Human rights

Preparation and Planning

Human rights is an emotive and contentious topic and you will need to be aware of particular sensitivities amongst your class e.g. refugees, victims of bullying etc. There is a lot of debate and discussion throughout this lesson and Slide 33 can be used to set some ground rules to ensure all students' comments are constructive, respected and that every individual has their say.
There is little preparation for this lesson. You will need to make enough copies of the Student Worksheets for each student as the exercises require independent study.
This lesson will be most effective if delivered after the 'Conflict and cooperation' Lesson Plan.

Within this lesson plan there is enough content to deliver two lessons. Episodes 4 and 5 could form a separate lesson that discusses and debates how rights and responsibilities of military personnel and the British Government need to be balanced in times of conflict.

About the MOD Topic

The Lesson Plan on 'Conflict and Cooperation' provides further details about the Balkans crisis.

Human Rights
Human rights are the right to which all humans are entitled. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN) was designed to protect the rights of everyone in the world. It was created following the atrocities of World War 2. There are 30 'articles' included in the declaration that define everyone's fundamental human rights. It states that rights and freedoms are entitled to everyone without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. The UN Commission on Human Rights upholds and enforces this declaration. The Commission is made up of 53 states and they meet annually for six weeks in Geneva to evaluate and make decisions on international human rights issues.

UK and International Armed Forces work in Bosnia-Herzegovina
NATO originally became involved in the Bosnian War in 1992 to deliver humanitarian relief throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. Together with the Western European Union, the Alliance monitored and enforced UN sanctions.

In mid 1995 the NATO launched air strikes against Bosnian Serb positions to force them to the negotiating table. A US pressured cease-fire came into effect on 5 October 1995. Then a General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP) was signed in December 1995, called the Dayton agreement. This established two self-governing entities within Bosnia - the Bosnian Serb Republic and the Muslim (Bosnjak)-Croat Federation. The agreement's aim was to bring about the reintegration of Bosnia and to protect the human rights of its citizens.

A NATO-led peacekeeping force was charged with implementing the military aspects of the peace agreement, primarily overseeing the separation of forces. But the force was also granted extensive additional powers, including the authority to arrest indicted war criminals when encountered in the normal course of its duties. In 2003, there was a massive reduction of international forces from around 60,000 to around 12,000, when it was decided between NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers that a reduced military presence was needed to provide stability and peace. NATO concluded its mission on 2 December 2004.

In December 2004, the EU launched a military operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina which comprised of 6,300 troops from 34 EU and non-EU nations working in 3 multi-national task forces across the country. Their mission is to ensure continued compliance with the Dayton agreement and to contribute to a safe and secure environment.

As part of the EU operation, the UK contributed to creating the conditions required to deliver the long term political objective of a stable, viable, peaceful and multiethnic Bosnia-Herzegovina, co-operating peacefully with its neighbours and irreversibly on track towards EU membership.

“The United Kingdom's contribution to the operation in Bosnia was not only vital but has led to considerable success. We were part of a unified international effort which resulted in the negotiation of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995 - an agreement that has endured and set the political and military framework for that country ever since. The British Army, on the ground and in the air, helped to create a safe and secure environment. The Royal Air Force established the No Fly zone and the Sarajevo Air Bridge*, and the Royal Navy contributed to the maritime embargo as well as assisting the efforts in the air. As a nation, we can be proud of what we have achieved, not just in Bosnia but throughout this region; although the contribution came at the cost of 72 lives lost, all now properly commemorated by the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. (Chief of the General Staff and Bosnia veteran General Sir Richard Dannatt.)

In February 2007, EU ministers agreed that the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina was sufficiently stable and reduced the three multinational task forces to a single taskforce and an associated reduction in troops. The UK was the lead nation in Multi-National Task Force (North West) and contributed 600 troops. Following the EU Decision, the task force closed at the end of April 2007.

The Balkans have been transformed since the wars. Bosnia is increasingly safe and normal. Successful general elections took place in October 2006. Most of those who left their homes across the region have returned. Today Kosovo remains the greater challenge in the Balkans region. The focus now is increasingly on providing the region with the help and assistance it needs to move forward and put behind it the legacies of war.

*A No Fly Zone is a territory in which aircraft are not permitted to fly. An air bridge is an air lift used to deliver food and supplies into an area which has restricted land transport links.

Peter Howson
Peter Howson was commissioned in spring 1993 by the Imperial War Museum and Times Newspapers to go to Bosnia. He made two visits to the country in June and December, travelling with the British forces who were part of the United Nations Protection Force. Howson's paintings contentiously show rape scenes in Bosnia which provoked debate about whether his work presented imaginary events or factual records. His paintings were a response to numerous accounts from rape victims which Howson had encountered in Bosnia.

Human Rights
http://www.hrweb.org/legal/undocs.html
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/chr.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights
http://www.hrw.org/

Background to Balkans
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/map/yugoslavia/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profile/1066886.stm#facts
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1066981.stm

MOD's work in the Balkans
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/InDepth/UkMilitaryOperationsInBalkans.htm
http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/factsheets/operationsfactsheets/balkansbritishfatalities.htm
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/HistoryAndHonour/TributesPaidToBosniaVeterans.htm

Further Opportunities for Learning

Deliver Episode 4 and 5 as a separate lesson. Students can discuss and debate whether military personnel can expect to have universal rights that are equivalent to civilians during war. There is also huge scope for debating whether the British Government has a 'right' to become involved in other countries disputes.

Using Student Worksheet 2 and 4 as stimuli, write a press release about a commemorative ceremony for the Muslim or Serb deaths, during the Bosnian War.
What is the role of a war artist? Should they be commissioned to capture war? Pros and cons?

Use the internet to research other Human Rights Acts including 1995 Declaration of the Rights of the Child (UN), 1963 European Convention on Human Rights (Europe), 1998 Human Rights Act (Britain).

Review other conflicts in which the UK Armed Forces has been involved, both peace-keeping and fighting, and debate whether the UK has a 'right to intervene'. Some examples of topical conflicts include: Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Burma and Israel. You could also debate whether military personnel can expect to have universal rights during war.

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.