believers in all religions has increased sharply, with Buddhism growing the fastest of all.

To illustrate, the government defines what constitutes a religion: only five religious groups (Buddisths, Taoists, Muslims, Catholics and Protestants) can legally hold service. Everything else is considered to be superstition. By this definition, "popular religion," a syncretic blend of Daoism, Buddhism, and polytheistic elements, that attracts the vast majority of Chinese believers is not a religion at all, and therefore people are not authorized to practice it. Moreover, Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong pratictioners have faced particularly severe repression in recent years, including forced conversion, torture and imprisonment.

I was obviously extremely dismayed by finding out that in 2021 there are still imprisonment camps, and at the same time furious that no one, in particular those in power are actually doing something concrete to avoid and demolish them. Only the thought of those poor people atrociously mistreated daily gave me goosebumps.

Doing some research, I bumped into a testimony of Tursunay Ziawudun, a woman who spent nine months inside China's network of internment camps. According to her detailed report, women in China's "re-education" camps for Uighurs have been systematically raped, sexually abused, and tortured.

I found all these precious pieces of informations thanks to these reliable sites, since they report the Universal Declaration of Rights and a part of China’s constituion.
https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/china-98/religion.htm
https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2014/01/worst-countries-religious-freedom/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55794071

Chiara’s resources...

2021-12-22 11:24:14 UTC

Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that:

«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. [..]».

Reading this article, I immediately thought about what happened in Italy last month.

Explaining in a nutshell, Alessandro Zan, exponent of the LGBT community, proposed a draft law with the aim of protecting people who are victims of violence and discrimination for reasons of gender, sex, disability or sexual orientation. Therefore, this draft law, called DDL Zan, calls for the establishment of criminal offences and a national day against discrimination, as well as the allocation of money to promote initiatives to combat these problems.

Having said that, it’s not a secret that discriminatory aggressions are not a rare thing, for this reason Zan believes that there’s a need for regulatory intervention. However, many believe that the Italian constitutional and regulatory system already condemns violence. In fact, Article 3 of the Constitution says that all citizens are equal before the law, without regard to sex, race, language, religion, political opinions, personal and social conditions, etc. Nevertheless, the law still does not sanction discrimination against homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals and so on.

Even the Vatican has openly declared itself against the bill, asking informally to review the text because “it violates some articles of the Concordato’s agreement”. In other words, the Vatican is afraid that DDL Zan will jeopardise freedom of speech and thought, as it could cause discrimination against the Catholic community.

Eventually, on 27th October the Italian Senate has abolished the DDL Zan, despite the country being laic and despite the fact that the European Parliament has intervened several times calling on the Member States to adopt anti-discrimination legislation in various fields, including discrimination against the LGBT community. Then, according to me, it’s unthinkable that in the 21st century there’s still a fight against the lack of protection and rights, after almost one hundred years since the official Declaration of Human Rights.

some violations of this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2021/oct/19/i-have-accepted-my-fate-the-hidden-abuse-in-ugandas-lgbt-community-in-pictures

Viola’s resources

viola_brollo — 2021-12-22 16:41:13 UTC

I chose to dig deep into Article number 5 of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, which states that

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

I found an article written on the site of Amnesty International, which explains clearly with simple words and concepts what torture is, where and why it is still used nowadays.

Furthermore to complete my intervention I brought two episodes of torture which caught deeply my attention: the first one is the homicide of Giulio Regeni, a terrible episode which despite it happened five years ago, it is still unsolved. The other one deals with the homicide of a young Egyptian who was tortured and killed for hampering the government.

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/giulio-regeni-italian-cambridge-student-murdered-egypt

Sara M's Resources

2021-12-22 19:28:28 UTC

Article 33 of the constitution states that “… art and science are free and the teaching thereof shall be free”. The article also states that all higher education institutions “have the right to establish their own regulations autonomously, within the limits set by national legislation”.
Furthermore, Article 34 of the constitution establishes the principle of the right of individual citizens to higher education: “All those who can prove the necessary competency and commitment have a right to pursue the highest levels of education, regardless of their financial means.”

Those laws mean that every child on earth should have the right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.

When that is impossible, our government has to guarantee another option, where the children, or even an adult, can be able to continue their study, maybe thanks to a scholarship.

Although this law is respected in most countries, even today more and more people aren’t able to go to school, cause of wars, or even because their country can’t afford one.

Furthermore, in many countries children are exploited for child labor and are denied the opportunity to attend school. This happens above all in Eastern countries, such as China, Corea and the Arab countries, but also in some South American countries these actions are still taking place.

Unfortunately, still today some countries don’t allow female to attend school, cause their religion.

Today I decided to talk to you about a woman who fought for her rights to education, who stopped at nothing and who was not afraid to go against thousands of people. This girl is Malala Yousafzai, who due to the Taliban regime which imposed a ban on women from attending school, decided to start a blog, and to talk about her feelings, her suffering and what her country is prevented.

Although many people tried to stop her, even hurting her in an attack on a bus returning from school, Malala spoke in New York in 2013, calling for the education of girls and boys all over the world. A year later she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and nowadays she still fights for children's rights to education.

Right from the start, when I decided to deal with this right, I thought of this courageous and intrepid girl, who, like all children, only dreamed of being able to go to school and build a future for herself.

This is an example of how even in the 21st century not everyone has the opportunity to choose their future and their education, but thanks to people like her, I hope that things will change and that everyone is the architects of their lives.

In other words, I would like to say that I find this issue very touching and thought provoking, because for us study is a simple thing and often we find it grounded, whereas in other parts of the world, many children wish they could be us, and dream one day to attend a real school.

Ilaria’s resources

2021-12-28 14:01:44 UTC

I decided to dig deeper into article 7:”Equality before the law”

This right is the principle under which all people are subject to the same law of justice.

I picked this human right because it is particularly vital for the society’s right functioning. Unluckily in some cases in the past and still today is violated. I’m honestly gutted that this essential right is still not respected because people should be considered equal in front of the law!

Article 7 of the universal declaration of human rights states: "All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law" This means that everyone must be treated equally under the law regardless of race, gender, color, ethnicity, religion, disability or other characteristics.

In addition Everybody should feel safe and protected by police, firefighters .

This right also assures that you will be getting an equal amount of assistance in every kind of environment.

I found an example: the case or: George Floyd was a man living in the us.

He was killed by the ex Minneapolis police, many of his human rights were violated, the ex police considered him guilty for maybe using a fake 20 dollar bill. They blamed him without evidence, he has been arrested just because of the racial prejudices on his skin colour the police had. They ended up killing him in such a brutal way.

The police in charge of treating everyone equally, in charge of making people feel safe, arrested this poor guy just because of their racial prejudice, and didn’t guarantee equal protection under the law.

I found the most valuable pieces of information on this website. The two videos I linked are extremely significant to understand the importance of this right!
https://youtu.be/CwJyr_tXsNk
http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/equality_before_law_definition.html

Carlotta's resources

carlottacarpin — 2021-12-29 16:33:35 UTC

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death.

Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that:

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.
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.
Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

I decided to deal with this article because through education MEN AND WOMEN become free PEOPLE: THEY ARE able to understand, to make decisions independently on the basis of THEIR own knowledge. Knowledge and competence are, among other things, fundamental for entering the world OF WORK and deciding on one’s own future.

In addition, I chose this article because it immediately made me reflect ON the fact that not always this right is respected: for example, now we are at school and we are learning and AT the same time in some places in the world there are too many children that ARE NOT ALLOWED TO study and learn because they DON'T HAVE the possibility to do that.

~~We have the right to study and also the duty to do so.~~ We have the right to study and also the duty to do so, because studying is important AS IT shapes us not only intellectually but also morally and socially.

Studying makes us cultured and this can only benefit us. Nowadays, without a qualification, it is not possible to pursue a career in employment.

Thanks to their study, MEN AND WOMEN ARE always curious, search MORE knowledge, THEY ARE motivated to know because the world is full of OPPORTUNITIES.

I believe that education is paramount.

Everyone must have the right to learn and study

We have to protect human rights for education because education determines the future of lives and the world

SOURCES:

https://www.unicef.org/child-alert/education-threat-west-central-africa

https://www.ilpost.it/2021/09/10/ACESSO-ISTRUZIONE-ADOZIONE-ACTIONAID/

Benedetta’s resources

2021-12-29 17:35:59 UTC

When I find myself discussing with other people, or simply sharing thoughts and ideas without obstacles, I rarely think about how lucky I am to be able to do so.

That’s why I chose to deal with the 19th article, regarding freedom of expression. It states that:

“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.”

In my opinion, this article is paramount because we should all be able to distinguish ourselves from others and support our own opinions: it is not a coincidence that within dictatorial regimes this is one of the first rights to be taken away from the citizens.

However, the violations of this right do not necessarily take place in dictatorial regimes. Crimes against the right to freedom of expression are also present in daily life: they are the so-called ’crimes against honour’ such as slander, vilification, and defamation.
Moreover, we often hear stories of people who make accusations, express criticisms and opinions or investigate information of public interest, who are for these reasons in danger. They risk being tortured or killed by the government or by criminal organizations just because they spread true and therefore ‘dangerous’ information.

As we know, Russia repressed political dissent, pressured or shut down independent media and harassed nongovernmental organizations. Aleksej Navalny is the most recent example of violation of freedom of expression in Russia: he was poisoned just because he is one of the main critics of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Navalny has recently been transferred from prison, but his location is currently unknown.

I think we should realize how privileged we are to live in a country where freedom of expression is, for the most part, almost taken for granted. We are used to this right and we often abuse it, while activists, journalists or exhausted citizens die all around the world for their ideals.

To conclude, I would say that I was shocked by all the information I found doing my research, especially the ones related to Navalny: in my opinion, governments should work together in order to guarantee the freedom of expression to all citizens. Nobody should fear being killed for a sentence they said or an opinion they hold.

SOURCES:
https://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/violations-of-human-rights/expression.html

Sara C’s resources

2021-12-29 18:20:59 UTC

I decided to deal with the article 5 of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights“ which states that

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights state an absolute prohibition about torture that is universally accepted. Many years ago, many states have disputed the definition of what constitutes torture, but virtually none now openly defend the practice, even if someone still carry it out in what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described as “some of the darkest corners of our planet.”
Further it was elaborated in the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture, which makes the absolute nature of the prohibition of torture crystal and clear: “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as justification of torture.”

While I was doing my research work I came across the story of Loretta Rosales. Loretta was a Filipina activist, teacher but also a politician. She is a well-known defender of human rights and she was fundamental in instituting a class action suit in the Hawaii District Court. This act resulted in the only judgment holding the former dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos was liable for gross human rights violations committed during his incumbency; which judgment was partially executed in 2011.

She herself is a victim of human rights violations during Ferdinand Marcos’ brutal regime in the 1970s was an extremely risky business.
Loretta Rosales didn’t think she would survive and tell her story when two plain clothes security officials took her. She was blindfolded and thrown into a car.
Loretta told Amnesty International that she was very afraid, her body was trembling uncontrollably. When the two plain clothes security official brought it into the building, she started hearing cries and screams, and in that moment she realised that she was in a torture chamber. She still remembers, nowadays, the words that an agent told her “Nobody knows you are here so we can do anything we want with you”.
The torture began right away. A man poured hot candle wax over her arms, he tried to suffocate her with a belt and waterboarded her. “I remember trying to stay awake, that was my way of fighting. And then, the electric shocks began, that was the most painful. My body was trembling uncontrollably. I had no control of my body,” she explained.

Loretta’s family had connections with the military and she was released from detention a few days later. Nevertheless , she never gave up her human rights work and she is now, head of the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights, the national human rights institution in the country.

However, nearly 40 years on and despite some legislative progress in the Philippines — the country passed its Anti-Torture Act in 2009 – torture continues to be prevalent.
“It was the first time I saw something like that. They usually torture someone to extract information but this was being done for entertainment. It was shocking,” said Loretta.
Several of the police officers have been charged following international outcry but justice for torture victims is extremely rare in the Philippines. And Loretta is only too aware of this. Nobody was ever brought to justice for the abuse she suffered as a young activist. One of the men who tortured her is now a member of congress.
“The lack of convictions on cases of torture in the Philippines is big problem. Some people are scared to report it and when there’s no justice, it sends a message that torture is actually allowed.”

In conclusion, I think that the article 5 can be protected from being violated by setting an international law recognized by all members of the general assembly, protecting innocent civilians from the tortures of wars and unjustified cruel, inhuman and degrading situationsp. The international leaders should not just set these standards but they should take action if the humanitarian laws are violated.

SOURCES:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/05/torture-stories-modern-horror/

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23872&LangID=E

Marianna’s resources

2022-01-03 08:28:57 UTC

Art. 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.”

Art. 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.”

I chose to dig deep into article number 2 of the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights", which deals with discrimination, and also the article number 19 which deals with freedom of expression.

I found an article published on the Amnesty International website, in this article we can see how there is gender discrimination not only in real life, but also on the internet where this phenomena is often underestimated. In this case, in particular, this article deals with gender discrimination. Many women are subjected to abuse and violence simply because they are women.

I had never thought before today that psychological violence like this could have such a devastating impact.

Twitter is a social media used by hundreds of millions of people around the world to debate, network and share information with each other. Indeed, the company has identified itself as a place where "every voice has the power to influence the world". Unfortunately, Twitter is also a platform where violence and abuse against women thrive. These abuses and violence have a psychological impact on them and limit many women 's right to express themselves fairly, freely and without fear.

Instead of strengthening their voice, this violence leads them to self-censor what they publish. And here we can see how Article 19, which provides for freedom of speech, is not guaranteed as women are scared to expose themselves. These abuses include direct or indirect threats of physical or sexual violence, discriminatory abuse targeting one or more aspects of a woman’s identity, targeted harassment, and privacy violations such as doxing or sharing sexual or intimate images of a woman without her consent.

Amnesty International conducted a research in the UK and the US interviewing 86 women, in the UK and the US, about their experiences on social media platforms, including the extent, nature and impact of violence and direct abuse on Twitter. They interviewed women politicians, journalists, activists, and even women who don't have a large following. This research shows experiences of violence and abuse on Twitter against women of color, women from ethnic or religious minorities, lesbian, bisexual or transgender women, and women with disabilities. In 2018, Twitter reiterated that abuses and hateful behaviors targeting women are strictly prohibited on the platform and that the company has taken measures to improve security, for instance, it has increased the number of moderators. Despite this, these measures are not yet sufficient to adequately tackle the scale and nature of violence and abuse against women on Twitter.

Overall, Twitter can be a toxic place for its female users in particular. In fact, the company is failing in its responsibility to respect, in this case, women's rights online by inadequately investigating and responding to reports of violence and abuse in a transparent way. But, above all, it does not respect fundamental rights.

SOURCES

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2018/03/online-violence-against-women-chapter-1/

Elisabetta’s resources

2022-01-04 15:21:40 UTC

I decided to dig deeper into article 16 of the “ Universal Declaration of Human Rights which deals with Marriage and Family:

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.

Man and women have the right to marry. Nowadays it should spell out clearly that women HAVE equal rights in marriage, given there was still very widespread discrimination in matters relating to marriage at the time.

Some subsequently interpreted the wording as limiting marriage rights to heterosexual couples, although nowadays it is increasingly interpreted as simply referring to both sexes having an equal right to marry, rather than stipulating they must marry someone of the opposite sex. Various UN human rights mechanisms have urged all States to legally recognize same-sex unions ,whether by making marriage available to same sex couples or through other arrangements, such as civil partnerships, and have also called for the same benefits and protections for all. And an increasing number of states are bringing in legislation along these lines.

Moreover Article 16 delves into the intimate lives of humans. It says every adult has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Women and men also have the same rights during their marriages, and if they divorce. In addition, for the only time in this document, it explicitly invokes the duty of the State to provide protection, underscoring the high regard the drafters had for the family.

The drafting of Article 16 involved reconciling different world views (the Communist bloc was critical of what it saw as U.S. restrictions on women’s rights at the time) and overcoming religious objections. World War II, just ended, “had shown the equality of the sexes” said Polish drafter Fryderyka Kalinowska, and it was important to reflect that.

In addition to this the Article was also a response to Nazi laws prohibiting inter-racial marriage, bestowing the right to marry and to found a family on “men and women of full age without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion.” Equal rights are guaranteed “during marriage and at its dissolution.” This was a milder word for “divorce,” which had caused heated debate during the drafting. Some argued including it would send a signal to the general public that the UN “approved of divorce on the same footing as marriage.” In the end, divorce was treated as an issue of non-discrimination rather than as a basic human right. As one commentator put it: “No one has to contract marriage, but once one is in that state, certain rights become operative.”

I found very interesting Paragraph 2 of Article 16 that says “marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.” This, together with the phrase “of full age” in Paragraph 1, amounts to a ban on child and/or forced marriage because children may not be in a position to give free and full consent. However, child marriage continues to be a problem affecting huge numbers of girls, with around one million girls under 18 getting married every month.

Closely related is the issue of forced marriage, where girls are married off to a man, often much older, for a “bride price.” I found this very breathtaking story , faced with international outrage, in June 2018, Sudan overturned the death sentence on Noura Hussein for killing her husband, who was some 16 years older than her. The man had approached her parents when she was just 15 and in Grade 8. On their “honeymoon,” the court heard, the husband raped her while three of his male relatives pinned her down. When he tried to rape her again, she killed him with a knife in self-defence, she argued.

I also red a lot about this unbelievable story in neighbouring South Sudan, in November 2018, the father of a 16-year-old girl auctioned her off to the highest bidder on Facebook. The sale provoked a storm of condemnation, including against Facebook, with many people afraid the record amount paid for the girl would stimulate more sales of child brides via social media.

In a 2018 report on the Kyrgyz Republic, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women concluded the Government had failed to protect women and girls from abduction for forced marriage and related sexual violence, thus violating their right to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent. It also found that the Kyrgyz Republic had knowingly failed to take effective measures to address discriminatory stereotypes and norms that legitimize bride kidnapping, as well as to enforce existing laws criminalizing the practice alongside child marriage.

On another topic, Article 16’s language on the “right to found a family” reflects the prevailing morality of the time associating families with marriage. Since then, it has been argued that the right to found a family implies a conscious decision, so it should extend to rights to plan births and control one’s reproduction and even to a right to in-vitro fertilization, as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Also more recently, the rights laid down in Article 16 have been re-interpreted to try to ensure equality and non-discrimination for all people who want to marry, and all families, however they are constituted.

In conclusion in 2012, then UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay discussed how sexual violence and denial of contraception are frequently used against women.

Ensuring that women have full autonomy over their bodies is the first crucial step towards achieving

substantive equality between women and men, she said. Personal issues such as when, how and with whom they choose to have sex, and when, how and with whom they choose to have children are at the heart of living a life in dignity.

SOURCES: https://www.standup4humanrights.org/layout/files/30on30/UDHR70-30on30-article16-eng.pdf

Danna's resources

dannagabrielaechavarriasanchezbiasizzo — 2022-01-09 12:20:55 UTC

Your right to recognition and equality before law.

This right is based on Articles 16 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Subsection 1 recognizes that humanity means that every individual has a legal personality. It means that everyone has legal ability, for examples, to enter into transactions to buy and sell, to operate a bank account, and to access government services. It can be limited by laws that protect people who do not have capacity due to a mental condition or being a minor.

Subsection 2 ensures that the human rights in the Act are enjoyed by everyone without discrimination.

Subsection 3 is known as the right to equality. It ensures that all laws and policies are applied equally, and do not have a discriminatory effect. Public entities, as well courts and tribunals, are required to treat all people equally when applying the law. It also requires that the laws themselves provide equal protection for everyone. Sometimes it will be necessary for certain groups to be treated differently in order to have equal protection of the law. This is know as substantive equality.

Subsection 4 provides a right to equal and effective protection against discrimination. It gives people a separate and positive right to be effectively protected against discrimination.

Subsection 5 makes it clear that where measures are taken to assist people who have been disadvantaged because of discrimination, the measures are not taken to be discrimination. The purpose is to achieve substantive equality. This is known as the special measures provision, and is consistent with the exemption for welfare measures in section 104 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991.

These rights have been considered by Queensland tribunals on applications for exemptions from the operation of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, and by the Victorian tribunal in similar applications for exemptions from the operation of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act.

I chose to deal with this Human Right because from my point of view every person has the right to enjoy the persons’s human rights without discrimination.

SOURCES:
https://www.humanrights.vic.gov.au/for-individuals/right-to-recognition-and-equality-before-the-law/

Jasmine’s resources

2022-01-09 14:45:52 UTC

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

This is what article number 5  of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states about Torture, however, when it comes to everyday life, this crucial human right is continually violated.

I chose this violation because  It is heartbreaking  to hear that that people are still subjected to agony in order to extract information from them or simply for the enjoyment of doing so; it cannot possibly be acceptable to violate a person's dignity in this method. What I find outrageous, verging on ridiculous, is that so many countries use national security as a justification to torture individuals, and indeed they never acknowledge to employing violent techniques.

While I was doing some research on this violation, I found a lot of new pieces of information that I was not aware of and that shocked me , I decided to dig deeper on situation in Tibet .

It is crucial to know that  China invaded Tibet in 1950 and Tibetans have lived under China’s military rule ever since. Even though Tibetans tried and still try numerously times to take back their country ,they are crushed with brutal force. Since the situation got worse , Tibetan’s leader, the Dalai Lama, was forced to flee across the mountains to India where he still lives today. China continues to insist that Tibetans are happy and prosperous, but won’t allow journalists, tourists or diplomats to see for themselves.

Having said that , as I happened to read further about this impressive situation I came across the story of Golog Jigme , a political prisoner that got arrested for helping to make a film with testimonies of Tibetans about the atrocities imposed by China. During his period in jail, he has been brutally tortured and even if today he is a free man, he still bears the signs not only physical but also psychological, of the tortures he suffered .

“Whenever I remember that chair I feel scared, even to this day. I felt like it would be better to die than survive being tortured on that chair. I was kept on the chair days and nights. At one point, my feet got swollen and, to my horror, all my toenails fell off.”

After each of his releases from prison , even though he was continuously monitored, he continued his activism and today he is is the most significant Tibetan activist to reach the West since the Tibetan Uprising in 2008.

RESOURCES:
https://youtu.be/u6nfvfTnkvI

https://youtu.be/PypWqzUCn7M

https://freetibet.org/about/human-rights/case-studies/golog-jigme

Last step…DEBATE! Does the World still need Heroes and Heroines?

patriziamalausa — 2022-01-19 05:45:37 UTC

****
So many men and women have died trying to protect, support and promote Human Rights: they are Heroes and Heroines of all times who have always established themselves as role models for future generations...
However, so many violations, abuses and devastating examples of violent, disrespectful actions and behaviours are still evident all around the world that we may question the idea itself - the real importance and impact - of the Hero and Heroine ...

****
In conclusion, does the world still need Heroes and Heroines?

****
Students read articles on Human Rights Activists, come up with ideas for a Motion ….and Debate!

***

"THBT HEROES AND HEROINES ARE STILL RELEVANT NOWADAYS"

***
https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/voices-for-human-rights.html