Assignment: Human Rights
Peacebuilding can be successful only when human rights are protected. In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration includes 30 articles, and each article details a unique human right, such as the right to nationality, the right to education, and the right to life, liberty, and security of person. Despite the Declaration, human rights are not always protected before, during, or after conflict.
To prepare for this assignment:
- Review your course text, The Little Book of Strategic Peacebuilding. Pay particular attention to the information on human needs and human rights.
- Review the article, "What Human Rights Are," and note the definition of human rights.
- Review the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights," and focus on the details of each human right.
- Review the article, "China: Tiananmen's Unhealed Wounds" and think about how human rights violations can contribute to conflict.
- Select a conflict, current or historical, that involves (or involved) a human rights issue(s) or violation(s).* Reflect on why and how the human right(s) or violation(s) contributed to or otherwise played a role in the conflict.
- Consider why human rights are essential for peace.
The Optional Resources can assist you in selecting a conflict. You also may select one with which you are familiar or one you discover through research on your own.
The assignment: 2 pages
- Briefly describe the conflict that you selected and the human rights issue(s) or violation(s) involved in the conflict.
- Explain why and how the human rights issue(s) or violation(s) contributes (or contributed) to this conflict.
- Using this example, explain why human rights are essential for peace.
Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list only for those resources not included in the Learning Resources for this course.