The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines the 30 fundamental rights that every person is entitled to worldwide. On 21 March, we’re to take stock of what our human rights are and how they’re respected in our own backyards.

Things to do

    • Make a “World Wishes Dove” with your family. Cut out paper feathers for each member to decorate and write a wish for the world. Cut out the shape of a dove and glue all the feathers onto it. Once decorated, your bird will be a beautiful expression of your family’s hopes for a better world.
    • Talk to people originally from another country. Ask where they’re from, what their lives were like there, what they like about their new country, what they miss about their previous country, etc.
    • Support schools and churches that collect items, such as canned foods, clothes, toys and spectacles for less fortunate families or visit sites such as www.forgood.co.za and www.doubleupsa.co.za/gauteng-causes.php that provide lists of items needed for the less fortunate in our country.
    • At a gathering of friends and family, read a simplified version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You’ll find the information at www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/articles-1-15.html for the information. Alternatively, read the children’s book We are all born free that adults can also enjoy. The book not only explains our rights in language that a little child can understand but also has beautiful illustrations by a variety of artists.
    • Watch the recently released movie, Selma, which marks 50 years since Martin Luther King Jr led thousands of people from the city of Selma to the city of Montgomery, Alabama to secure equal voting rights, or the documentary, Burma VJ that depicts events in Burma.
    • Encourage your friends to change their profile pictures on Facebook to a Human Rights Day banner.
    • Hold a candlelight vigil or other event to commemorate those who have suffered human rights abuses and those whose human rights are still being violated.
    • Organise a human rights-themed party with prizes for the best dressed human rights activist.
    • Take the Soweto Township Tour to significant sites, such as the place where the Freedom Charter was drawn up; Kliptown, the home of former President Nelson Mandela; and the Hector Pietersen Museum. Price per tour is R101 to R200 per person (2015) depending on the size of the group. For additional places to visit go to http://www.wherenext.co.za/news/entry/five-ways-to-celebrate-human-rights-day-the-right-way.

 

Sources
http://humanrightswarrior.com
http://www.un.org/
http://www.youthforhumanrights.org