Canadian and World Issues with David Spencer Your name: ____________________ http://education.davidspencer.ca/geography/issues/humanrights Back to the list of Units Date Assigned:   Date Due:

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Refer to your textbook Clark, Bruce and John Wallace. Global Connections: Canadian and World Issues. Prentice Hall, Toronto 2003 ISBN: 0-13-041067-5

Unit # 4    Topic: Human Rights and Child Labour

Craig Kielburger: Opening the World's Eyes to Child Labour

1. Make point form jot notes on the video "It Takes a Child" the story of Craig Kielburger produced by Judy Jackson. If you missed the class, you can sign the video out from the Brampton Library. Hand in for marks___/10 Communication

marks____/40 Thinking

Log onto the web here
<http://education.davidspencer.ca/geography/issues/humanrights>

2. Write a one page summary explaining how Craig Kielburger plays a significant role in: reducing child labour educating the media FreeTheChildren.org Canadian identity Refer to a) your notes from the video "It Takes a Child", b) the attached essay by Craig Kielburger c) the info pages about Craig Kielburger located on the Free the Children web site < http://www.freethechildren.com/aboutus/theteam/craigkielburger.htm >. <http://www.freethechildren.com/aboutus/>

Mother Teresa and Craig "I will take the stories of the children enslaved in child labour and tell them to anyone who will listen." - Craig Kielburger

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
When the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany became apparent after the Second World War, there was a general consensus within the world community that the United Nations Charter did not sufficiently clarify rights it protected. Rather, a universal declaration that articulated and codified the rights of individuals was necessary. Canadian John Peters Humphrey was called upon by the UN Secretariat to work on the project and became the declaration's principal drafter. Humphrey was assisted by Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States, René Cassin of France, Charles Malik of Lebanon, and P. C. Chang of the Republic of China, among others. (wikipedia.org)

3. Name the Canadian who was the principal drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

4. Copy down the following definition.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (also UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, December 10, 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris), outlining the organization's view on the human rights guaranteed to all people. (wikipedia.org)

5. Copy down the following definition.

Definition of Human Rights
Human rights refers to the concept of human beings as having universal rights, or status, regardless of legal jurisdiction or other localizing factors, such as ethnicity, nationality, and sex. As is evident in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights, at least in the post-war period, are conceptualized as based on inherent human dignity, retaining their universal and inalienable character. (wikipedia.org)

6. Name three (3) NGO's that try to protect human rights in the world.

Monitoring Abuses of Human Rights
Human rights violations and abuses include those documented by non-governmental organizations (NGO's) such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, International Freedom of Expression Exchange and Anti-Slavery International. (wikipedia.org)

7. How can individuals be involved in protecting human rights?

According to Amnesty International, "The defense of human rights requires individuals to act on behalf of others. The violation of one individual's rights can set in motion a pattern of further abuses. The place to stop patterns of abuse emerging is at the level of the individual. Moreover, it is at this level that the action of the ordinary individual can make a difference."

AI's (Amnesty International's) vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

8. Copy down AI's mission.

In pursuit of this vision, AI's mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights." ( amnesty.org)

9. Describe two (2) actions Amnesty International Canada performs in Canada for Canadians.

Amnesty International Canada is actively involved in Canada and world-wide. "We take action to protect refugees, defend the human rights of Indigenous peoples, hold Canadian corporations responsible for helping to safeguard human rights in their countries of operation, and call on the Canadian government to put human rights at the heart of Canadian foreign policy."

Urban Problems in Developing Countries
10. (page 137) List seven (7) labour activities performed by adults and children working in the informal sector of the economy.

11. (page 138) Describe the tax base issue facing cities with low levels of economic development.

12. (page 138- 139) Describe the purpose of the "Cities without Slums" project.

Child Labour and Poverty
13. (page 412) From your perspective, why are children the most vulnerable of the world's citizens?

14. (page 412) How many children are estimated to be working in hazardous conditions?

15. (page 412) Why are children considered to be desirable workers?

16. (page 412- 413) How can child labour be reduced?

17. (page 413) Examine the textbook facts and tat least two (2) of the following CBC reports about child poverty. Summarize the child poverty situation in Canada.

a) Child poverty rates unchanged in nearly 2 decades. < http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/11/26/child-poverty.html >
b) Ontario's plan to reduce poverty too narrow. <http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/09/08/ont-poverty.html>
c) Child poverty goes up in Toronto < http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2003/06/30/poverty_toronto030630.html >
d) Child poverty on the rise in Canada. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/1998/05/12/poverty980512a.html>
e) Child poverty rates unchanged in nearly 2 decades: report <http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/11/26/child-poverty.html>

c) below poverty line <http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/04/02/poverty-report.html>

"Over 250 million child labourers are being exploited for profit or are forced to work in order to survive. Whole generations of children are being deprived of the chance to take their rightful place in the society and economy of the 21st Century. If recruitment of new child workers ends now, child labour will disappear in a decade." (ICFTU)

18. Read the previous paragraph. Approximately how many child labourers are being exploited today?

Some 70 percent of child labour world-wide is found in agriculture, with many children engaged in forced and hazardous activities. They are often obliged to work long hours, use sharp tools designed for adults, carry loads too heavy for their immature bodies and operate dangerous machinery. Children working in agriculture also risk exposure to toxic pesticides, dusts, diseases and unsanitary conditions.(hrea.org)

19. Read the previous paragraph. What percentage of child labour world-wide is found in agriculture?

The World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL), which is observed world-wide on June 12 each year, is intended to serve as a catalyst for the growing world-wide movement against child labour. (ilo.org)

20. Read the previous paragraph. When will the World Day Against Child Labour be observed during this school year?

21. (page 413) What did the United Nations write and publish to protect the rights of the child?

22. (page 413-414) List the eight (8) rights protected by this document.

23. In your opinion, what should be done about the child labour issue? Write a full page outlining your plan, resources required, people required and your supporting arguments.

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