Suggested level: Middle & Senior Secondary
Learning outcome: to encourage students to think about human rights in a global context that goes beyond our national borders and challenges them to reflect on the equality of all people. This lesson links to Level 10 History Curriculum, the Civics and Citizenship Strands ACHCK091, ACHCK093.
Materials and resources:
Newspaper article Government to pay $70m damages to 1,905 Manus detainees in class action https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/14/government-to-pay-damages-to-manus-island-detainees-in-class-action
Copies of the UN Declaration of Human Rights available from https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
Suggested activities
Students should read the article about detainees on Manus Island and answer the following questions using the UN Declaration of Human Rights as a guide.
- Identify which articles in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights might apply and why.
- Can the detainees’ Human Dignity been diminished? How? In what circumstances?
- How could conditions and policies change for the better to uphold the human rights and the dignity of the refugees?
- In which circumstances might our legal and civic responsibilities extend beyond our national borders? Explain your reasoning.