Notes for Teachers
The following are suggested questions and activities that can be given to your students after they read the materials of each section. The questions are meant to be asked as a review exercise, but also as critical thinking exercises. The activities, which may require additional research, can be presented as classroom exercises or as individual assignments for essays or class presentations (see also Resources for suggested research materials). Some activities call for students to have debates that would engage the entire class but all of the questions and activities can be used in this way. These are only suggested questions and activities. Teachers should rewrite or develop their own as they feel necessary.
Essential Principles and History
Study Questions
Question
What is the basis for the universality of human rights in Western political thought? In the development of governing institutions?
Question
What is the basis for the universality of human rights in the post-World War II period?
Question
What political movements for freedom were necessary to establish the universality of human rights?
Question
What two sets of rights are included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Why was the “International Bill of Rights” broken into two parts? Did Western democracies accept or oppose social and economic rights within the UN framework of human rights? In the enforcement of human rights, why have civil and political rights been more closely monitored than social, cultural and economic rights?
Question
Some countries’ leaders argue against the universality of human rights. Which countries make this argument and why? What recent (post-World War II) developments counter such an argument.
Question
Are there exceptions to the need to adhere to human rights standards? What in international law allows governments to suspend human rights?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
Read the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Compare these to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Which concepts of the period of the American and French Revolutions are found in these modern human rights documents? Assign for general class discussion or for a student essay.
Activity
Assign the articles on Eleanor Roosevelt in Resources (and/or do further research). In class discussion, compare the quote used of the Declaration of Independence and the first Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). What is the difference? Review the discussions about how Article 1 of the UDHR was drafted. Discuss why Eleanor Roosevelt proposed Article 1’s specific language. Is it more or less comprehensive than the assertion of rights in the Declaration of Independence? {Note to Teachers: this is not a yes or no question, but an open-ended one that allows for rich discussion of the nature of natural rights and concepts of human dignity and equality.}
Activity
Drawing on Essential Principles, compare the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights. Discuss the following: What differentiates these rights? Which should governments not take away and which should governments provide? Use the Country Studies to find examples of countries that justified the taking away of derogable rights due to the need to maintain public order. Which circumstances are allowable and which circumstances are not allowable for suspending derogable rights (such as habeas corpus).
Activity
Again, assign the readings of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Organize a classroom discussion or debate around the question: “Should Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Have Equivalence with Civil and Political Rights?” {See note to teachers above.}
Activity
Compare economic and human rights statistics (e.g., those in the UN Development Program's Human Development Index, the annual Freedom in the World survey, and IMF and World Bank measurements of economies as provided in the Country Study Summaries). Is there a correlation between human rights, democracy, and economic well-being?
Indonesia
Study Questions
Question
Was Indonesia a democracy at the time of independence? Why did the independence leader Sukarno develop the idea of “Guided Democracy?”
Question
Why did Suharto organize a coup to assume power in 1965? What characterized the rule of Suharto?
Question
How did Indonesia transition from authoritarian rule to democracy?
Question
Indonesia, the fourth most populous country, is commonly called the world’s “largest Muslim democracy” for having successfully made the transition from authoritarian dictatorship to elected government. What makes Indonesia a democracy?
Question
What are the major challenges Indonesia faces in its democratic governance? Are human rights respected? How are different religious views tolerated?
Question
Why did Freedom House downgrade Indonesia’s status from “free” to “partly free”? Why are political rights rated highly and civil liberties ranked lower?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
Review the Country Study and one or more the selected resources and divide the class into groups to discuss how Indonesia has dealt with different aspects of democracy. As possible, compare to one or two other country studies from the region (e.g. Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam) or, separately, to Morocco, the other “partly free” country in this section.
Activity
Evaluate Freedom House’s ranking of Indonesia and its downgrading of Indonesia’s status to “partly free” in comparison to its nearby countries or to Morocco. Based on these comparisons, have the class act as Freedom House evaluators to discuss Indonesia’s status. Have them research current events in The New York Times and Economist web sites to discuss: Should Indonesia be considered “free” or “partly free.” Students should keep in mind there is no “right” or “wrong” answer, but rather use the exercise to consider the different Essential Principles of democracy and their importance in evaluating the status of each country.
Activity
Within this discussion or as a separate activity, have students research the five principles of the Indonesian constitution (Pancasila): what was their origin and intent? How have these principles functioned in periods of dictatorship and electoral democracy? Why did Freedom House consider the NGO law’s insistence on adherence to Pancasila as so important? (See also, for example, article in The New York Times from May 13, 2014.)
Morocco
Study Questions
Question
Before independence, what type of governance did Morocco have?
Question
Since independence, what type of governance has Morocco had? Why is it characterized in the Country Study as “semi-constsitutional”?
Question
What reforms were undertaken by Hassan II and Mohammed VI? Were they cosmetic or substantive?
Question
Have human rights improved since the February 20, 2011 demonstrations inspired by the Arab Spring? What actions were taken by the government in response? Were these substantive changes or cosmetic ones?
Question
How does Morocco’s government violate human rights?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
As with Indonesia, review the Country Study and one or more the selected resources. Divide the class into groups to discuss how Morocco respects or does not respect human rights. Compare to one or two other similar country studies from the region (e.g. Saudi Arabia, another monarchy, or Israel, a democracy). To what degree is Morocco more or less repressive in respect for human rights. Political freedom? Civil Liberties?
Activity
Compare Morocco to Indonesia, which is now also categorized as “partly free” by Freedom House. Compare the similarities and differences in the human rights situations in Morocco and Indonesia as well as the specific Freedom in the World ratings. What explains the differences? Do you agree with them? Why or why not? Each activity may be for class discussion or to assign an essay.
North Korea
Study Questions
Question
Why is the Korean peninsula divided? Why has the division lasted so long?
Question
What unique communist system was adopted in North Korea? Is it similar to other communist regimes (see, e.g., country report on China or Cuba)?
Question
What is the extent of control by the state in North Korea? What areas of life does it effect? What classifications are used to establish social hierarchies in North Korea?
Question
The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea issued a report in February 2014. What did the Commission find?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
Korea's history is mainly one of harsh dynastic rule and a rigid aristocratic structure. The Japanese occupation was a further trauma for Koreans. Yet South Korea, after an initial period of authoritarian rule, democratized while North Korea developed into a totalitarian state. Examine the Country Study and have students do further research (e.g. using The New York Times) of South Korea’s transition to democracy in 1979. Considering that the countries share a common history, organize a class discussion or assign an essay on what explains the differences between the paths taken by North and South Korea? Were external influences (such as those of the US and Soviet Union) the most important factors? What lessons about democratic development can be learned?
Activity
Have students compare the Country Studies of North Korea and Cuba. Have class discussion or assign a paper on the question: What aspects in each of the countries prevented any significant change in their communist systems? Which country has more or less possibility for democratic change?
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