Course Summary:
Human rights research needs a more rigorous and coherent focus on methodological issues. The subject is complex and needs careful attention over a period of time.
Human rights research is not in itself an academic discipline but a field of research where different disciplines apply their own research questions, approaches and methodologies. While the legal discipline obviously has a long history of studying rights, social science has only recently overcome their human rights skepticism and delved into this field of inquiry.
In conducting research, there seems to be a certain degree of sloppiness in terms of awareness of methodological rigor in much of today’s human rights research.
Course Objectives:
- to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
- to value human dignity and develop individual self-respect and respect for others
- to develop attitudes and behaviours that will lead to respect for the rights of others
- to ensure genuine gender equality and equal opportunities for women and men in all spheres
- to promote respect, understanding and appreciation of diversity, particularly towards different national, ethnic, religious, linguistic and other minorities and communities
- to empower people towards more active citizenship
- to promote democracy, development, social justice, communal harmony, solidarity and friendship among people and nations
- to further the activities of international institutions aimed at the creation of a culture of peace, based upon universal values of human rights, international understanding, tolerance and non-violence.
Course Outline
CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND DUTIES
- Rights : inherent, inalienable, universal, indivisible
- Values : Dignity, liberty, equality, justice, unity in diversity
- Need for balance between Rights and Duties, Freedom and Responsibility
PHILOSOPHICAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
- Theories of human rights
- History of human rights civilization
- Human rights movements
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
HUMAN RIGHTS AND DUTIES IN AFRICA
- Evolution: Independence movement, making of the Constitution
- Fundamental Rights
- Directive Principles
- Fundamental duties
- Their Interrelationship
- Enforcement and protection mechanism of human rights in Africa
- Judiciary
- National Human Rights Commission and other Commissions and Committees
- Non-governmental organizations
- Information Media
- Education
SOCIETAL PROBLEMS
- Poverty, underdevelopment and illiteracy
- Women, children and the disadvantaged groups
IMPORTANCE OF INTERNALIZING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Importance of internalizing Human Rights Values - Urgent need for not only sensitizing others of human rights and duties, but of practising oneself those values: self-inculcation, endeavour to live up to those ideals - Duty to respect others' rights, respect each other's human dignity
