Human Rights: The Basics
What are Human Rights? Human rights are the rights a person has simply because he or she is a human being.
“Human rights are held equally and inalienable by all human beings. They are social and political guarantees necessary to protect individuals from the standard threats to human dignity posed by the modern state and modern markets”
Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English – or in over 500 other languages
Cambodia is an example of a country which had years of terror under the Khmer Rouge. Following such trauma, ways of readjustment need to be found, in which communities are educated to accept that they have Rights and that they can take action to make a difference. However even settled communities may have gone through long periods of people being dis-empowered.
Freedom United: “In every country around the world, people are working for little or no pay, controlled by threats, debt, and violence. We call it by many names, but it amounts to the same thing: modern slavery.” Explore different topics related to the issue at the Freedom University.
Fahamu specialises in making training and information about social justice in Africa available via electronic media and workshops. Work motivated by a desire to see a world “where people organise to emancipate themselves from all forms of oppression, recognise their social responsibilities, respect each other’s differences, and realise their full potential”.
CISS, an NGO in West Kenya, works with local communities to understand their Rights and to accept that they can take control of change in their own community: see our CASE STUDY: Kenya
