Hello, my name's Ms. Ikomi.

I'm a teacher from London, and I'm gonna be guiding you through today's lesson.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson is called, "How Does Britain Promote Safety for Everyone?" It is from the wider unit.

How does identity affect rights? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain how safety is protected around the world and evaluate whether the UK is a safe place for everyone.

I'm gonna set out some ground rules for the lesson today as what we are going to be speaking about could be regarded as slightly sensitive.

So, we have to make sure that we're listening to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we have to make sure that we listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement, not the person.

We also have to respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but please don't use names or descriptions that identify anybody, including yourself.

We are not judging.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged And we can also choose the level of participation that we would like to have in this lesson.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question, or not join in with the discussion.

We won't put anybody on the spot.

Okay, let's get started.

The key words that we're going to come up against today are, international humanitarian law, which is a set of international laws that govern how we must treat other humans.

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

And lastly, hate crime, which is a crime that is motivated by prejudice.

Keep an eye out for these keywords as they're gonna come out in today's lesson.

We're gonna start by thinking about how do international laws and agencies protect us? To get started, I want you to think about what does the word safe mean to you? I'm gonna give you a couple of seconds to get an idea in your head.

Perhaps when you heard that word safe, you were thinking about the meaning that is protecting a person from danger.

Have they been protected or have they not been protected? Citizens around the world are kept safe in different ways.

It might be through laws that happen in one country.

It might be by international agencies that are carrying out laws that go across country boundaries.

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

Everyone has the right to be safe, and this shouldn't be dependent on your identity or characteristics.

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

And we're gonna think about some examples of why.

So, we're coming back to our key word, international humanitarian law.

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

The laws are aiming to protect us, particularly when people have been affected by war, and set rules to minimise the harm that is caused by conflict or war.

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

Some of these things are legally binding, some of them are not.

However, they have been brought into our laws to make them legally binding.

One example of international laws are the Geneva Conventions.

So, this is a set of four conventions, which were written after World War II, and the purpose of this was to ensure people's safety.

They were written to ensure, sick and wounded soldiers, as well as medical and religious workers are cared for.

Anybody who is wounded, sick, or shipwrecked are helped during war that happens at sea.

Prisoners of war are treated humanely, meaning that although they are prisoners, their human rights are still being respected.

And civilians, including those in occupied areas are protected.

Okay, let's check what we've done so far.

Which of the following is not part of the Geneva Conventions? A, prisoners of war treated humanely.

B, civilians, including those in occupied areas are protected.

Or C, ensuring the right to free speech for soldiers during wartime.

Pause the video and choose your answer.

Okay, let's check which one was correct.

The correct answer was C, ensuring the right to free speech for soldiers during wartime.

This is not part of the Geneva Conventions.

There are lots of examples of organisations or international agencies, another word for that, working to protect citizens globally and uphold this international humanitarian law.

One example is an organisation called the United Nations.

This is an organisation that was also set up post World War II.

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

An important document that was set out and written within the UN is the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and this sets out 30 fundamental human rights that should be universally recognised.

That means that no matter who you are, where you were born, you have these human rights that should be upheld.

An example of this is Article 14, that mentions that everybody has the right to seek and enjoy asylum if they are being persecuted in their own countries.

It might not necessarily be the case that they're not, that they're being treated equally.

However, they do have the right to seek asylum and potentially move to a different country to have that right protected.

Another document that protects human rights is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This is a treaty that outlines specifically the rights that are held by children in regards to their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.

These apply to all children regardless of their race, their religion, or their ability.

It consists of 54 rights that are specifically developed to support the needs of children.

An example of this is Article 38.

This prohibits children under 15 from participating in war or joining the military, and requires governments to protect children affected by conflict.

Another agency that is important in protecting our safety is the UN Refugee Agency.

This monitors the situation of displaced people and refugees worldwide.

So when we say displaced, we mean that people are not able to live in the country that they were previously.

They do short-term work such as distributing food to refugees, providing shelter, ensuring that people fleeing war are not harmed.

They also do long-term work.

That might include monitoring refugee policies to ensure that countries are following international laws, checking that countries aren't taking too many refugees because this might cause tensions between countries, ensuring that human rights are being protected.

This also helps to keep everyone safe by making sure that countries follow international humanitarian law.

This is therefore going to protect individual rights.

Okay, let's check what we've done.

True or false, the United Nations Refugee Agency monitor the number of refugees worldwide.

Pause the video and choose your answer.

Can you also have a think about why you've chosen this answer? Okay, let's check our answer.

The correct answer was true.

Let's think about why.

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.

Well done if you got that right.

Some other international agencies that exist to protect citizens globally include the Red Cross.

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

They provide emergency aid in war zones and also support refugees by taking actions.

Some of these actions include: providing food and clothes to refugees, offering mental health support, ensuring refugee camps are following international humanitarian law.

Okay, let's check what we've done.

Which of the following are actions that the Red Cross might take to care for refugees? A, take countries to court for ignoring laws.

B, protect refugees by deploying soldiers.

Or C, distributing food parcels.

Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer was C, distributing food parcels.

Well done if you got that right.

These international agencies that we've come across so far, like the Red Cross, the United Nations Refugee Agency define safe countries as ones where citizens are not at risk of becoming refugees themselves.

So, we wouldn't normally see people moving from one country to another unless it is deemed to be safe.

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

I want you to make reference to international humanitarian laws and treaties, and also international agencies.

Can you think about some of the examples of what we've done so far in our lesson? Pause the video and write your statement now.

I asked you to write a statement explaining how international laws and agencies work together to protect citizens.

Particularly thinking about the context of conflict.

Your answer might have included some of the following points.

International laws play an important role in protecting citizens during times of conflict.

The Geneva Conventions 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.

The 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 Tights of the Child specifically protects children in all situations, ensuring they're not forced into war and that their safety is prioritised.

You might also have mentioned international agencies like the United Nations and the Red Cross, who also play an important role in protecting the safety of all individuals.

They help to enforce these laws.

The UN provides support for 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 suffering caused by war.

Well done if you included some of those points in your answer.

Next, we're gonna think about the UK and how the UK promotes safety for all citizens.

Countries have to follow international laws.

These are often incorporated into national law.

This means that we bring in to our own specific laws that apply to the UK.

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

We also share key values as UK citizens.

Some of these include democracy, the rule of law, respect, tolerance, and individual liberty.

The UK adopted the Geneva Convention as an act of parliament in 1957.

This means it was written into our law or legislation.

The Human Rights Act 1998 is also a really important law that protects human rights that are outlined within some of those international documents we've seen so far.

This important UK legislation incorporates many of those fundamental rights, particularly from the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights into our national law, ensuring that everybody who lives in the UK has these upheld.

The Equality Act 2010 also links to international law because it aligns to key principles that are set out within the human rights.

It provides protection against discrimination based on nine key characteristics.

Discrimination is where we treat somebody differently based on a characteristic that they cannot control.

So, these key characteristics that are protected under the Equality Act 2010 are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

This means that it is against the law in the UK to discriminate against anybody based on any of these characteristics.

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

For example, they have to ensure that they are treated fairly.

The Home Office are one of the key government departments.

Laura is telling us that once refugee status has been granted, refugees are able to attend places of study like university or colleges.

They're also able to access other public services that UK citizens can, such as the NHS.

So, lots of these human rights become available once somebody has been granted refugee status.

The UK also works closely with international agencies.

For example, the UK is a member of the UN.

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

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

For example, during World War II, the Red Cross delivered food to prisoners of war and ran a hospital after the concentration camp at Belson was liberated.

Okay, let's check what we've done so far.

True or false, the refugee department is responsible for dealing with refugees in the UK.

Pause your video and choose your answer.

Can you also think about why? The correct answer is false.

Let's think about why.

The Home Office is accountable for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK, not the refugee department.

Well done if you got that right.

In 2021, the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a plan for dealing with asylum seekers who came into the UK 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.

This became known as the Rwanda scheme because Rwanda was the proposed country.

The Rwanda scheme would see the Home Office remove those who'd arrived to the country illegally to Rwanda.

There was a lot of debate about the plan.

There were really 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, and as we saw earlier, we have to have a safe place if people are leaving their country because they are not being treated correctly, or because there's some sort of conflict going on.

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

So on this case, the Supreme Court said the government actually hadn't done that.

Okay, 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.

Pause the video and choose your answer.

The correct answer was A, Rwanda was not deemed a safe place.

Okay.

Let's do a little discussion to think about what we've done so far.

How do UK laws and policies align with international human rights principles, and help protect the rights and safety of all people? I'd like you to pause the video and discuss this question with your partner.

Then, we'll come back together and think about some of the points you might have made.

I asked you to discuss with your partner how UK laws and policies align with international human rights principles, and how this helps protect rights and safety of all people.

You might have discussed, UK laws align with international human rights principles to protect everyone's safety and rights.

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

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

You also might have thought about the Equality Act and its role of protecting people's rights, regardless of those nine protected characteristics.

Overall, the UK law helps to ensure that everybody is treated with both dignity and respect, and this is kept in line with the international human rights and the standards that are set out within those documents.

The UK Supreme Court takes this one step further and ensures that the government upholds international laws and that our national laws align with those international laws.

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

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

Okay.

We are gonna think about, what do UK hate crime statistics tell us? And think about how this links to the idea of safety in the UK.

We've already heard about the Equality Act 2010 and how this makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone based on those nine protected characteristics, including age, race, or disability.

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

These statistics, and we're gonna look at the ones 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.

So, it gathers data on race and ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, transgender identity.

The police do keep records of hate crimes linked to age and gender.

However, it's not covered in this data.

Okay, let's check what we've done so far.

True or false, the Home Office collects data on all hate crimes.

Pause your video and choose your answer.

Let's check the answer.

The correct answer was false.

Let's think about why.

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

Data and gender and age are not collected.

However, police forces do keep these records.

Well done if you got that right.

Okay.

I'm gonna show you this table which shows us the percentage of different crimes by victims' protected characteristics.

So, we can see along the top we have the characteristics, race, religion, sexual orientation, and disability.

And then along the side, we have a description of the type of hate crime that was committed.

So, we have public order offences.

For example, abusive comments made in a public place, violence against a person with injury, harassment, and then at the bottom, criminal damage or arson.

This helps us see the type of crime that is happening, and which particular characteristics of people are more likely to be victim to each of these different types of crime.

So, it's very interesting and useful data for us to think about whether or not people feel safe in the UK.

I want us to think about what the data tells us.

It shows us that the majority of offences committed are public order offences.

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

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

So, we had a range of different characteristics, but people were still experiencing these different types of hate crimes.

Okay, let's check what we've done so far.

True or false, hate crimes in England and Wales are mostly criminal damage.

Pause the video and choose your answer.

Can you also have a think about why you've chosen that answer? The correct answer was false.

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

However, it's not necessarily criminal damage.

Well done if you got that right.

Okay.

We're gonna have a think about this statement.

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

I'd like you to take a few seconds and think about whether you agree or disagree with this statement.

Now, we're gonna put this into practise.

Having decided to what extent you agree or disagree with this statement, I'd like you to write a paragraph justifying your decision.

I want you to think about how would we define a safe country? How does the UK protect its citizens? And what do the statistics tell us? Pause the video now and write your justified answer.

Okay.

I asked you to think about the following statement and justify whether you agree or disagree with it.

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

Your answer might have included something like this.

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 1998, and the Equality Act 2010, which incorporate international humanitarian principles.

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

Well done if you have some of that in your answer.

Today, we have been thinking about how Britain promotes safety for everyone.

In summary, we looked at international humanitarian laws and how they protect individuals affected by conflict and ensure their safety and rights regardless of identity.

We learned that many international agencies such 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, there have been more than 145,000 hate crimes reported in England and Wales in 2022 to 2023.

These were mostly public order offences.

This, therefore suggests, that not everyone is safe at all times.

Thank you for joining me in today's lesson.