English Reading Practice

Our Human Rights

1. Watch the video at the top of the page.

2. Read the article "Our Human Rights" just below it.

3. Do the exercise at the bottom of the page.

Here is the Story of Human Rights video. You can watch it in your own language at www.youthforhumanrights.org. (Simply click the word "langauge" at the top of their homepage.) 

Our Human Rights

The United Nations is an international organization that was established in 1945 to help keep world peace. It was established shortly after the end of World War II.

In 1948 a special United Nations commission, headed by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, wrote a special document which stated the rights that all people should have. This document is called the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

"Universal" means "of all the people in the world."

A "declaration" is a formal announcement.

"Human rights" are the rights that each person has, simply because he or she is human.

The human rights are there to protect us and help us live in peace. For example, "the right to life" is a human right. Each and every one of us has the right to life, simply because we are human.

Another example is "the right to freedom of thought." We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want.

Studying and knowing our human rights is as important today as it was after World War II. This is because when people don't know their natural rights things such as injustice, discrimination, intolerance and slavery can happen.

The more aware people are to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the closer we get to a peaceful, free and fair world.

And now, practice:

Exercise 01

Please share this page with others: