|
Classroom Activities
Click below for classroom activities on...
Arms Trade Simulation
Goal: To help participants understand the role of the arms trade in facilitating human rights abuses and the complexity of bringing the trade under control.
Minimum number of players: 16; maximum number of players: 52
Set up and preparation: A table should be set up for the negotiation part of the game, large enough for a maximum of eight people, with numbers identifying the team at each table.
There should be a flip chart displaying the rules of negotiation.
An envelope should be prepared for each team, and should be labelled. Each envelope should contain the unique information for each team.
It is also useful for each team to have something to put on the table that identifies them either by number or color.
You will also need slips of paper - for passing notes - and pens.
Getting started: This can be divided into three sections:
1. Split the group into teams at the beginning of the workshop
2. Do not reveal any of the team names or information until the introduction is finished
3. You can start off with a basic introduction to the arms trade - offering students an insight into it before they begin the activity
Information on the Arms Trade
Starting the game: Verbal instructions for the teams: Welcome the group to the activity (Making a Killing: An Arms Trade Simulation) Identify the fact that it only outlines one aspect of the very complex issue of the current lack of Controls that exist in relation to the Arms Trade. Outline the fact that the teams that the group have been dividied into harbour the roles of either a government, a company or a non- state actor- and that each team will be receiving information about the type of actor that they are representing within the Arms Trade and their role within the simulation... State that the purpose of the simulation game is to demonstrate how negotiation between governments and arms manufacturers takes place- focusing on a specific aspect of it.
Pass out the nevelopes, that contain the instuctions for each team- asking the group not to open the envelopes until you have finished the verbal instructions. Team set up:
4 teams with a minimum of 3 people, and a maximum of 8 people:
1. OURLANDIA
2. YOURLANDIA
3. GO GUNS- An arms manufacturer located in OURLANDIA
4. THEIRLANDIA
2 teams with a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 8:
5. HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER- An NGO concerned about Arms transfers
6. ARMS TRAFFICKERS
The Scenario: It is useful to ask teams to raise their hands as you go through the scenario for identification purposes:
Two governments (OURLANDIA and YOURLANDIA) and Go Guns!, and arms manufacturer, have engaged in negotiations for 6 months for the purpose of securing an arms transfer from OURLANDIA to YOURLANDIA. Political pressure to either close or abandon the sale is mounting. Human Rights Matter is working hard to pass national legislation in OURLANDIA preventing arms manufacturers from making sales to countries suspected of collusion with Pariah States. Time and patience are running thin, if a deal is not agreed upon soon, negotiations will fail. OURLANDIA is at the table because they must approve this sale before Go Guns! can transfer the weapons to YOURLANDIA.
THEIRLANDIA shares a border with YOURLANDIA. THEIRLANDIA is under a UN Arms embargo. Additionally, THEIRLANDIA was recently visited by a Kimberly Process Review Mission, deemed non- complient and therefore removed from participating in the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. The Kimberly Process, an international diamond certification scheme to ban trade in conflict diamonds, was launched on 1 January 2003. Armed opposition groups have used conflict diamonds to purchase arms and perpetrate violent acts against civilians.
NGOs called for effective action to be taken at this meeting to strengthen four critical elements of the KPCS: monitoring; membership criteria; participant coordination; and accurate collection of trade and production statistics. NGOs are encouraged by governments agreeing to establish rules of procedure, review countries' ability to implement the scheme and report statistics. This means that it is illegal under international law for any government or private person to provide THEIRLANDIA with weapons, or to purchase their diamonds.
Goals:
• Your goal as a group is to cut a legitimate deal and sell as many of the available weapons as possible.
• Your goal as a team is to accomplish as many of your objectives as possible. Be prepared to make choices and feel free to create compromises.
Follow the negotiations with debrief and discussion:
1. Negotiating teams: Do you think you made a good deal? Why?
2. Negotiating teams: What challenges did you have individually and in finally making a deal? OR what were the deal breakers?
3. Corrupt official – did you find yourself the recipient of personal incentives? Please share.
4. All teams: What surprises did you have?
Possible results of deal – can be used for discussion:
1. If no deal was struck then it’s possible that the gun-seeking government will go to another government. However, if the exporting government upheld its responsibilities then it prevented their arms from a possible dangerous misuse.
2. If a deal was struck, but with effective control measures or on the condition that the recipient government do something before they receive the weapons than it could be positive.
3. If no extra restrictions were placed on type of arms or in what circumstance they receive the weapons than the report someone will read this news flash: arms reached abusers and were used to commit human rights violations. Explain also how they received the weapons.
Transition to real life:
1. Here is an example of a real arms deal and what happened….
2. Why do you think it is so difficult to combat arms trafficking?
Envelope 1: GO GUNS! WEAPONS MANUFACTURER:
Your team represents a weapons manufacturer. Under the law of the land where you are based, OURLANDIA, you may sell to governments as long as it is not under UN or national embargo. You have spread the production of weapons strategically all over your country to gain the widest possible support for its production for export (ie, for jobs). In part because of over production, you are requesting to sell these defense-related articles:
• 5,000 fully automatic assault rifles, 800 with grenade launchers.
• 3 million rounds of ammunition, mostly bullets and some grenades, for the rifles.
• 50 night-vision goggles.
• 5 armored personnel carriers.
Your objectives for this sale are:
1. You want YOURLANDIA to guarantee the sale of all of these arms and equipment purchased at the highest possible price.
2. You want the OURLANDIA to approve the deal. (You can’t export the weapons legally without the consent of OURLANDIA’s government)
3. You want the OURLANDIA to provide financing incentives to YOURLANDIA in addition to marketing assistance to help you get the deal.
Negotiating Points:
• 100 people will lose their jobs without the sale of all of these items.
• You also have the option of selling non-lethal weapons, but it will be significantly less profitable.
Things to consider:
• There is a corrupt official on one of the negotiating teams. Find this person and you may have an opportunity to unload some of those surplus weapons and make it easier for OURLANDIA to agree to a deal. You may have to report some weapons stolen or damages in production to flout national and international regulations.
Envelope 2: OURLANDIA
The weapons manufacturer is based in your country. Go Guns! wants to make a sale of weapons to YOURLANDIA, a country at peace, with no severe human rights record and is currently under no national or international arms embargo. YOURLANDIA is however a well-known conduit for smuggling guns to neighboring countries. Go Guns! says that 100 people will lose their jobs if you do not let it sell the new guns, and that this sell helps makes the domestic defense industry strong. Go Guns! Has a strong political lobby in your country and could be crucial to your re-election. Because Go Guns! Is located in OURLANDIA, this sale cannot be completed without your approval. Human Rights Matter, an international NGO is located in your country as well. They don’t have a significant lobby in the government, but they are known for their accurate research. They are more of a nuisance than anything, but you have found that if you grant small them small requests now and then, you can minimize their impact on your administration.
Your objectives for this deal are:
1. Do your best to approve the sale of guns from the company.
2. Make sure not to lose the jobs.
Negotiating Points:
• Seek reasonable conditions to ensure your weapons are not misused to commit gross violations of human rights. This could include: conduct the minimum necessary analysis through inspections or required documentation (such as end user certificates) to ensure that the weapons are going to a legitimate end-user. You may ask for irrefutable evidence that the arms will not get into the hands of criminals or gross human rights violators.
Envelope 3: YOURLANDIA
Your peaceful country has no major human rights issues; however, it is a well-known conduit for smuggled guns into neighboring countries—some of which do have on-going armed conflict and human rights abuses by armed police, militaries and insurgents/gangs. You have been struggling to control a group of insurgents who have begun to organize deep in the mountains, however, you consider them to be thugs who only want to extort money from the government and believe they have little support from those living in the region. Corrupt government officials* in this country have profited handsomely from providing forged end user certificates and other documentation to provide a veneer of legitimacy for its arms purchases.
*One member of your delegation is corrupt. Among your group, please identify who the corrupt official is, this person may only reveal themselves if approached for corrupt services. Being corrupt can be lucrative, see what kinds of personal incentives the Arms Traffickers have to offer.
Your objectives for this deal are:
1. Persuade the Government OURLANDIA to approve the export of the greatest possible quantity of assault rifles, ammunition, and night vision goggles.
2. Sell these guns to various actors in your neighboring countries, hopefully involving a bidding war between warring sides!
Negotiating points:
• Lie, if you must, about your intended use of the weapons.
Things to consider:
• You have diamond mines, but they have not been as lucrative as THEIRLANDIA’s mines, consider trading any extra guns you purchase for diamonds and them selling on the legitimate market as your own. THEIRLANDIA cannot sell diamonds on the legitimate market and they need weapons. Ask your arms traffickers for help.
Envelope 4: THEIRLANDIA
You share a border with YOURLANDIA. Your government is under UN arms embargo. Additionally, THERLANDIA was recently visited by a Kimberley Process Review Mission, deemed non-compliant and therefore removed from participating in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.The Kimberley Process, an international diamond certification scheme to ban trade in conflict diamonds, was launched on 1 January 2003. Armed opposition groups have used conflict diamonds to purchase arms and perpetrate violent acts against civilians. NGOs called for effective action to be taken at this meeting to strengthen four critical elements of the KPCS: monitoring; membership criteria; participant coordination; and accurate collection of trade and production statistics. NGOs are encouraged by governments agreeing to establish rules of procedure, review countries' ability to implement the scheme and report statistics. This means that it is illegal under international law for any government or private person to provide you with weapons. You do not have a seat at the negotiations table, but you are very interested in opportunities that might arise from the negotiations happening next door. In the past, you have worked with the YOURLANDIA Government on forging end-use certificates and other documentation (usually for a very high price).
Your objectives in this deal are:
1. Get guns.
2. Get guns.
3. Get guns.
Your resources are:
• 2 planes. You can trade use of the planes for goods or services.
• 4 trucks.
• $3 million in blood diamonds and timber. These commodities are not easy for you to unload on the legitimate market because the world community is increasingly making it difficult to sell natural resources extracted by illegitimate extractors (rebels, war profiteers…). You can trade natural resources for money or guns.
For your consideration:
• The traffickers are your only hope of securing much-needed guns and other arms. Without them, your government is at risk of toppling if you cannot control the growing numbers of insurgents and rebel groups.
• The traffickers have information about stolen weapons in YOURLANDIA, but are in need of a plane to get the guns out of the country. Be sure to tell them what you want and ask for their assistance in acquiring as many weapons as possible.
• You have an existing relationship with the traffickers and in the past have loaned your plane for the purpose of transporting weapons and other illicit materials.
• YOURLANDIA has an official who is connected to the Justice for YOURLANDIA resistance movement (JFY). JFY is in need of timber to build barracks, training camps, and houses in the remote mountains where they are located. Winter is coming, and JFY needs homes for families and plans to use the winter to prepare the movement for a Coup D’etat in the summer.
Envelope 5: NGO, HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER, concerned about YOURLANDIA
You are non-governmental organization and are not granted a seat at the table. You do however possess knowledge about the many dangerous aspects of the arms trade and easy manner in which governments and arms traffickers can flout national and international law to obtain all sorts of weapons. You are an international NGO, based in OURLANDIA. You are particularly concerned about the record of YOURLANDIA and several cases in which government officials have allegedly supported arms transfers to illegitimate governments and abusive armed groups, which is why you put out a report just before the beginning of this negotiation. Your government lobby isn’t particularly strong, but you are known for having accurate research and OURLANDIA has made small policy changes because of it.
Your objectives for this scenario are:
1. Stop the arms transfer to YOURLANDIA. Use your recently released report about the poor record of illegal arms as a diversion or stall tactic to educating the government about the potential dangers of this transfer. Remember, you are working on passing national legislation in OURLANDIA to restrict the transfer of arms, if you can stall this deal long enough, it may ultimately fall through.
2. If you cannot stop it, encourage the exporting government (OURLANDIA) to provide conditions or restrictions on the export of the arms to ensure they are used properly.
For Consideration:
• Try to use the government of OURLANDIA to express your views in the negotiation.
• Feel free to use your “research” on the types of violations the government of YOURLANDIA is committing and the government’s failure to prosecute those forces involved:
o Over 1,000 unlawful killings of innocent civilians falsely presumed to be helping “insurgents” in the country. Note – the insurgents are an indigenous population located in remote mountains. You have long standing concern about economic and political marginalization in the region and you believe this marginalization has led to an increase in violent rebellion.
o Some 300 cases of “disappearances.”
o Widespread raping of women at gunpoint by government forces.
Resources and tactics available:
• Advocacy capacity: During the last 6 months you have been gathering thousands of petition signatures opposing this deal. You want the money that might be spend on financing incentives to be used to update school computers across OURLANDIA.
a. You have the support of the largest teachers union in OURLANDIA and many labor organizations.
b. You have 50,000 signatures you may consider submitting to the government of OURLANDIA. Think about what you will do to submit them – will you have an action at the negotiating site, mail the petitions, have a press conference, use them quietly with negotiating teams to try and leverage the negotiation? The choice is yours.
• You have photos of all 300 cases you consider to be disappearances, look for an opportunity to use these photos.
Enveope 6: ILLEGAL ARMS TRAFFICKERS:
You represent the arms traffickers. You will not have a seat at the negotiations table. Pariah states and armed insurgents rely on your ability to flout international law, national boundaries and state law to provide them with much-needed weapons and supplies.
Your objectives for this scenario are:
1. Get guns for THEIRLANDIA.
2. Use your influence with YOURLANDIA to increase the number of weapons in their official purchase for the purpose of funneling extra weapons to THEIRLANDIA.
3. Get guns for THEIRLANDIA.
For consideration:
• You have an existing relationship with THEIRLANDIA. In the past, the government has allowed you to use their planes to transport weapons in exchange for a good price on weapons.
• You have access to 3,000 stolen assault rifles from a remote military base in YOURLANDIA. You are interested in moving these weapons to THEIRLANDIA. You will need to convince THEIRLANDIA that the guns can be moved. This includes arranging a landing strip, transport, and passage across the border. Consider bartering use of their planes for some of these weapons to transport all 3,000 stolen weapons out of YOURLANDIA. Remember, this strictly an off-the table deal.
• YOURLANDIA has a corrupt member of their negotiating team. Find this person and you will have a connection to a corrupt government official who will agree to help arrange passage of the weapons across the border.
• Consider asking this person to use their influence to increase the sale of weapons to YOURLANDIA so some may be funneled to THEIRLANDIA. This includes securing a forged end-use certificate, transport of weapons and passage across the border. • Remember, THEIRLANDIA is rich in natural resources that they are unable to trade on the legitimate market because of strict controls on blood diamonds and timber, consider taking diamonds or timber in exchange for guns.
• The corrupt official for YOURLANDIA is also connected to the Justice for YOURLANDIA resistance movement (JFY). JFY is in need of timber to build barracks, training camps, and houses in the remote mountains where they are located. Winter is coming, and JFY needs homes for families and plans to use the winter to prepare the movement for a Coup D’etat in the summer.
Resources available to you:
• You recently made $25 million selling arms to another country. This money may be used to pay bribes, purchase weapons or natural resources. Use at your discretion.
Violence against women
Violence against Women Myths and Facts
VAW: Violence against Women
Activities aims:
-
To look at the effects of VAW at a personal, community and social level.
-
To look at ways of addressing VAW at a personal, community and social level.
-
To examine the barriers that exist to addressing the problem
To do:
- Divide participants into groups of 3 – 4. (1 min)
- Give each group a “washing line” (long piece of string) and clothes pegs. (1 min)
- Hand out cards with stains (myths). (1 min)
- Participants place the myths on the line according to whether they think society in general agrees or disagrees. (10 mins)
- Give participants sponges (facts) to clean up the myths. (1 min)
- Participants match the fact to the myth. (10 mins)
- Check together as whole group and explore any differences. (6 mins)
Highlight the fact that:
-
VAW is one of the most widespread human rights abuses as well as one of the most hidden. It cuts across cultural, religious and economic boundaries and affects women of every class, race, age religion, nationality and sexual identity.
-
The work to expose VAW in the past 25 years has produced increasing evidence of its global magnitude, most surveys agree on the alarming statistic that around one in three worldwide is effected by violence during her lifetime, it is important to remember that because of the sensitivity of the subject, VAW is almost universally underreported so any findings probably represent the minimum levels of incidence.
-
Evidence also shows that no political or economic system or culture is exempt when it comes to allowing and justifying VAW. It happens in public and private, in peace and in wartime, in developed and developing countries.
Tie up the activity.
“Stains” (myths) and “sponges” (facts) to be used in the myths and facts exercise:
- Myth: If he doesn’t hit her it’s not abuse
- Fact: Emotional, sexual and financial abuses are very damaging. Many women say that these types of abuse take longer to heal than physical injuries.
- Myth: If she didn’t scream, fight or get physically hurt, then it wasn’t rape.
- Fact: Many women submit to their rapist in order to survive. In many cases fighting back or screaming can endanger a women’s life. In an attack a woman may be frozen by fear and shock and unable to move or fight back.
- Myth: Women entice violence by what they wear, and the way they behave.
- Fact: Any individual is responsible for the way they react to a situation. Excusing violence stops people taking responsibility for their actions.
- Myth: If a woman isn’t happy in a relationship she can always leave.
- Fact: Women remain in relationships for many reasons. They may be frightened that they will lose their home, possessions, friends and family. Often the women who have lost their confidence can believe that their partner will change and worry that their children may miss their father. When a woman leaves her husband the violence often becomes more aggressive.
- Myth: Violence against women is a private matter between the individuals involved. States should not become involved and are powerless to take action against it.
- Fact: The international community has explicitly recognized violence against women as a human rights issue involving state responsibility.
- Myth: Only certain types of men perpetrate violence.
- Fact: Violence in the home is perpetrated by and against women across the social spectrum.
- Myth: Violence against women is embedded in only some cultures’ traditions and history.
- Fact: Violence against women is not limited to any class, ethnic or social group.
Refugees
The Asylum Process
Activity aims:
-
To develop students’ awareness of the background of and discrimination endured by groups of people who may not enjoy the full range of human rights, in this case asylum seekers and refugees
-
To encourage students to explore how it might feel to be someone who is seeking asylum or is a refugee
For the teacher:
-
Let the classroom fill with people without greeting anyone or acknowledging their presence.
-
A few minutes after the scheduled start, pass the Workshop 2 Asylum Application written in Creole. Say only "You have five minutes to complete this form." This could be spoken in any foreign language as well. Coldly ignore questions and protests.
-
Greet any latecomers curtly (for example, "Is there any reason you are late? You have only minutes to complete this form.") Most students will get the point right away, but some may get angry or anxious.
-
Collect the forms without smiling or making personal contact.
-
Call a name from the completed forms and ask that person to come forward. Look at the form and say, "I see you answered no to this question. Asylum denied." Repeat this process several times. Students who have had asylum denied can be asked to leave the room; the other students can be rewarded with, for example, food or drink.
-
Finally break out of your role and ask students to sit in a circle. Ask how they felt filling out an unintelligible form and how they think this is like a refugee's experience.
Discussion:
-
Give students A Day in the Life of an Asylum Seeker to read individually.
-
As a group, they should then discuss how they would feel if:
-
They left their home country because they or their family was persecuted – only to be treated with racism in their new country
-
People accused their parents of being lazy and “spongers” when they weren’t allowed to work and had no choice but to live on a very small amount of money given to them by the government
-
They knew they might be forced to give up their new life and return to their home country at any moment
-
After the activity, explain that:
In order for a person to become a refugee, the government of the new country must believe that they cannot return to their home country because it is too dangerous. The UN Refugee Convention says that refugee status should be given to someone who cannot return home because of a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”. Once a person has refugee status they can make themselves a new home with the same rights as everyone else in the new country.
An asylum seeker is somebody who is hoping to get refugee status. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work. Many have left good jobs and businesses at home. They may want to work but are not allowed to unless they earn refugee status. They receive very little money and often have no choice but to stay in hostels and accommodation that is given to them.
When an asylum seeker tries to gain refugee status but fails, they are often referred to as “bogus”. However, simply because the application of an asylum seeker is not accepted, it doesn’t mean the application was unfounded.
Asylum Application
APPLICATION FOR ASYLUM
1. APPELLIDO
2. PRIMER NOMBRE
3. FECHA DE NACIMIENTO
4. PAIS, CIUDAD DE RESIDENCIA
5. OU GENYEN FANMI NE ETAZINI?
6. KISA YO YE POU WOU
7. KI PAPYE IMAGRASYON FANMI OU YO GENYEN ISIT?
8. ESKE OU ANSENT?
9. ESKE OU GEN AVOKA?
10. OU JAM AL NAHOKEN JYMAN
A Day in the Life of an Asylum Seeker
Leaving home
Imagine how it must feel to arrive in a country far away from home. You had no choice but to leave your home. Perhaps your country was at war. In this case you may be what is known as a Programme Refugee and this means that you have been invited to come seek shelter in a new country. On the other hand, you may have been suffering persecution from your government, perhaps even tortured. You have no choice but to leave because your life is at risk. You are a Convention refugee. People are not expecting your arrival and you may not be very welcome. In both cases you have to leave home quickly and you have no time to gather all of your belongings, your clothes, your books, all the things that are important to you. You have been separated from your friends and your pets, maybe even your family. You are not really sure where you are going or what will happen to you there.
Arrival
Naturally you are tired, sad and traumatised. You arrive at the borders of a country far away from home. People are speaking to you in a language that you can’t understand. They are asking you for papers and documents to say who you are. But you left so quickly that you didn’t have time to get them. You are surrounded by a new culture, a whole new way of life and if feels as though you have left your identity behind you. You feel very helpless. At last you are allowed to enter the country and you find out that you will be given a new home for a while. In the following days you are sent to stay in a place where there are a lot of people from different places and with different backgrounds. But everyone has the same name, “asylum seeker”.
Settling in
The authorities use an interpreter to speak to you and they explain that you will have to qualify as a refugee before you can work. Until then you must depend on the government to give you shelter and food. It doesn’t matter that there are certain foods that you do not like. You are not at home now and must eat what you are given. There is very little for you to do in the hostel where you are staying apart from watching the TV. That may sound like fun but it’s not in your own language and there is only so much TV you can take.
You must wait a long time for your application to be assessed by the authorities. It is lonely. You are separated from the rest of society. Making new friends isn’t easy; people don’t seem to like you.
Problems faced
Deportation
At the same time you are scared that you will be sent home. Here at least you are safe. There is no more torture, no more violence. But what happens if the authorities don’t believe you or if they think it is safe for you to return home? This is called deportation and means that the government of your host country pays for your return home.
Racism
What you really want is to earn your independence again, to work and to support yourself. You hope to earn refugee status and to start your new life, to try and cope with the past. You are sick of hearing yourself described as a “sponge” or as lazy. People have been treating you differently and you have been at the receiving end of racist abuse.
From Ed. Nancy Flowers with Marcia Bernbaum et al., The Human Rights Education Handbook: Effective Practices for Learning, Action and Change (Minnesota: Human Rights Resource Centre, 2000)
Also available in Voice Our Concern: A Human Rights Education Module for Transition Year
Racism
The Case of Napoleon Beazley
Workshop Aims:
-
To encourage students to think about the ways that prejudice, discrimination, denial of a fair trial and imposition of the death penalty constitute violations of human rights
-
To do:
- Divide the class into small groups.
- Give groups the Case Study of Napoleon Beazley and a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Summary (UDHR).
- Ask groups to look at the UDHR and list the ways in which Napoleon Beazley’s human rights were infringed at his trial.
- Ask students to consider how the use of the death penalty may violate the rights outlined in the UDHR.
- Ask each group to imagine they are defence lawyers whom Napoleon Beazley asked to help him represent his case. They should write a letter to the State Governor setting out their arguments for re-trial.
|
The Case of Napoleon Beazley
Napoleon Beazley was executed in 2002 in Texas for shooting a white victim during a botched carjacking.
The crime had been committed eight years earlier when Beazley was 17 years old. His codefendants were both over the age of 18 when the crime was committed, but it was the juvenile Napoleon who received a sentence of death.
Napoleon, an African-American, was tried before an all-white jury, even though the trial took place in Smith County, whose population is 20% African-American. He was given the death sentence after a trial in which prosecutors referred to him as an "animal" in front of the jury, and one juror was heard to say, "The nigger got what he deserved." The same juror's wife stated in an affidavit: "My husband . . . is racially prejudiced," and "I would find it difficult to believe that [he] could have set his prejudice aside and not let it influence him to some degree [at the trial]." It was later discovered that another member of the jury had been a long-time employee of one of the victim's business partners. These facts cast serious doubt on the fairness and impartiality of the jury.
The victim of the murder, John Luttig, was a well-known figure in the east Texas town where the trial took place. His son, Michael Luttig, is a judge who sits on the ultraconservative, pro-death penalty 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia. Michael Luttig, who had never ruled in favor of a death penalty defendant in the 10 years since he became a federal judge, played a hands-on role in pushing prosecutors to seek a death sentence for Napoleon.
In Texas, prosecutors are supposed to prove that a defendant is a continuing threat to the public before he or she can get a death sentence. Beazley had no prior criminal record or history of violence. He was president of his senior class, the starting running-back for his high school football team, a member of the track team and had just graduated 13th in his class when he was arrested. Dozens of community members described Napoleon as a respectful, helpful teenager and said they were shocked that he got mixed up in the carjacking. Witnesses at his trial cited his potential for rehabilitation. He was a model prisoner. |
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Summary
Article 1 Right to Equality
Article 2 Freedom from Discrimination
Article 3 Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security
Article 4 Freedom from Slavery
Article 5 Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment
Article 6 Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law
Article 7 Right to Equality before the Law
Article 8 Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal
Article 9 Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile
Article 10 Right to Fair Public Hearing
Article 11 Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty
Article 12 Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence
Article 13 Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country
Article 14 Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution
Article 15 Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It
Article 16 Right to Marriage and Family
Article 17 Right to Own Property
Article 18 Freedom of Belief and Religion
Article 19 Freedom of Opinion and Information
Article 20 Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Article 21 Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections
Article 22 Right to Social Security
Article 23 Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions
Article 24 Right to Rest and Leisure
Article 25 Right to Adequate Living Standard
Article 26 Right to Education
Article 27 Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community
Article 28 Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document
Article 29 Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development
Article 30 Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights
From Voice our Concern: A Human Rights Education Module for Transition Year
Discrimination and difference
Let’s Discriminate Discretely
Time: 45 minutes
You need: Paper and pen
Aim: That young people develop an understanding of the many ways in which society limits the participation of some groups
What you need to do:
-
Form groups of 4-5 people. Each group is to represent a particular institution in Irish society i.e. Family, Education, Media, Politicians, Police, Church, Unions, Youth Clubs, Pubs and Discos, etc.
-
Call out one or two groups who have been discriminated against in Irish society, e.g., Travellers, Gay people, Black people, Refugees, the Unemployed, or a religious minority. The small groups have to think up devious ways that their institution could possible discriminate against such people, violating their rights but not breaking the law.
-
After 10- 15 minutes each of the institutions reports on what ways it thought up.
-
Appoint a scorekeeper and award points. The groups take turns to report one item at a time. Award 2 points per item, 3 for extra subtlety; no points for something already said by another group. As a group reports each answer, one other group may ‘rob’ one of the points by quickly giving a way of countering that type of discrimination. Whichever group gets the most points wins. Remember to de-role.
-
Spend some time exploring ways of challenging the forms of discrimination as identified. The object of the game is not to reinforce discrimination but to emphasise ways of challenging it.
Alternatively:
Call out examples of rights violations from the ‘Examples for the Leader’ or others you are aware of, and award points for the group which proposes the best way of stopping that discrimination.
Invite a member of a group which is discriminated against to speak to the club about their own experience, and how things could change.
Discussion suggestions:
-
Do these types of discrimination actually happen?
-
Should they be allowed to continue? Is there anything we can do locally to change these? For example, have a poster showing a positive image of Travellers on the wall, gather facts and get to know more about the Traveller way of life.
-
We are often unaware of our own prejudices and how we can sometimes make people feel excluded without realizing. Try and think of the ways where your own practices/ actions might exclude minority groups from full participation.
Examples for the leader: While the following do involve generalizations, they are a guide for you as to how discrimination could actually happen in Ireland. Their purpose here is to help the leader stimulate the imagination of participants to understand the subtlety of discrimination and the need for measures to counter discrimination. Make it clear to the group that these are extreme examples.
Education: We won’t make our schools welcoming places for them to be in. We won’t employ them. They won’t be shown in the School books, nor will pupils be taught about their special identity. Everyone must be the same, act the same, learn the same things. We will put them in separate Schools, or separate classes, separate playgrounds.
Family: We will keep our children away from them. We will keep them away from our home. If our brother or sister goes out with one, or plans to marry one, they won’t have our support. We will call them crude names and tell jokes about them. We will blame them for trouble and crime in the area.
Churches: We won’t train our ministers about their special needs. We won’t let them use our premises for meetings. We won’t include them in groups we praise. We will be quiet while they are attacked.
Politicians: We will make it difficult for them to qualify for grants. We will raise other issues before we raise theirs. We will not intervene on their behalf or accept invitations to their meetings. If any of us is one of them they had better hide it.
Media: We won’t interview them or employ them or show photos of them doing good things. We’ll spell their names incorrectly. We’ll throw in the bin any press releases from their organizations. We’ll show the charity of others towards them, but not their work for themselves. We won’t publish articles standing up for them or broadcast programmes showing their uniqueness or their abilities and achievements. We won’t let them make programmes.
The Police System: We will respond quicker to calls from other groups. We will always wear our hat talking to them. We will stop them on the street and ask where they are going/ We will be fussy when they fill forms. We will check their cars over- lights and tyres, the works. They don’t make very strong witnesses in court.
From Development Education for Youth, Amnesty International Irish Section & Trócaire, The Rights Stuff
Right to food
The Right to Food
Workshop Aims:
To do:
- Around the room stick up 7 sheets of paper with one of the countries/continents in the Workshop 3 Right to Food Chart written on each sheet.
- Explain that the group represents all the millions of people living in the world. Ask 3 volunteers to guess how many people should stand under the various sheets and to divide the group accordingly.
- Now divide the group according to the figures in the Workshop 3 Right to Food Chart, which reflect the true breakdown of the world’s population.
- Give the group some food divided into 30 pieces (this could be, for example, 30 sweets or biscuits) and explain that this represents all the food in the world. Each country/continent group must now decide how much of the world’s food, i.e. how many of the 30 pieces, their country/continent gets in reality.
- They then feed back their guess to the whole group.
- Now the real division is made as indicated in the Right to Food Chart, for example, China gets 4 pieces, Asia gets 1 ½ pieces, and so on.
- Give each student the Workshop 3 Factbox to read.
Discussion:
-
Think about the way food is divided globally. Is this fair?
-
Who is responsible for ensuring the right to food?
-
What can be done to make sure those responsible uphold the right to food? Should courts try governments, trade organisations and corporations whose policies and practices prevent access to the right to food – or other rights such as the right to housing or the highest attainable standard of health?
-
If you didn’t have enough food, how would this affect your enjoyment of other rights?
-
Looking around, in the school grounds and in the street, how much wasted food do you see?
|
Right to Food Chart |
| Region |
If you have a group of 30 divide like this |
If you have a group of 20 divide like this |
The number of pieces of food of each group |
| China |
10 |
7 |
4 |
| Asia |
7 |
5 |
1 1/2 |
| Russia |
3 |
2 |
5 1/2 |
| Europe |
3 |
2 |
8 1/2 |
| Africa |
3 |
2 |
1/2 |
| N.America |
2 |
1 |
8 1/2 |
| S.America |
2 |
1 |
1 1/2 |
| |
|
|
|
Right to Food Factbox
There is plenty of food in the world to feed everybody. In fact, more than one and a half times the amount of food needed to feed everybody in the world is produced each year. In times of famine, the problem is not that there is a shortage of food, but that people cannot afford to buy it
The causes of famine include: government policies; unfair global trade rules; increasing power of multinationals; poverty; inequality; poor access to land, food, markets and resources
25% of food bought in Ireland is thrown away
800 million – almost 1 in 6 people – suffer from hunger, in spite of the fact that there is enough food in the world for everyone
Every day 30,000 people die from hunger and poverty
About 1/3 of children under the age of 5 are malnourished worldwide
Every year, 6 million children under 5 die of hunger-related causes
More than 70% of people living in poverty are women
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends 2,600 calories a day for a healthy diet. In Ireland we have an average daily intake of 3,778 calories, compared to 1,632 in Mozambique
Animals bred for meat in rich countries eat as much grain as is eaten by the people of India and China put together – some 2 billion people.
11 square metres of rainforest are cut down for cattle-grazing in order to produce 1 beefburger
From Development Education for Youth, Amnesty International Irish Section & Trócaire, The Rights Stuff; also available in Voice Our Concern: A Human Rights Education Module for Transition Year
Freedom of expression
Censorship and Freedom of Expression
Aim: This letter-writing activity examines the rights and responsibilities of the individual and the state regarding freedom of expression. Because it depends a lot on trust between participants and the facilitator, it is better to use it when participants have already had experience of other human rights education activities
Learning points:
Time: An hour and a half
What you need:
To do:
- Ask the group to imagine that they are each writing to the local newspaper or radio station. (If your area does not have a local newspaper or radio station, you can invent one with the group). Ask them to write a short letter about something that they do not like at all in their local area.
- After participants have written their letters, put the group into pairs. Ask each pair to exchange their letters. Now ask them to imagine that they are all editors of the newspapers or radio news. They have received this letter which they are worried will upset the local and district authorities. Ask them to cross out (censor) the parts of the letter that they think are dangerous. They are allowed to change the letter in any way they like.
- Return all the letters to those who wrote them. Either as a group, or in small groups, discuss the questions below.
- After the discussion, go through the fact sheet on Censorship, presented at the end of this activity and ask the group to think of a scenario to illustrate each of the points. For example, under ‘WHAT is being censored’ the information lists ‘artists’. Ask participants why they think someone would want to censor an artist. If your country has censorship now or in the past, refer to that, giving specific examples.
Questions:
- Did you use some self- censorship before you wrote your letter? Why/ Why not?
- Did you use polite or offensive language in the letter?
- If you wrote a polite letter was it because you felt responsible toward the feelings of others or was it because you were afraid of possible punishment?
- Were you thinking more about how to improve the situation or did you just want to show your anger?
- How did you feel when your letter was censored?
- How did your letter look after censorship?
- How did you choose what to cross out in the letter you censored?
- How do you think you would react if you were a local official who received a letter of complaint? What if the letter attacked your personality or used offensive language?
- Do you think a government has a responsibility to listen to all complaints, even if they are ‘dangerous’? Why/ Why not?
- Was your letter ‘dangerous’?
- Why do you think we did this activity?
Choices:
-
If you think this is appropriate, the activity can be altered so that the participants imagine that they are writing to the Ministry of Education or a local community authority.
-
As a project ask the group to monitor newspapers over a period. They could choose one news item and compare how different newspapers write about the same issue according to their bias.
-
If participants feel strongly about an issue that they see in the newspapers they could write a polite letter to the media as a group to express their point of view.
-
Participants could be asked to see if they could find letters to the editor of a newspaper which represent conflicting points of view concerning a particular issue.
Censorship fact sheet:
Freedom of expression is a human right set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 19). Many people believe that it is the heart of a democratic society. Others say that too much freedom of expression can be dangerous. In many countries, free speech is controlled when it causes violence by inciting riots, calling on people to revolt, or when it incites prejudice against other ethnic groups. In some countries, criticism of the government is also censored.
WHO is doing the censoring:
- official censors - the government - the law - the media - civil servants
- employers - unions - pressure groups
WHAT is being censored:
- information - access to information - expression - collective action
- attacks upon accepted values - artists - writers - political opposition
- critics of society
WHY censorship is carried out:
- to cover up incompetence and/or information - to defend the status quo
- to protect government policy - to protect privilege - to defend the vulnerable, for example, juveniles - to preserve power
HOW censorship is carried out:
- by stopping something from being carried out (pre-emptive censorship)
- by punishment after the event (punitive censorship)
WHEN censorship is carried out:
- before an election
- at a time of rapid social change
- during a period of national/ international crisis
- when a government is weak and under threat
From SINIKO: Towards a Human Rights Culture in Africa
Human Rights
Do the Rights Thing!
Aim: That young people realise that for every right, there are also have related responsibilities.
Time: 45 minutes.
Age: 15 and upwards
You need: Copies of the sketch cards
Warm-up: Ask the group to move about the room in any direction they wish. When you say ‘freeze’ they must stand completely still. If anyone moves, they are out. Give the group a few practise runs, and then ask them to move around the room in different ways- skipping, moving sideways, dancing etc., asking them to freeze after each one.
What you need to do:
-
Divide the participants into groups of four or five and give each a ‘sketch card’. Give the groups 5- 10 minutes to read the cards and to come up with a short 3 minute sketch based on the story of the card.
-
Now get each group to perform their sketch before the ‘audience’. As the conflict in the sketch becomes apparent ‘freeze it.’ Ask the audience to comment on the action. What do they think is going on? What issues are being raised?
-
Ask the audience to comment on how they could change the situation in the sketch or question the characters. Are people acting in a way that takes into account the rights of others? Are some peoples’ rights being met at the expense of others?
-
If somebody brings up a suggestion ask them to join in the sketch as a new character, or take the place of a character and change it with the suggestion. How have things changed?
-
After some discussion around each sketch move to the next group.
Discussion suggestions:
-
What rights can come into conflict with each other? For example, my right to respect and protection might be violated by a group of racists exercising their right to freedom of speech.
-
How can people be encouraged to act in more responsible ways?
-
What can be done to solve these kinds of conflict?
One way to overcome these problems is to link rights to responsibilities.
Sketch cards:
1. You’ve had a hard day at work, the boss was on your case for no reason and you’re totally wrecked! On your way home you pass the music shop and you decide to purchase a new CD to cheer yourself up- sure why not? When you get in, you’re mad to listen to your newly acquired sounds and you race upstairs to your room. There is a snag however! You share this room with your brother/sister, who is trying to study for an exam on Monday. Big deal, time for some noise pollution!
2. The local council has decided to cut some trees near your estate in order to build a road and factory or something. There has been a lot of talk around the town about this scheme with some people saying it will bring in lots of jobs, especially for young people in the summer. On the other hand, some groups have been complaining that the factory has been polluting the environment for years and the road will only make things worse. You’ve been talking about this situation down at the youth club and while you’re aware jobs are important, a bunch of you have decided to present a petition voicing your concerns to the council. Today you’re meeting some of the councilors who are particularly in favour of the scheme saying it will bring jobs and security to the area.
3. Last Saturday you were hanging out with your mates down by the park, not much else to do really. You were just chillin’ in the sun, cracking jokes, and messing around. After a while you get to talking about stuff: boys, girls, music, fashion. You know, just stuff in general. Next thing you hear some of your mates shouting and jeering somebody. You look up to see them pointing at and slagging a bunch of kids walking by. You recognize these kids as Travellers who live in a halting site near the youth club. Some of your group are getting into the slagging- you know, getting really vicious. A few of your friends aren’t so impressed and tell them to cop on while others like yourself are just sitting there. You know what it’s like to be picked on but just keep quiet.
4. It’s four weeks until the exams and the social event of the year is on Sunday evening. It’s crunch time. You can’t wait any longer. You have to ask your parents for the permission and the cash to go. You’ve been putting off asking for permission all week coz you know exactly what will happen. Why oh why do you have to go through this scene every time you want to go out. Dad and mum always say ‘What! A party on Sunday night. No chance, Monday’s a school day and time is running out till the exams blah, blah, blah…’ Your parents always seem to be on your case. Don’t they know how important this is?
From Development Education for Youth, Amnesty International Irish Section & Trócaire, The Rights Stuff
|
