WEB-BASED VISUAL AIDS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS LEARNING
Compiled by Rania Jawad

Human rights education involves the "heart" as much as the "head." Photographs, artwork, and sculpture convey the human condition and evoke emotions in their own unique language.

Increasingly, such images are available on the Internet. This compilation has been developed in order to encourage their use in human rights education and learning environments. They are organized according to artistic medium and collectively present situations as varied as forced displacement and children’s artistic depictions of peace and justice.

Visit some of these sites. The images will provoke, inspire and teach. If you find other sites with visuals that would enhance this compilation, please send your suggestions to HREA at info@hrea.org

Kosovo in Pictures
A series of photo essays by Human Rights Watch that depict aspects of the conflict in Kosovo—from evidence of civilian massacres and forced displacement of ethnic Albanians, the return of Albanian refugees following the peace, the destruction of civilian homes, and the hardships the ethnic Serb community has faced. 1998-9.

Human Rights Photos from Ecole Whitehorse Elementary
A collection of over 150 photos depicting child labor, child soldiers, hunger and famine, poverty and homelessness, refugees and war, racism, and peace. Used as an educational tool where students create a multimedia presentation on issues of Human Rights.

Free Burma Photos
A series of photo sets, totaling over 1,000 photos, with descriptions documenting the human rights situation in Karen areas of Burma. Categories include forced labor, attacks on villages and village destruction, detention and torture, shootings and killings, flight and displacement, landmines, soldiers, children, and food; photos taken and collected by the Karen Human Rights Group. 1993-2002.

The United Nations and Human Rights: Fifty Years
Text and photos depicting the thirty articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; artwork created by the Brazilian artist Octavio Roth to mark the 30^th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration (UDHR).

Photos from The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Photos documenting human rights violations and the situation in the Gaza strip, Jenin, the Khan Yunis and Rafah refugee camps. Photo sets include Gazan children’s daily life under Israeli occupation, obstruction of relief work, house demolitions, and the destruction of agricultural land. 2000-2.

PAINTING

A Human Rights Painting by artist Graham Bannister
The painting is entitled "Justice, Truth, Peace," and is inspired by the aims and ideals of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute. These aims include the promotion, protection, and enforcement of human rights under a just rule of law, of the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide, and the worldwide adoption and implementation of standards of human rights.

Amnesty International Human Rights Art Exhibit

Portraits of "Prisoners of Conscience" and other defenders of human rights. Painted by artist Tom Block in the effort to promote human rights awareness. Includes paintings of Wei Jingsheng, Irene Fernandez, General Jose Gallardo, and the Dalai Lama. Click on portraits for detailed descriptions. 2002.

The War Through My Eyes

Drawings by Chechen children living in the refugee camps in Ingushetia showing the impact of the conflict on the children of Chechnya. They were asked to draw on the theme, "What I have seen in the war in Chechnya." Subjects include the bombardment of Grozny, the battles in the streets, death, chaos, destruction, and their new lives as refugees. 1999-2000.

A Human Rights Mini-Gallery
Original work by children illustrating basic human rights according to the United Nations Charter. Open to student participation. The site is in commemoration of 50 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is hosted by East Pori Middle School. 

My Drawing, My Rights
Artwork created for Asian Visual Art Contest for Children, hosted by the Asian Regional Resource Center for Human Rights Education. Children throughout the Asia-Pacific region produced images that were judged by a panel of children in Bangkok, Thailand on the 50^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1998.

The World Mandala Monument
Created by artist Neil Tetkowski as part of his "Common Ground World Project." The sculpture is a collaborative work made by people and earth from all 188 countries of the United Nations. While the mandala functions as a symbol of world harmony, the work also deals with issues about the environment, world hunger, and how all of humanity is interacting with each other in terms of wealth, power, and military. The project was endorsed by the United Nations and is installed in the main U.N. building in New York. 2002.

Canadian Tribute to Human Rights Monument.
Said to be the first monument in the world dedicated to universal human rights. The project was initiated to create a place that would symbolize the historic struggle of all people of the world to assert and preserve their basic human rights, the fundamental concepts of personal freedom, and respect for the dignity of each individual. 1990.

International Print Portfolio
Composed of limited edition fine art prints based on the thirty articles of Human Rights. An artist from each of thirty countries was invited to interpret an article of the UDHR, giving the participating artists an opportunity to express in visual terms the human rights situation in each of their respective countries. A project of Artists for Human Rights Trust, a non-profit dedicated to creating a human rights consciousness through art. 1999.

Images of Human Rights
Portfolio of prints by twenty-seven South African artists representing the clauses of South Africa’s Bill of Rights. Each clause is accompanied by an artist’s print and text detailing the principle of the clause and the artist’s intention. The site includes information on the birth of the country’s Bill of Rights. 1996.

Archive of Humanist Art
International works created by artists at the turn of the millennium whose art and beliefs support a fundamental connection between the images we make and the world we create. The works address issues related to the human condition, the environment, human violence, love, indigenous people's rights, reconciliation, social justice, community, and human rights. The Archive was established by artist William Kelly in 2000.

A Matter of Heart: Artists for Human Rights in Latin America
An exhibit that evolved out of a nationwide effort to close the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA), during which 10 activists were federally prosecuted in March 2000 for nonviolent protests. The role of SOA graduates in committing human rights abuses has been documented by numerous human rights organizations, including U.N. Truth Commissions and the U.S. State Department. 2001.