Lesson video

Hello, I'm Mrs. Barry, and I'm going to be your Citizenship teacher today.

We've got a really interesting lesson about identity to look at together.

Some of this learning might be new to you, but that's okay because I'm here to work with you.

And by the end of this lesson, we'll have achieved our outcome.

So when you're ready, let's make a start.

Today's lesson comes in the unit "How does identity affect rights?" Today's lesson is called "Safety for All: How Britain keeps us secure." Our outcome for today is to be able to explain how safety is protected around the world and evaluate whether the UK is a safe place for everyone.

In today's lesson, there's a range of ground rules that we'll have to bear in mind.

Laura reminds us to listen to others.

"It is okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement, not the person." Andeep reminds us to respect privacy.

"We can discuss examples, but do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including ourselves." Jacob reminds us no judgement.

"We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged." And Izzy says choose level of participation.

"Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join a discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot." During today's lesson, there'll be a range of keywords that we will use.

So let's have a look at those together now.

International humanitarian law, that's a set of international laws which govern how we must treat other humans.

International agencies, these are organisations working to protect citizens globally and uphold international humanitarian law.

And hate crime, a crime motivated by prejudice.

Our lesson has three parts to it today.

We're going to firstly look at how do international laws and agencies protect us, then how does the UK promote safety for all citizens, and lastly, what do UK hate crime statistics tell us.

So let's get started with that first question, how do international laws and agencies protect us? What does the word safe mean to you? One meaning is that a person is protected from or not exposed to danger.

Citizens around the world are kept safe in different ways, for example, through laws and by international agencies.

If a person is not safe in their own country, they have the right to seek refuge and protection in another country.

Everyone has the right to be safe and they should not be dependent on your identity or characteristics.

Many citizens view the UK as safer compared to other countries.

What is international humanitarian law? International humanitarian law is a set of international laws which govern how we must treat other humans.

These laws aim to protect those affected by war and set rules to minimise the harm caused by conflict.

There are many international declarations, laws, and organisations that aim to protect citizens' rights regardless of their identity.

For example, the Geneva Conventions, a set of four conventions written after World War II that ensure sick and wounded soldiers, as well as medical and religious workers, are cared for; wounded, sick, and shipwrecked people are helped during war at sea; prisoners of war are treated humanely; and civilians, including those in occupied areas, are protected.

So which of the following is not part of the Geneva Conventions? Is it A, prisoners of war are treated humanely? B, civilians, including those in occupied areas, are protected? Or C, ensuring the right to free speech for soldiers during wartime? Well done if you identified that ensuring the right to free speech for soldiers during wartime is not part of the Geneva Conventions.

There are many examples of organisations or international agencies working to protect citizens globally and uphold international humanitarian law.

One example is the United Nations or UN.

The UN comprises of most countries in the world and aims to promote peace, security, and international cooperation.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights sets out 30 fundamental human rights, which should be universally recognised.

So let's consider the Convention on the Rights of the Child or the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty that outlines children's civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights regardless of race, religion, or ability.

It consists of 54 rights, such as Article 38, which prohibits or stops children under 15 from participating in war or joining the military, and requires governments to protect children affected by conflict.

The UN also has an agency called the UN Refugee Agency.

The UN Refugee Agency monitors the situation of displaced people and refugees worldwide.

They do short-term work, such as distribute food to refugees, provide shelter, or ensure that people fleeing war are not harmed.

The UN Refugee Agency also does longer term work.

They monitor refugee policies and ensure countries are following international laws.

They check that countries are not taking too many refugees, which might cause tensions.

And they ensure human rights are protected.

The UN Refugee Agency helps keep everyone safe by making sure countries follow international humanitarian law and protect individuals rights.

So is this true or false? The United Nations Refugee Agency monitor the numbers of refugees worldwide.

Well done if you identified that that's true.

The UN Refugee Agency monitor worldwide movements of refugees and ensure that all safe countries take a fair share.

This aims to reduce tension and conflict between countries.

Other international agencies working to protect citizens globally include the Red Cross.

The Red Cross protects and assists people affected by conflict and disasters.

They provide emergency aid to war zones and support refugees by taking actions, such as providing food and clothes to refugees, offering mental health support, and ensuring refugee camps are following international humanitarian law.

International agencies such as the Red Cross and the United Nations Refugee Agency define safe countries as ones where citizens are not at risk of becoming refugees themselves.

So which of the following are actions that the Red Cross might take to care for refugees? Is it A, take countries to court for ignoring laws? B, protect refugees by deploying soldiers? Or C, distribute food parcels? While done if you identified that the Red Cross might distribute food parcels to help care for refugees.

Let's bring that together now and practise what we've learned.

So I'd like you to write a statement explaining how international laws and agencies work to protect citizens, particularly during times of conflict.

In your statement, you must make reference to: international humanitarian laws and treaties, and international agencies.

So pause the video here, give that task a go, and when you've completed it, come back and we can have a look together at what you might have put.

Well done for giving that task a go.

And I asked you to write a statement explaining how international laws and agencies work to protect citizens, particularly during times of conflict.

Your answer may have included: International laws play an important role in protecting citizens during times of conflict.

The Geneva Convention set out rules for the treatment of people during war, such as protecting prisoners of war and civilians from harm.

These laws aim to prevent torture and inhumane treatment.

United Nations Declaration on Human Rights outlines basic rights that all people should have, which are especially important during conflicts.

Whilst the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically protects children in all situations, ensuring they are not forced into war and that their safety is prioritised.

You may also have said: International agencies like the United Nations and the Red Cross also play an important role in protecting the safety of all individuals.

They help to enforce these laws.

The UN provides support to refugees and works to ensure human rights are respected worldwide.

The Red Cross delivers humanitarian aid such as food, medicine, and shelter to those affected by war and also helps reunite families separated by conflict.

Together, these laws and agencies help protect vulnerable people and reduce the suffering caused by war.

Well done for giving that task a really good go, especially if you included some of the information I've put in this example response.

We're onto part two now.

We're going to look at how does the UK promote safety for all citizens? Countries must follow international laws, which are often incorporated international law.

In the UK, these international laws and treaties shape our own laws that protect citizens.

We also share key values as UK citizens, including democracy, rule of law, respect, tolerance, and individual liberty.

The UK adopted the Geneva Convention as an Act of Parliament in 1957.

This meant that the UK has agreed to follow this international agreement at home as well as internationally.

The Human Rights Act 1998 is an important UK legislation incorporating many of the fundamental rights from the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights international law, ensuring they're protected for everyone in the UK.

The Equality Act 2010 also links to international legislation by aligning with key international human rights principles.

It provides protection against discrimination based on nine key characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

In the UK, when someone is granted refugee status, the Home Office are responsible for complying with international humanitarian law.

Laura tells us here, "Once refugee status has been granted, refugees are able to attend places of study like universities or colleges.

They're also able to access other public service that UK citizens can, such as the NHS." The UK also works closely with international agencies.

For example, the UK is a member of the United Nations.

The UN Refugee Agency has a headquarters in London and provides support to refugees in the UK.

And the UK has always been proud to support the work of the Red Cross.

So is this true or false? The Refugee Department is responsible for dealing with refugees in the UK.

Well done if you identified that's false.

The Home Office is accountable for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

In 2021, the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a plan for dealing with asylum seekers who entered the country illegally.

For example, those who used small boats to cross the English channel.

The plan included being able to remove those who entered illegally to a safe third country.

It became known as the Rwanda Scheme.

The Rwanda Scheme would see the Home Office remove those who had arrived in the country illegally to Rwanda.

There was much debate about the plan with strong arguments both for and against it.

Ultimately, the scheme was deemed unlawful by the UK's Supreme Court.

This was because Rwanda was not deemed a safe place.

In the UK, the Supreme Court ensures that the government upholds international laws and aligns national laws with them.

In 2024, the current Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that the plan was to be scrapped.

So which of the following statements is accurate? The Rwanda Scheme was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court because? A, Rwanda was not deemed a safe place? B, Rwanda wouldn't cooperate with the UK government? Or C, Rwanda did not have enough resources? Well done if you said A, Rwanda was not deemed a safe place.

So let's bring that together and practise it.

What I'd like you to do is discuss the following question with a partner.

How do UK laws and policies align with international human rights principles and help protect the rights and safety of all people? So pause the video here, have that discussion, make some notes down, and we can have a look at what you discussed in a moment when you come back.

Well done for giving that a go.

I asked you to consider how do UK laws and policies align with international human rights principles and help protect the rights and safety of people? You may have discussed: UK laws align with international human rights principles to protect everyone's safety and rights.

For example, the Human Rights Act of 1998 ensures that people in the UK are protected by key rights, such as the right to life and freedom from torture, in line with the UDHR.

The UK also follows the Geneva Conventions to protect civilians and prisoners during conflict, having adopted the Geneva Convention as an Act of Parliament in 1957.

Well done if you included some of that in your discussion.

You might also have discussed these points.

The Equality Act 2010 protects equal rights regardless of race, gender, or disability.

Overall, UK laws help ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect in line with international human rights standards.

And the UK Supreme Court ensures that the government upholds international laws and that our national laws align with international laws.

For example, the Rwanda Scheme was declared unlawful because they did not meet the criteria for being safe.

So again, well done for completing that task.

Onto the last section of this lesson today.

We're going to look at, what do UK hate crime statistics tell us The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone because of their protected characteristics, such as age, race, or disability.

When a crime is committed that is motivated by prejudice based on these protected characteristics, it is considered a hate crime.

The Home Office is responsible for gathering and publishing hate crime statistics from each of the police forces in England and Wales.

The statistics from 2022 to 2023 tell us that there were 145,214 incidents of hate crime reported to the police.

The Home Office data only covers some of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, transgender identity, and the police do keep records of hate crimes linked to age and gender.

So is this true or false? The Home Office collects data on all hate crimes.

Well done if you spotted that's false.

At the moment, the Home Office only collects data on selected characteristics, such as ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Data on gender and age are not collected, but police forces do keep these records.

Here we have a table to show the percentage of different crimes by victims' protected characteristics.

So we can see here that public order offences, for example, abusive comments made in a public place, were based on a range of different things.

So 54% of them were in relation to race, 46% in relation to religion, 47% in relation to sexual orientation, and 34% in relation to disability.

Violence against a person with injury, that was 6% in relation to race, 5% in relation to religion, 8% in relation to sexual orientation, and 7% in relation to disability.

Harassment was 18% in relation to race, 23% in relation to religion, 25% in relation to sexual orientation, and 36% in relation to disability.

And lastly, at the bottom there, we have criminal damage or arson, and 5% of that was in relation to race, 9% in relation to religion, 3% in relation to sexual orientation, and 4% in relation to disability.

What does the data tell us? The majority of offences committed are public order offences.

For example, shouting abuse in the street or swearing at someone.

Hate crimes can be varied and impact people with different protected characteristics.

So is this true or false? Hate crimes in England and Wales are mostly criminal damage.

Well done if you spotted that's false.

The evidence shows that most hate crimes take the form of a public order offence, which might be swearing at someone.

Let's bring that all together now.

Hate crimes in the UK show that the UK is not a safe country.

What I'd like you to do is to consider a disagree and agree line here.

Decide to what extent you agree with this statement.

Justify your decision considering the following.

How do we define a safe country? How does the UK protect its citizens? And what do the statistics tell us? So pause the video here, decide what you think, and justify your decision.

And once you've done that, come back and we can have a look at what you might have put together.

Well done for giving that a go.

And I asked you to consider the statement hate crimes in the UK show that the UK is not a safe country and decide whether you agreed or disagreed with that.

Your answers may have included: I would place myself in the middle.

A safe country is one where citizens are protected and not at risk of becoming refugees.

The UK is safe due to laws like the Human Rights Act of 1998 and the Equality Act, which incorporate international humanitarian principles.

However, the 145,214 hate crimes reported in the 2022-2023, mostly public order offences like name calling, suggest there are still safety concerns.

So well done for giving that task a go.

And you might have placed yourself in a different place on that opinion line.

So long as you justified your answer using some information from this lesson, then that would've been a really good attempt, so well done.

During today's lesson, we've considered safety for all, how Britain keeps us secure.

International humanitarian laws protect individuals affected by conflict and ensure their safety and rights regardless of identity.

Many international agencies such as the UN and Red Cross work to uphold these laws.

These international laws influence UK legislation such as the Human Rights Act and Equality Act, which aim to protect all citizens.

However, with over 145,000 hate crimes reported in England and Wales in 2022-2023, mostly public order offences, it suggests not everyone is safe at all times.

Well done for working through that lesson with me today, and I look forward to seeing you in another Citizenship lesson soon.