• 0Shopping Cart
Re-imagining Migration
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
    • Our Board of Directors
    • Testimonials from Educators
    • Our Impact
    • Our Reach
  • Featured Stories
    • In the News
    • Educator Spotlights
  • Our Approach
    • Guiding Principles
    • Promising Practices for Supporting Immigrant Youth
    • Learning in an Age of Migration
    • Our Learning Framework
      • Dispositions for World on the Move
      • Our Learning Arc
      • Our Guide to Creating Curriculum
  • Programs
    • Our Programs and Services
      • 2023 Student Climate Survey
    • What We Do For Educational Institutions
      • Whole School Model
    • Professional Development for Individuals and Institutions
      • Learn. Connect. Unite. – Educator Summit 2022
      • Webinars and Online Professional Development
        • From Carne Y Arena To The Classroom
    • Featured Partnerships
    • Testimonials from Educators
  • Resources and Tools
    • The Re-Imagining Migration Toolkit
      • Carola Suárez-Orozco’s Moving Stories Project
      • 5 Steps for Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Learning Environments
      • Our Learning Arc
      • Our Guide to Creating Curriculum
      • Culturally Responsive Teaching Checklist
      • Building Diverse, Culturally Responsive Text Sets with the Learning Arc
      • Using Children’s Literature to Teach the Learning Arc Framework
      • Suggestions for Inclusive Classrooms
    • Classroom Resources and Lessons
      • Moving Stories
      • Understanding Migration
      • Turning to Action
      • Study Guides and Resource Collections
      • Posters and Infographics
      • Listen, Watch, and Talk Resources and Lesson Starters
      • Civics Inquiries, Lessons, and Resources
      • Connecting to the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap
    • Thinking Routines for a World on the Move
      • Thinking Routines: Take Perspective
      • Thinking Routines: Inquire in a World Shaped by Migration
      • Thinking Routines: Communicate Across Differences
      • Thinking Routines: Recognize Power Relationships and Inequities
      • Thinking Routines: Taking Action
      • Social and Emotional Thinking Routines
  • Get Involved
    • 8 Ways to Get Involved
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • Online Store
  • DONATE
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Blog: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Turns 70

December 7, 2018/0 Comments/in Blog, Civic Engagement, Education, Historical & Scientific Perspectives, History/by awp-admin

On December 10, Human Rights Day, we commemorate the 70 year anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

Let’s backtrack: what was happening at the time? In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Holocaust, and the atomic destruction in Japan, tens of millions of people had been killed, and tens of millions of others were displaced, or living in exiles. The leaders of the newly founded United Nations recognized the need to promote peace, and to define and protect people’s fundamental rights. Under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, the Commission on Human Rights took on the task of creating a Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The UDHR remains significant as ever, as the contemporary world continues to face injustice, inequality, and human rights violations. This is all the more reason to remember concepts introduced in the document and to work toward upholding them in our daily lives.

It entails three articles focused on migration, and before we turn to the document, we would like to review certain definitions. Words matter — the language we use carries weight, and it is vital to be aware of the distinctions between key terms, and the implications of each.

Migration:
The act of migration is moving from one place, country, locality to another. The UN’s most recent International Migration Report states that the number of international migrants reached 258 million in 2017. It is also important to remember that each year, millions of people migrate within their nations’ borders.

Migrant:
A migrant is someone who has moved away from their birthplace, within their countries or across international borders.

Immigrant:
An immigrant is someone who chooses to move to a new country, often with the intention of living there permanently. The reasons behind immigration affect the degree of choice in their decisions to move. Some immigrants are granted federal recognition, while others are in limbo, or aren’t granted official recognition and remain undocumented. Examples of federal recognition include: temporary statuses, short-term visas, permanent residency and citizenship.

Refugee:
A refugee is someone who is forced to move to a new place, within or outside their countries, to escape danger or persecution. Reasons include: war, civil unrest, national disaster, famine, etc. In 1951, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) created the Refugee Convention, a legal framework that defined the term, and laid the foundation for future efforts toward the protection of refugees.

Internally displaced people:
Internally displaced people face dangerous situations in their home countries and remain under the protection of their government as they have not crossed a border to flee.

Asylum:
As they await national or federal recognition, refugees or displaced peoples can seek asylum in the countries they are presently residing in. They are often unable or unwilling to return to their native countries. Individuals who are seeking or have been granted asylum are asylees.

As we think about the UDHR at Re-Imagining Migration, we reflect on Articles 13-15, which highlight people’s rights to a nationality, movement, residence within state borders, and asylum.

Article 13.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.

(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

You can read the full Universal Declaration of Human Rights here.

How can educators help youth place the UDHR into today’s context?

Here are some questions to consider while introducing the document and its relevance to students.

  • What are rights?
  • What do rights look like for us?
  • How are people’s rights met in our immediate community?
  • How are people’s rights met when they cross borders?
  • What prompts people to move?
  • Are people’s rights put in danger in the process of migration? How? Which ones?
  • Who is responsible for this?

Be intentional about creating room for open discussion with students. Created a lesson plan or framework to discuss the UDHR? Please don’t hesitate to share it with us, we’d love to hear from you!

References:

  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: United Nations (UN)

  • History of the Document: UN

  • Teaching about the Fall 2018 Migrant Caravan: Re-imagining Migration

  • Commemorating The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Teaching Tolerance

  • Fundamental Freedoms: Eleanor Roosevelt, the Holocaust, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

  • 1951 Refugee Convention and Protocol: Facing History

  • International Migration Report: UN

  • Internally Displaced People: UNHCR

  • Community Storytelling Guide

Tags: ambiguous, Ambiguous Status: Who is responsible for people in the in-betweens?, Classroom Strategies, educators, History, How can we take action toward more inclusive and sustainable societies?, How do borders impact people’s lives?, Human Rights, Migration, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Why do people leave their homes?
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://reimaginingmigration.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/31456212961_1864ea91fa_b-e1544219604746.jpg 788 586 awp-admin https://reimaginingmigration.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/RM-Logo-High-REZ-300x194-copy.png awp-admin2018-12-07 15:19:372019-06-20 11:55:25Blog: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Turns 70
You might also like
Andrew Jackson “On Indian Removal”, 1830
Driven Out: The Chinese in the West
Resources on Walls and Borders
Who gets to belong?: Legacies of Inclusion and Exclusion
Classroom Resource: Welcoming Refugees in Europe
Teaching Efrén Divided

Sign up to learn about our latest resources and learning opportunities

Login
© Copyright - Re-imagining Migration. Site by Academic Web Pages
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
The New Colossus: The 1883 Poem Written for the Statue of Liberty Book Excerpt from Mass Migration and Humanitarianism: Confronting the World...

Join Our Mailing List!

Scroll to top