United Nations- The Declaration of Human Rights

What are human rights?

Human rights are the rights and freedoms that we all have.

      ·         Some human rights are based on our physical needs.

The right to life, food and shelter.

·         Other human rights protect us.

The right to be free from torture, cruel treatment ad abuse.

·         Human rights are also there to ensure we develop to our fullest potential.

The right to education, work and participation in your community.

Everybody has human rights. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what language you speak or what religion you belong to. You have a duty to respect the rights of others, just as they have a duty to respect yours. Nobody can take your rights away.

Why do human rights matter to me?

Human rights are important to everyone.

In the UK:

·         One in three children are poor

·         One in four children are physically abused

·         One in seven children do not have a proper home

It is vital that all young people know their rights.

Where do rights come from?

Human rights are based on the values of:

·         Dignity (self- respect)

·         Justice (fairness- affected by the legal system)

·         Respect (valuing others)

·         Equality (fair treatment)

Human rights were officially recognised as values by the world when the United Nations was set up.

What is the United Nations?

·    The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation that was established in 1945- the year the Second World War ended.

·    Its founders hoped it would be able to prevent catastrophes like the Holocaust from happening in the future.

·    Promoting human rights became an aim of the UN, along with maintaining international peace and reducing
 poverty.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the most famous human rights agreement in the world. It contains 30 human rights.

Who wrote the UDHR?

Representatives from: Australia, China, France, Lebanon, the former Soviet Union, the UK and US.

The Power of One

The Power of One

The Power of One follows the story of P.K., a young English/South African boy that grows up in a world full of inequality and racism. P.K. suffers many emotional tragedies throughout the movie, including the death of his mother, chicken, his good friend and boxing teacher Pete, and his newly met girlfriend. He comes to understand that the world is not perfect and fights to help dark- skinned friends who are normally persecuted and spat on by all members of the white society.

Towards the beginning of the movie when his mother dies, P.K. moves to a boarding school in Germany where he is bullied constantly. While he is there he meets Doc, who teaches him about justice and they become very close. He stays with Doc, but together they are taken to prison to live. In the prison P.K. meets Pete and he begins to grasp the concept of the difference between how blacks and whites are treated. He is shattered when Pete is killed by a soldier, and soon manages to leave the prison, but is separated from Doc.

 P.K returns to a school in Germany and becomes a boxing champion. He meets Maria, who he develops a close relationship with, despite her father’s disapproval. Maria believes in equality as P.K. does, and she is also killed when they are trying to help the black people together. They aimed to teach them English so as to make it increase their chance of getting a job, and take a step to improve equality.

P.K. is a symbol of hope for the black people, and shows them that not all those who are white are as cruel as the soldiers. He stands by them, and when their town is raided by some soldiers he struggles to help some of the people who have been injured. The soldiers want P.K., but just as one is about to shoot him, one of his friends manages to sneak up from behind and knock out the soldier.

Racism, discrimination, leadership, oppression, power, equality and self realisation are all main themes that are explored throughout the movie.

The Power of One showed me that equality in the world is extremely important. It displays how no one should be treated better or worse than others, no matter what colour skin they have. It also taught me that just one person alone can make a huge difference- by convincing others and helping them to believe also, by fighting for what you believe in and by creating hope in the hearts of other people.