Defending Human Rights

Throughout 2008, The Co-operative Bank and Amnesty International joined forces to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) with a campaign to raise awareness and call for action on human rights issues.

60 years ago, United Nations member countries signed up to the UDHR, the basic principle being that all human beings are free and equal in dignity and rights. But today, basic human rights are increasingly being abused around the world.

As part of our campaign, we supported a number of activities:

Everybody - stand up for your rights!

The Co-operative Bank has supported 'Everybody', a fantastic short film from Amnesty International, using animation and live action to bring our human rights to life. Watch it here

Free Education Pack for schools

The Co-operative Bank has supported an education pack from Amnesty International, which was made available to secondary schools across the UK. The DVD pack 'Human Rights are our Rights' included lesson plans and information for use in the classroom. A Welsh language pack was also made available. Find out more

'My Rights' Passport

Together with Amnesty International, we produced a passport explaining the rights set out in the UDHR to which we are all entitled - including the right to life, liberty, security, freedom of opinion and expression.