INTRODUCTION

Focus: The origins and implications of international human rights documents for the international community, the sovereign nation, identifiable groups and the individual

Human rights are what reason requires and conscience demands. They are us and we are them. Human rights are rights that any person has as a human being. We are all human beings; we are all deserving of human rights. One cannot be true without the other. Kofi Annan, Secretary-general of the United Nations This Internet project is designed for secondary students to explore the historical and contemporary developments of human rights in the 20th century. It incorporates a series of Internet activities with the following aims: to increase students' knowledge of human rights to focus students' attention on values, attitudes and beliefs about human rights to develop students' understanding of individual and collective human rights to explore laws which embody human rights and promote them in practice.

The term human rights is a relatively new one in history, yet human rights abuses and issues have been around for many centuries. History is littered with examples. For many reasons the United Nations adopted and proclaimed resolution 217 A (III) on the 10th of December 1948. This resolution was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United Nations document Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is a product of its time. There are notable omissions, such as indigenous peoples and children, and the language used is full of gender bias. Notwithstanding these, the Declaration is one of the most important international documents because it has influenced law-making, how organisations and institutions operate, personal and collective actions, values, attitudes and beliefs about human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights identifies many rights. Here are some examples: life, liberty and security of person freedom from slavery and servitude freedom from torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment equality before the law (isonomia) not being subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile freedom of movement and residence nationality the right to marriage and to found a family freedom of thought, conscience and religion

peaceful assembly and association work health education.

In the years since it was written it has become the measure by which people can judge what human rights are and therefore what constitutes abuses of, and issues surrounding, these rights. The study of human rights is laden with values and attitudes and these need to be confirmed or confronted. There are no easy ways to avoid the horrific evidence of abuses, the consequences of which some people live with every minute of every day. If we want a world where human rights abuses are consigned to history, then it is up to all people, as individuals, communities and nations to be vigilant, and knowledgeable about human rights. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

It is easy to find examples of human rights abuses or issues. Here are some: 1900s:1990s In different times throughout this period, the segregation of people based on colour in the United States of America and Australia or the apartheid regime of South Africa 1940s:1950s The Gulags of Russia 1960s:1970s Chemical warfare in Vietnam 1970s: Attempted genocide by Idi Amin in Uganda and Pol Pot's "killing fields" in Cambodia 1980s: Attempted genocide of Kurds in Iraq 1990s: Ethnic cleansing in Kosovo or militia violence in Timor The use of child labour Implementation of mandatory sentencing in some nations Disadvantages girls face in education because they are girls Not all nations have universal suffrage Many people are victims of racism

It is estimated that at least 60 million people have died or been maimed (emotionally and physically) in wars and human rights abuses since 1945. The number of victims continue to climb. But the number of people promoting human rights through education and the media, the growth of organisations protecting people through action such as Amnesty International or Doctors without Borders, and government legislation, such as human rights and equal opportunity acts, reflect the impact of Universal Declaration of Human Rights since its adoption and proclamation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has become a standard by which the dignity and worth of the human person can be measured.