Our ‘human rights’ are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world. The idea of human rights has been around for centuries, but following the ‘Holocaust’ during ‘World War II’, a stronger and international support for human rights emerged. The United Nations adopted the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ in 1948. This established protection for future generations against a repeat of these horrendous crimes and for the first time, set out the fundamental rights and freedoms shared by all human beings.
The declaration is comprised of 30 separate Articles and includes the following: Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…..and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
A short video produced by ‘Amnesty’, called ‘Everybody – we are all born free’ brings the Declaration to life. Rights and freedoms – based on core principles like dignity, equality and respect, have led to a range of international and regional human rights treaties like the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950. The ‘Human Rights Act’ 1998 made these human rights, such as the ‘right to self-expression and access to education’, part of our domestic law, and now courts here in the United Kingdom can hear human rights cases. Find out more about ‘how human rights work’.
At tpm we encourage everyone to learn and explore the principles of dignity, equality and respect by committing to our Zero Tolerance Promise because young people can find themselves being treated unfairly because of their gender, age, disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status. Discrimination can happen when at school, making career choices, new employees, part-time workers, students in further or higher education, apprentices or trainees. The new Equality Act 2010 which came into force on the 01st October 2010, brings together nine separate pieces of equality legislation into one single Act simplifying the law and strengthening it in important ways to help tackle such forms of discrimination and inequality.
Research shows that a child’s potential is determined to a much greater extent by their socio-economic background (social class) than by ability and effort. Similarly that race, gender and disability also contribute significant hurdles to securing good jobs and fulfilling lives. It is disturbing research findings like this that have prompted the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to make working with, and for, young people a priority.
The EHRC has put together a ‘Young People – know your rights’ booklet that should be useful if you, or someone you know, are experiencing discrimination as a young person. The commission’s website includes answers to questions about bullying, harassment and hate crime; abuse and feeling safe; pregnancy and becoming a parent; careers advice; pay and employment; disability; faith; human rights and sexual orientation.
Do you know your equality and human rights? Check out the EHRC site and resources and let us know what you think. Review the questions that other young people are asking. You can contact us here if you have any concerns or speak to your employer, teacher or assessor.
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/ – Equality and Human Rights Commission
http://www.yourrights.org.uk/ – Liberty
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/index.asp – Amnesty UK
http://www.amnesty.org/en – Amnesty International
October 18, 2010 at 3:36 pm |
A good, informative article with relevant hyperlinks and references for further information.
October 22, 2010 at 8:32 am |
I think that this blog is very educational for the likes of me and people around my age. This piece talks about how people everywhere can get discriminated whether it be in school or somwhere else like work. this blog takes me back to my past where in my school years a young boy friend of mine was being bullied and victimised by other kids in my year.
He was pushed about by these boys and eventually he told me what was happening, i felt bad for the kid, so I told him to go and tell someone about it like his mum or dad or teacher even. Then eventually he came out of his shell and 2 of those kids were expelled. This makes think what would you do if you was in a situation like would you tell someone or keep it to yourself and my view is that you should’nt hesitate to tell someone straight away.
October 22, 2010 at 12:56 pm |
This is a really good overview on the history of human rights with useful links for further information. It’s good to see young people being encouraged to become more aware of their equality and human rights as this will lead to self-empowerment.
November 4, 2010 at 9:34 am |
What a fantastic resourse for young people to be able to get information about their rights. With these sort of resources available and so easy to access our learners will become more aware on how to deal with discrimination confidently.