"How to Protect Human Rights?"
 
 
 
 

Lesson Plan: 

The United Nations and Human Rights

by

Ewa Skoczkowa

Copyright by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights

Warsaw, 1997

The United Nations and Human Rights

A. The main issues

The subject of these lessons is human rights protection in the United Nations. The lessons proposed help to understand the idea behind the creation of this organization as well as introduce the institutions within the UN structure that deal with human rights.

B. Aims

By the end of the lessons the participants should:

• know how the international system of human rights protection was created
• understand the significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• be ready to learn the catalogue of rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• be ready to learn the role and place of the Human Rights Committee in the structural organization of the UN human rights institutions.

In addition, the lessons should aim at:

• practicing the skills of working with the documents, and the skills of preparing and analyzing communication forms
• practicing the skill of presenting the communication forms

C. Comments 

• It would be best if the participants were already familiar with international law, particularly where it deals with human rights. Furthermore, they should know of the governmental and non-governmental organizations that monitor the observance of human rights provisions.
• It is advisable that these lessons be preceded by a lecture, or lessons, on the concept of human rights.
• Target group: secondary school pupils in the higher grades; university students.
• Estimated time needed: 90 - 100 minutes

D. Didactic materials

Documents (enclosed):

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 

Materials:

• organizational structure of the institutions dealing with human rights within the UN (the chart entitled UN Human Rights Bodies is attached to the main text in the packet)
• videotape of the film "The UN System of Human Rights Protection"

Tools:

• a large sheet of paper, markers

E. Lessons

Introduction

1. Begin by mentioning the most fundamental information concerning the UN. Tell them that 

(You can prepare your introduction based on the enclosed text by Skoczkowa and Bal-Nowak)

Main part

2. Invite the participants to watch the film, "The UN System of Human Rights Protection".

3. After the film, briefly summarize the most important points, such as:

• the history of the UN
• the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• submitting an individual communication to the Human Rights Committee in Geneva
• explain the dentist's problem

( The issue here is inequality of spouses before the law. The Law on Citizenship in Poland is as such: a foreign man married to a Polish woman must wait 5 years to be granted Polish citizenship; whereas a foreign woman married to a Polish man is required to wait only 3 months after filing the appropriate documents. In the case of the dentist, his living situation has been made more difficult in Poland due to the fact that he cannot practice his profession without Polish citizenship. The Presidential executive order on the dental profession allows only Polish citizens to practice the dental profession.)

NOTE: The estimated time needed for lessons 1 - 3 is approximately 40-45 minutes. If it is possible, allow for a short break after lesson 3. If you want the participants to apply the information that they have learned from the film, continue without a break.

4. Before continuing, inform them that they will be working with the documents that were 

5. Divide the participants into 3 groups: A, B & C.

Group A - is given the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International 

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (parts: I, II & III).

Group B - is given the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International 

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (parts: I, II & III).

Group C - is given the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; excerpts from the Covenants: 

part IV of the ICCPR and part II of the ICESCR; the Optional Protocol to the 

ICCPR; and the chart, "United Nations Human Rights Bodies"

Give each group a large sheet of paper and markers.
 
 

Exercise for Group A 

Ask them to take a look at the Universal Declaration and the ICCPR. Once they have familiarized themselves with the documents, the participants should proceed to compare them. The following questions might help their analysis:

• How do the two documents differ? (Is there a difference in the degree of specificity and scope of the rights?)
• Compare the ways in which certain rights are expressed/worded in the Declaration and the ICCPR.
• Which rights in the Declaration are more specifically defined in the ICCPR?
• Among the rights in the ICCPR is there a difference in the level of protection granted them?
• Which rights in the ICCPR cannot be restricted even in a state of emergency?

Ask the groups to right down their conclusions on the large sheet of paper using key words.

Exercise for Group B

Ask them to read the Universal Declaration and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. 

Once they have familiarized themselves with the documents, the participants will compare the two documents. The following questions might prove helpful:

• How do the two documents differ?
• How are the rights in the ICESCR worded?
• Can the rights in the ICESCR be restricted?
• What actions are required of the states party to this Covenant?

Ask them to right down their conclusions on their large sheet of paper using key words.

Exercise for Group C

Ask them to read the documents that were handed out to them. Inform them that they have a different assignment than the other two groups which are analyzing the contents of the Declaration and the Covenants.

Group C's assignment is to determine the procedural rights. The following questions might prove helpful to them:

• What are the UN mechanisms for supervising the observance of the ICCPR?
• What are the UN mechanisms for supervising the observance of the ICESCR?

• In what part of the UN's structure of human right bodies can we find the Human Rights Committee?

Now that the group is familiar with the documents and the film, they will prepare a presentation of the most important information on the Human Rights Committee. The following questions can be useful to them:

• What was the purpose of establishing the Human Rights Committee?
• What is the subject of the reports submitted to the Committee?
• Who can submit a communication to the Committee and what can be the subject of the communication?
• What does the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR encompass?

Ask the group to right down the information on the Human Rights Committee on the large sheet of paper using key words.

Give each group 20-25 minutes to complete their assignment.

6. Once the groups have prepared their presentations, ask the group representatives to present 

Recapitulation

7. In your summarization of the lessons, remind them that the UN human rights system allows 

• If you plan to conduct the remaining lessons included in this packet, introduce the subjects of the lessons, such as "We will be writing an individual communication to Geneva".
• If you still have time you can ask the participants to summarize the lessons - they can mention what they remember, what they learned, how they felt.

Thank the participants for their participation in the lessons.