Fundamental Human Rights – JSS1 Home Economics Lesson Note (Third Term)

A right is a natural due, a moral claim or a legal entitlement that every person is allowed to enjoy.

Behavioural objectives

1. Explain the meaning of a right.
2. State the fundamental rights of every Nigerian.
3. State the date the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted.
4. List the basic principles of a child’s rights.
5. Give examples of ways in which rights can be violated.

What is a right?

A right is a freedom or benefit guaranteed to a person by law, morality or nature.

• Natural due: something a person deserves simply by being human, such as life.
• Moral claim: something a person can fairly expect from others, such as respect.
• Legal entitlement: something the law protects, such as a fair trial in court.

What are fundamental human rights?

Fundamental human rights are the basic legal entitlements of every Nigerian, written in Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

• Where written: Chapter IV of the Constitution, starting from Section 33.
• Who has them: every citizen, whatever his or her sex, religion, tribe or age.
• Why “fundamental”: they are basic to a free and dignified life.
• Who protects them: the courts, the police and bodies such as the National Human Rights Commission.

What are the fundamental rights of every Nigerian?

The main fundamental rights of every Nigerian are listed in the table below.

What are the basic principles of a child’s rights?

The basic principles of a child’s rights are the standards set out in the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the UN General Assembly adopted on 20th November 1989.

1. Life and development: every child has the right to life and to be allowed to survive and develop.
2. Name and nationality: every child is entitled to a name, a family and a nationality.
3. Expression: every child has the right to express opinions and communicate them freely, subject to restriction under the law.
4. Rest and play: every child is entitled to adequate rest and recreation, according to his or her age and culture.
5. Education: every child is entitled to receive compulsory basic education.
6. Health: every child is entitled to good health, protection from illness and proper medical attention.
7. Protection: every child must be protected from indecent and inhuman treatment.

What does protection from inhuman treatment cover?

• Sexual exploitation: using a child for sexual purposes.
• Drug abuse: making or allowing a child to take harmful drugs.
• Child labour: making a child do heavy or harmful work instead of going to school.
• Torture and maltreatment: beating or harming a child cruelly.
• Neglect: failing to give a child food, care, shelter or medical attention.

How can a person’s rights be violated?

A right is violated when a person or group denies, restricts or ignores it.

• Life: killing a person unlawfully.
• Dignity: beating, torturing or insulting a person cruelly.
• Personal liberty: arresting and keeping someone in detention without lawful reason.
• Fair hearing: punishing a person without listening to his or her side.
• Privacy: opening someone’s letters or listening to calls without permission.
• Religion: forcing a person to follow a faith or stopping him or her from worshipping.
• Discrimination: refusing a girl school because of her sex.
• Child’s rights: sending a child to work on the street instead of school.

What should a person do when his or her rights are violated?

A person whose rights are violated should report the matter to the proper authority.

1. Tell a parent, teacher or elder you trust.
2. Report to the police or the National Human Rights Commission.
3. Take the matter to a court of law if it is not settled.

What duty goes with a right?

Every right carries a duty to respect the rights of other people.

• Respect others: your freedom ends where another person’s freedom begins.
• Obey the law: rights may be limited by law to protect others.
• Protect children: adults must care for and defend the rights of children.

Evaluation

1. What is a human right?
2. State five fundamental rights of every Nigerian.
3. Mention five rights of a Nigerian child.
4. On what date was the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted?

Assignment

Explain five ways in which a person’s rights can be violated, and state who a victim can report to.