CAMPAIGNING FOR RIGHTS - Nelson Mandela's fight for civil rights

Common sense tells us that it's a good idea to know your rights.  But sometimes people aren't given the rights that they should have.  When this happens, some pleople may decide that they have to take action...

Sometimes People Have to Fight for Their Rights

People with very strong values or views often take action to win legal rights...

Example: Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was a political activist in South Africa during apartheid.  Apartheid was a government regime of racial segregation.  Under apartheid, everyone was classified into racial groups, e.g. white, black, etc.  People who weren't white didn't have the same legal rights as those who were.  For example, non-whites weren't allowed to vote, they had to use separate schools and hospitals (that were usually lower quality), they couldn't travel freely through the country and they were often forced to move from their homes and away from their families.

Mandela felt very strongly that apartheid was wrong and he took action against the regime.  He joined an anti-apartheid group and organised demonstrations and campaigns to end apartheid.  He became a leader in the fight against apartheid and became well-known around the world.  Because of his actions he was arrested and put on trial for sabotage.  At his trial he made a famous speech, outlining why he had taken the actions he had and showing how strongly he believed in the importance of equal rights for all South Africans, saying...

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people...I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.  It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve.  But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Nelson Mandela, April 20th  1964, Pretoria, South Africa

Mandela was convicted and spent 27 years in jail as a political prisoner.  People all over the world campaigned for his release.  He was finally released in 1990, after intense pressure from within South Africa and abroad.  Apartheid ended soon afterwards.  Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994, after the country's first multiracial elections.  All South Africans now have equal rights, regardless of the colour of their skin.

Nelson Mandela isn't the only person who has taken action to win rights for people.  For example: 

• Emmeline Pankhurst campaigned for women's right to vote in the UK in the early 20th century.
• Martin Luther King campaigned fo equal rights for black people in the civil rights movement in the USA.
• Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian political leader, campaigned for India to be free from British rule.

Amnesty International Campaigns for People's Human Rights

Amnesty International is an organisation that runs campaigns to fight for people's human rights all over the world -especially prisoners of conscience (people put in prison just because of their race or beliefs).
It aims to educate the public and governments around the world about human rights and take action against specific cases of human rights abuses.

Anyone can join Amnesty International -members put pressure on governments by writing to them or publicly protesting.  People can also help by donating money.

Questions:

1. Who is Nelson Mandela?

2. What was “apartheid”?

3. What was life like for black people during apartheid?

4. How many years did Mandela spend in jail?

5. When was he released?

6. When did he become President of South Africa?

OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS FIGHTERS

Match the names on the left and the pieces of information on the right:

Martin Luther King                             campaigned for the independence of India

Mahatma Gandhi                                was a suffragist

Emmeline Pankhurst                           promoted the civil rights movement in the USA

Amnesty International                        takes action and puts pressure on governments                                                                        to fight against human rights abuses

I have taken this information from  TESconnect resources.

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Simplified Version

This simplified version of the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been created especially for young people.

1. We Are All Born Free & Equal. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way.

2. Don’t Discriminate. These rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences.

3. The Right to Life. We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.

4. No Slavery. Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone our slave.

5. No Torture. Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us.

6. You Have Rights No Matter Where You Go. I am a person just like you!

7. We’re All Equal Before the Law. The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly.

8. Your Human Rights Are Protected by Law. We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not treated fairly.

9. No Unfair Detainment. Nobody has the right to put us in prison without good reason and keep us there, or to send us away from our country.

10. The Right to Trial. If we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell them what to do.

11. We’re Always Innocent Till Proven Guilty. Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not true.

12. The Right to Privacy. Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters, or bother us or our family without a good reason.

13. Freedom to Move. We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel as we wish.

14. The Right to Seek a Safe Place to Live. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.

15. Right to a Nationality. We all have the right to belong to a country.

16. Marriage and Family. Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated.

17. The Right to Your Own Things. Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason.

18. Freedom of Thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want.

19. Freedom of Expression. We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people.

20. The Right to Public Assembly. We all have the right to meet our friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don’t want to.

21. The Right to Democracy. We all have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own leaders.

22. Social Security. We all have the right to affordable housing, medicine, education, and childcare, enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or old.

23. Workers’ Rights. Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union.

24. The Right to Play. We all have the right to rest from work and to relax.

25. Food and Shelter for All. We all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children, people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to be cared for.

26. The Right to Education. Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can choose what we learn.

27. Copyright. Copyright is a special law that protects one’s own artistic creations and writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all have the right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that art, science and learning bring.

28. A Fair and Free World. There must be proper order so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world.

29. Responsibility. We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their rights and freedoms.

30. No One Can Take Away Your Human Rights.

Activities:

1- Circle the correct answer:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is-

• a film
• a written document
• a set of countries

2- Write down three articles from the Declaration that you consider the most important and explain why.

3- Write a composition (10 lines) explaining why all the countries in the world should comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.