Guantanamo: The right to a fair trial
Justice For Dad from Amnesty International on Vimeo.
Amnesty's Justice For Dad resource offers teachers a powerful way to introduce the important topical issue of Guantánamo Bay to their students.
The Justice For Dad film follows two families whose loved ones are being held without charge in Guantánamo and denied their human right to a fair trial. Months filming British residents Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes were released without charge and returned home to the UK.
The accompanying lesson plan and worksheets encourage students to consider the case for and against Guantánamo and to form their own opinion. The resources include updated info and activities to reflect Barack Obama's January 2009 announcement that he would close the military prison within a year, and the fact that a year later it remains open.
|
|
It is within the remit of Citizenship and related subjects to provide the opportunity for students to explore controversial contemporary issues, to enable the development of political literacy and also the development of skills in critical thinking and advocacy and representation. By providing an opportunity to explore these issues, which are of particular concern to some ethnic minority groups in the UK, schools also go some way to meeting responsibilities around Community Cohesion.
Justice For Dad
The Justice For Dad lesson plan and worksheets enable students to consider the case for and against Guantánamo and to form their own opinion:
1 The class consider the case for Guantánamo through analysis of a US Whitehouse press release.
2 Through viewing and discussing Justice For Dad, students consider the case against Guantánamo.
3 Both sides of the argument are weighed up.
4 Students can express their view by designing a card, symbolically shaped as an orange jumpsuit, and sending it to Amnesty.
|
|
Lesson resources:
|
|
Background: |
A lesson to investigate the characteristics of a fair trial as outlined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This can be used as a standalone lesson or alongside Justice For Dad: |
|
|
Guantánamo action centre
Did you think Guantánamo should be closed and the detainees given a fair trial or released?
Visit the Guantánamo action centre to find out what other young people across the UK thought!
^ Top
What happened next?
Go to the Guantánamo campaign page or search Amnesty's news database for full details of events - a few key milestones are highlighted below:
|
January 2009: Within his first 48 hours in office, President Obama ordered the closure of Guantánamo. |
|
19 Dec 2007: Guantánamo: Return of UK residents welcomed On their return Jamil El-Banna and Omar Deghayes were both detained before being released on bail pending a full hearing of a request for their extradition to Spain. Both Jamil and Omar are victims of serious and protracted human rights violations. Amnesty urges that the current extradition proceedings in the UK, and any criminal proceedings against them that might follow, should be conducted in accordance with the standards of fairness required by international human rights law, and should be as prompt as they can fairly be. Read the full update |
|
|
13 Dec 2007: Anas El-Banna is named Person of the Year 2007 Useful information
Human rights values - a summary of the values that underpin human rights:
Fairness (justice)
Respect
Equality
Dignity
Autonomy (freedom)
Human rights articles - a selection of relevant articles from the UDHR:
Article 3: The right to life and to live in safety
Article 5: The right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
Article 9: The right to be free from arbitrary detention
Article 10: The right to a fair trial
Useful information
Human rights values - a summary of the values that underpin human rights:
Fairness (justice)
Respect
Equality
Dignity
Autonomy (freedom)
Human rights articles - a selection of relevant articles from the UDHR:
Article 3: The right to life and to live in safety
Article 5: The right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
Article 9: The right to be free from arbitrary detention
Article 10: The right to a fair trial
