Happy Human Rights Day!
Excerpts from Living Rights Book and Holiday Sale
Happy Human Rights Day celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, spearheaded by Eleanor Roosevelt, and the day of the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Oslo.
This is a sacred day. Do something to secure our human rights.
I am offering a special sale on LIVING RIGHTS: MAKING HUMAN RIGHTS COME ALIVE Activity Book and Journal now til December 16
See Excerpts Below- Dedication, Activity, Resources (Child’s Environmental Bill of Rights, Nuremberg Code), Endorsements, Table of Contents
These activity books make wonderful holiday gifts, even for Kwanza, emphasizing values rather than materialism.
Consider ordering them for a class, a school, a group, a workshop
* Ages 9 - 109, activités for all ages
* Sale price reduced from $19.48, the year of the UDHR to sale price $15.83, the birth year Hugo Grotius, the Dutch Jurist who birthed international law and ebook reduced from $7.77 to $5.38, year of King Cyrus the Great who freed captives and conciliated local populations
** Go here on Amazon to purchase
* Go here https://www.consciouspolitics.org/livingrights and get free downloads that go with the e-book coloring and puzzle pages and a human rights cards to print and cut out.
* for a free deck of UDHR cards to print and cut out go to https://fdc69ab8-714e-454f-b2c5-af12146b425f.filesusr.com/ugd/7f740a_3d8f8fed3bd349ff8e61c2c6f2109d14.pdf
* for free coloring pages and activities (can go with ebook) go to https://fdc69ab8-714e-454f-b2c5-af12146b425f.filesusr.com/ugd/7f740a_f2e1c14988fc42a0a791b7e9f4aaacfa.pdf
For a description with some excerpts see my article and consider signing up for a free subscription
Covid and Human Rights Day: Let's Make Human Rights Come Alive
DEDICATION
Because
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” —Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentors, not the tormented. Wherever anyone is persecuted for their race or political views, that place must become the center of the universe.” —Elie Wiesel, acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, 1986
“The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in a time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.’ —Dante
“If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” —Eldridge Cleaver
“Your silence will not protect you.” —Audrey Lorde
This Book Is Dedicated with Gratitude and Admiration to
Those who take personal risks for truth and justice,
Those who refuse to be silent in the face of injustice,
Those courageous souls who are not held back by fear,
Those who step out of their comfort zones to put their voices and bodies on the line for others,
Truth tellers, risk takers, human rights activists, whistleblowers, courageous politicians and civil servants, and all who practice civil disobedience,
Readers of this book who may be inspired to commit to advance human rights, and
All who are the source and life force driving human progress and survival.
From Activity Section
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY Recognizing Our Inalienable Rights (parts A & B of 4 part activity)
A. Meditation on Human Rights
Before Going Further…
Do this activity with a partner or group, if possible.
1. Think about these questions for a few minutes:
· What are human rights?
· What does it mean to have human rights?
2. Discuss in pairs or small groups, then share with a larger group.
3. Imagine the UDHR does not exist. Imagine coming up with the idea.
· How might this idea have arisen?
· Why do we need universal human rights?
· List reasons to have a Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Reasons for a Universal Declaration of Human Rights
B. Make Your Own List of Human Rights
1. Imagine you/we are asked to be on a committee to create a document declaring universal human rights for every person in the world.
2. Brainstorm and list as many rights as you can think of in 5 minutes
My List of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
From Resource Section
A CHILD’S ENVIRONMENTAL BILL OF RIGHTS
By May E. Dooley, MS, MA, CMC
Give me enough oxygen for my body’s requirements.
Give me air with a minimum of tiny particulates
and no tobacco smoke so my lungs remain clear and efficient.
Give me air free from mold’s toxic gases and radon.
Give me air free of contaminants from off-gassing building materials,
furnishings, synthetic fragrances, and combustion gases
so my immune system isn’t constantly challenged.
Give me good ventilation so that I’m not breathing in toxins.
Find healthy alternatives to pesticides and herbicides.
Protect me from dust mites, bird excrement, and mouse droppings.
Make sure my play areas are electromagnetically quiet.
Put me to sleep where electromagnetic fields have been lowered
as much as possible and where my body is grounded electrically.
Protect me from high frequency and microwave radiation,
especially from portable phone base stations and WIFI from routers
(landline phones and cable have much lower levels of radiation than wireless).
Give me good drinking water, free of dissolved toxins.
Let me play with healthy toys and art supplies.
Check my surroundings for lead and asbestos.
Provide me with good, quality reading light
Spend time with me outdoors in natural light.
Give me quiet areas for resting and recharging.
Why is this a child’s environmental bill of rights?
Don’t we all need to live this way?
Of course we do, but please note:
A child is closer to ground-level toxins than adults.
A child breathes at a faster rate, inhaling more toxins.
A child’s body weight is less, so toxin-body ratios are greater.
A child is still developing neurologically.
A child is prone to hand-to-mouth contact.
Nuremberg Code
The Nuremberg Code was created after the Nuremberg trials at the end of World War II. The code is a set of research ethics principles for human experimentation. The ten points of the code were submitted in the section of the verdict entitled “Permissible Medical Experiments.”
Here are the ten points of the code:
1. The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.
2. The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society, unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and not random and unnecessary in nature.
3. The experiment should be so designed and based on the results of animal experimentation and a knowledge of the natural history of the disease or other problem under study that the anticipated results will justify the performance of the experiment.
4. The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury.
5. No experiment should be conducted where there is an a priori reason to believe that death or disabling injury will occur; except, perhaps, in those experiments where the experimental physicians also serve as subjects.
6. The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the experiment.
7. Proper preparations should be made and adequate facilities provided to protect the experimental subject against even remote possibilities of injury, disability, or death.
8. The experiment should be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons. The highest degree of skill and care should be required through all stages of the experiment of those who conduct or engage in the experiment.
9. During the course of the experiment the human subject should be at liberty to bring the experiment to an end if he has reached the physical or mental state where continuation of the experiment seems to him to be impossible.
10. During the course of the experiment the scientist in charge must be prepared to terminate the experiment at any stage, if he has probable cause to believe, in the exercise of the good faith, superior skill and careful judgment required of him that a continuation of the experiment is likely to result in injury, disability, or death to the experimental subject.
LIVING RIGHTS ENDORSEMENTS
“This book is an invitation to act, to make a difference, to live with meaning on front after front. Each right constitutes an imperative to address a disparity, to reject the status quo, to define oneself as an activist. Each triggers an awareness that may come from outside but somehow activates something inside. We recognize a mandate that we can no longer ignore to circumstances we might have been numbed to in the past. It awakens something inside us, something right, something that we know is ours.
“Silence and inaction are not neutral. Read this book. Live with meaning.”
Edgar S. Cahn PhD, JD, legal professor, former counsel and speechwriter to Robert F. Kennedy, Executive Assistant to Sargent Shriver, co-founder the David A. Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia
“The importance of ‘Making Human Rights Come Alive’ cannot be overstated. Faith communities committed to social justice, ecological integrity and sustainable peace understand well that a practical articulation of values we hold dear is contained in the compendium of universal human rights. Diane Perlman’s excellent, practical resource can help generate the deeper thinking and civic engagement so desperately needed in our broken world.”
Marie Dennis, Senior Advisor to the Secretary General, Co-President (2007-2019), Pax Christi International
“As citizens, we will enjoy more secure and meaningful lives if we promote human rights for ourselves and for people everywhere. Diane Perlman’s Making Human Rights Come Alive ingeniously guides readers through interactive activities of many kinds, imparting all the while a deep appreciation of why we owe it to ourselves and to others to learn as much as we can about human rights, and then practice what we learn throughout our lives.”
Richard Falk, author, international law professor at Princeton University, United Nations Special Rapporteur on “the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967”
“It is with great pleasure that I endorse Diane Perlman’s book and Journal. It is a cry for justice that brings Human Rights to our attention in our busy lives and remind us of our brotherhood and sisterhood for all. It is an inspiration for the young and old to look at life as a joy and see how many people accept and recognize that every person has rights. It is an example for children, families and communities to use this book for education to bring human rights as the basis of human dignity. It is a gift of the spirit to those whose rights have been violated and feel depressed to show them that they have the same inalienable Human Rights without exception.”
Mubarak Awad, a Christian Palestinian-American psychologist, referred to as the Palestinian Gandhi, founder of Nonviolence International
“Diane Perlman is right: Many people around the world are not aware that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights exists. This book, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights cards, offer a great experiential way to everyone to get a deeper understanding of our common humanity and our place in history, and to appreciate why human rights ideals are such a revelation and gift to humanity.”
Evelin Lindner, PhDs, founding president of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
“Diane Perlman takes on a subject that most Americans either ignore or know nothing about—the role of human rights whistleblowers in the functioning of our democracy. What is a democracy without respect for human rights, without transparency, without honesty, without those sentinels of the public trust promoting ethics and morality in our society? A society cannot exist without the whistleblower. And without human rights, the United States as a beacon of freedom is simply a myth.”
John Kiriakou, CIA whistleblower on torture, former CIA analyst, and senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
“As a literacy educator and researcher, I define literacy as the capacity to navigate the world. Together, we can work to build a society where every person is not only equipped with reading skills, but also with information literacy, digital literacy, financial literacy, health literacy, environmental literacy, and political literacy. Dr. Perlman provides the backbones for the development of another fundamental literacy: rights literacy.”
Allister Chang, Member, DC State Board of Education
“Dr. Perlman brings an intimate, personal, deeply human approach to the greatest, most imminent threat to human rights and sustaining civilization—the possibility of the explosive use of nuclear weapons by accident, design, or madness. Often the issue of addressing the production and threat to use these horrific devices remains abstract and in the distant realm of complex geopolitics. Dr. Perlman’s work helps bring it into our lives, where it belongs. Ignoring, denying, or avoiding the issue will not serve us well. Facing reality is the first step to improving it. Thank you, Diane, for this book and bringing attention to the nuclear threat as the ultimate human rights violation to help us move to a safer, saner world.”
Jonathan Granoff, President Global Security Institute
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction xi
How to Use This Book xii
Section 1: Activities 1
Introductory Activity: Recognizing Our Inalienable Rights 3
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Simplified Version 5
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: New 21st Century Rights 10
Brief History of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 11
Activity 2: Categories of Rights 12
Activity 3: Imagining 1948 13
Activity 4: Deep Dive into a Right 14
Activity 5: List of Your Rights 15
Activity 6: Thought Experiments 16
Activity 7: Country Comparisons 17
Activity 8: Apply to History, Social Studies, Literature, Current Events 18
Activity 9: Human Rights of Refugees 19
Activity 10: Drawing Rights 20
Activity 11: Make Up Your Own Rights 21
Activity 12: Nobel Peace Prize Winners Activities 22
Activity 13: Maze 23
Activity 14: Word Search 24
Activity 15: Color and Learn Poem 25
Activity 16: Color and Think About the Abolition of Slavery 26
Activity 17: Color and Think About Suffrage 28
Activity 18: Color and Think About Civil Rights 30
Activity 19: Storytelling 32
Activity 20: Miscellaneous Activities 33
Activity 21: Disability and the Right to Accessibility 34
Activity 22: Legal Abuse and the Right to Court-Free Conflict Transformation 35
Activity 23: 21st Century Rights 36
Activity 24: Black Lives Matter 37
Activity 25: Historical Trauma and the Right to Healing and Repair 38
Activity 26: Pandemic and Human Rights 41
Activity 27: My Brother’s Keeper 44
Activity 28: The Human Rights Pledge 46
Activity 29: Make Up Your Own Activity 47
Activity 30: Vocabulary Words, Concepts, and Phrases 48
Activity 31: Calendar Activities 51
Section 2: Journal 53
My Human Rights Journal 55
Recommended Strategy: Right of the Week Theme 56
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Preamble 57
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Proclamation 58
UDHR Article 1: Right to Equality 59
UDHR Article 2: Freedom from Discrimination 60
UDHR Article 3: Right to Life, Liberty and Personal Security 61
UDHR Article 4: Freedom from Slavery 62
UDHR Article 5: Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment 63
UDHR Article 6: Right to Recognition as a Person Before the Law 64
UDHR Article 7: Right to Equality Before the Law 65
UDHR Article 8: Right to Remedy by Capable Judges 66
UDHR Article 9: Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile 67
UDHR Article 10: Right to Fair Public Hearing 68
UDHR Article 11: Right to Be Considered Innocent Until Proven Guilty 69
UDHR Article 12: Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence 70
UDHR Article 13: Right to Free Movement 71
UDHR Article 14: Right to Protection in Another Country 72
UDHR Article 15: Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It 73
UDHR Article 16: Right to Marriage and Family 74
UDHR Article 17: Right to Own Property 75
UDHR Article 18: Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion 76
UDHR Article 19: Freedom of Opinion and Information 77
UDHR Article 20: Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association 78
UDHR Article 21: Right to Participate in Government and Elections 79
UDHR Article 22: Right to Social Security 80
UDHR Article 23: Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions 81
UDHR Article 24: Right to Rest and Leisure 82
UDHR Article 25: Right to Adequate Living Standard 83
UDHR Article 26: Right to Education 84
UDHR Article 27: Right to Participate in Cultural Life of Community 85
UDHR Article 28: Right to a Social Order 86
UDHR Article 29: Responsibilities to the Community 87
UDHR Article 30: Freedom from Interference in These Human Rights 88
2019 Proposed Amendment to the 1948 UDHR: New Rights Preamble 89
New Rights Article 31: Right to Sustainable Environment for Future Generations 90
New Rights Article 32: Right to Clean Air 91
New Rights Article 33: Right to Clean Water 92
New Rights Article 34: Responsibility to Protect Plants 93
New Rights Article 35: Responsibility to Protect Animals’ Rights 94
New Rights Article 36: Right to Clean Power 95
New Rights Article 37: Right to Freedom from Toxins 96
New Rights Article 38: Right to Freedom from Plastic Waste 97
New Rights Article 39: Right to Freedom from Living Under the Nuclear Threat 98
New Rights Article 40: Right to Freedom from War and Right to Nonviolent Conflict Transformation 99
Section 3: Actions and Events 101
Easy Formula to Design an Event/Workshop/Assembly 103
Actions I Can Take 104
Calendar of International Days, Weeks, Years, Decades 105
Section 4: Useful Resources 111
All Nobel Peace Prize Winners 113
Quotes 123
Songs 133
Short Videos 134
UDHR Black Lives Matter Resources: Films, TV Shows and Books on Systemic Racism 135
Human Rights Films 139
Some Human Rights Organizations 141
Twenty-Two NGOs Keeping Peace 147
More Resources 150 150
Some UN Declarations and Conventions 150
Storytelling Resources 151
Disability Resources: Very Few of Many 153
A Child’s Environmental Bill of Rights 155
Pledges, Oaths and Ethical Codes 156
Section 5: Nuclear Awakening and Human Rights 167
Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the US Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki &
Celebrating the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’ Entry into Force on January 22, 2021 169
Preliminary Activity 32: Nuclear Awareness 170
Activity 33: Nuclear Word Search 171
Activity 34: Nuclear Thought Experiments 172
Activity 35: US Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 173
Activity 36: The Doomsday Clock 174
Activity 37: War Itself 176
Nuclear Background Information 177
Nuclear Awakening Education Activities for Events, Workshops and Assemblies 185
Activities for Summer Camps and Beyond 188
Resources: People, Organizations, Books and Films 191
About the Author 203
"Human Rights"? What are they? What do they look like?