Human Rights and Responsibilities

The rights everyone shares

Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections that every person is entitled to, simply for being human. No one has to earn them and they cannot fairly be taken away. They are set out in international agreements: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights covers everyone, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the rights of children in particular, grouped into participation, protection, survival and development rights. Rights do not stand alone; they come with responsibilities, because your right to be treated fairly depends on everyone respecting it. Human rights also explain why certain wrongs, such as making children work instead of learn, are treated so seriously: protections exist to prevent them. This module covers what human rights are, the rights of the child, how rights and responsibilities work together, and how individual rights are balanced with those of society.

Human rights words

Learn these terms before the rights are matched up. They name the freedoms everyone holds and how they are set out.

Match each kind of right to what it protects

A right against a responsibility

Rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same idea, and telling them apart makes both clearer.

Right or responsibility?

Treating other people fairly, so that they can enjoy their rights too, is best described as a...

• A responsibility
• A right
• Only a law
• An abuse

Rights come with responsibilities

Human rights belong to everyone equally, simply for being human, and no one has to earn them. But rights work only when they come with responsibilities. Your right to be treated fairly rests on everyone else respecting it, which means you carry the responsibility to treat others fairly in return. Your right to express your views comes with the responsibility not to use that freedom to harm or threaten other people. And sometimes the rights of one person have to be balanced against the rights of others, or against the safety of society as a whole. So think of rights and responsibilities as two sides of the same coin: the protection you are owed, and the duty you owe to protect the same for everyone else. A society is fair not when a few hold rights, but when everyone does, and everyone upholds them.

Pick the basic human rights

Select everything that is a basic human right.

• The right to an education
• The right to be safe from harm
• The right to a fair trial
• The right never to be disagreed with
• The right to break any rule you dislike

Order how rights are set out and upheld

Put the steps of how human rights are agreed and protected in order.

• People agree that everyone shares basic rights
• The rights are written down in a declaration or convention
• Countries agree to protect those rights in law
• People learn their rights and responsibilities
• A concern about a right can be raised and addressed

Complete the human-rights facts

The basic freedoms everyone is entitled to are human _____. The international agreement setting out rights for all people is the Universal _____ of Human Rights. Something you should do in return is a _____. Rights that apply to everyone equally are _____.

Tap the two rights of the child

Tap the TWO statements that are genuine rights of the child.

• the right to go to school and learn
• the right to be kept safe from harm
• the right to work full time instead of going to school
• the right to ignore all rules

A shield everyone carries

Imagine that every person, the moment they are born, is handed the same shield. It is not a reward for good behaviour, and it cannot be taken away for bad; it is simply theirs because they are a person. The shield does not stop every blow on its own, but it gives everyone something to stand behind and a reason others must respect them. Human protections work like that shield: shared by all, held equally, and strongest when everyone agrees to honour the shield of the person next to them. A fair society keeps people safe not by handing bigger shields to a few, but by making sure that no one can knock away the shield of another. That is the whole idea in a picture.

The human-rights run

Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.

Apply the rights

Read each situation and choose the best answer.

• A young person wants a say in a decision that affects them at school. Which kind of right is this?
• One person uses free speech to threaten and harm another. How should this be handled?
• Children are made to work long hours instead of going to school. What is this?

Build a rights-and-responsibilities sentence

Choose the word for each gap to complete one point about human rights.

Explain why human rights matter

A friend thinks human rights are only for people in other countries and do not affect daily life. Using what you have learned, explain what human rights are and why they matter.

• Explain what human rights are and who holds them
• Explain the four kinds of rights of the child: participation, protection, survival and development
• Explain how rights and responsibilities go together
• Explain what a human rights abuse is, with an example
• Explain why the rights of the individual sometimes have to be balanced with those of society