Making Human Rights a Global Reality

a campaign to make human rights a fact

Editor's Note: College Avenue accepted this column from Rev. Patty Allread folloing the publication of the article, "Scientology: Science or science fiction?" in the Spring 2006 edition. The editor-in-chief of College Avenue reserves the right to publish such columns and freelance submissions when deemed necessary.

The horrors of human rights violations are splashed across the media all over the world on a daily basis.  These are issues wrought with controversies that are vehemently argued in government forums, on talk shows, on campuses, in businesses, in coffee shops and in homes – war, domestic violence, terrorism, homelessness, child abuse, unfair labor practices, gang violence, hunger, blocked access to education, threatened cultural values, discrimination.  Other violations, such as human trafficking, are rarely discussed and the facts surrounding them are known to very few.  

We struggle to get reliable facts so we can fully understand what is happening.  But even when we do know the facts, whether we have been able to form a conclusive opinion or not, we look at what is wrong and wonder - what can I do about it?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by the United Nations in 1948, forms the foundation of everyone’s most basic human rights, transcending all borders.  Eleanor Roosevelt, the principal architect of the Declaration, described the importance of these rights with these words:

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?  In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

Yet despite its timeless relevance, surveys show that the vast majority of citizens have never heard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

That is why the Church of Scientology has joined forces with Youth for Human Rights International to conduct a worldwide campaign called “Making Human Rights a Global Reality” to make human rights known, understood and implemented.

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is an independent non-profit corporation headquartered in Los Angeles.  It was founded in 2001 by Mary Shuttleworth, a school principal and long-time educator who believes that by educating today’s youth on the Universal Declaration, they can become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace.

“The urgent need to make all nations honor and enforce the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is demonstrated by the fact that today there are 100 million children living on the street and 115 million primary school—aged youth denied schooling.  It is further emphasized by the estimated 1.5 million children trafficked into slavery over the past year,” stated Ms. Shuttleworth.

Together, the Church of Scientology and YHRI launched a broad-based mass public contact and education program to raise human rights awareness.  To accomplish this, they produced a booklet entitled “What Are Human Rights?” to make the 30 human rights described in the Universal Declaration broadly known and understandable to anyone including children.

Inspired to get the human rights message out even more broadly, 19-year-old Taron Lexton created “UNITED,” an award-winning music video.  UNITED is a human rights project unlike any other.  Its production involved a 45,000 mile world tour to 13 countries over 4 continents in which 2,000 volunteers and 150 actors contributed their time. 
UNITED was first shown at UN headquarters in 2004.  Since then it has aired to over 40 million people all over the world and has been officially accepted by 21 film festivals.  UNITED has won 5 film festival awards including the “Spirit of Moondance” award from the Moondance Festival here in Colorado.   

The Church and YHRI next produced 3 public service announcements (PSAs) depicting three of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Don’t Discriminate”, “Freedom of Thought” and “Freedom of Expression”.  Since last October, the PSAs were aired on 719 television stations internationally, including ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN on Larry King Live.  Here in Colorado the PSAs have aired in Denver (UPN) and Grand Junction.

This year, 27 more PSAs have been produced, making every single article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the subject of edgy 30 and 60-second visual stories, all featuring youth.  The PSAs represent a new standard in human rights education through their use of imagery and music that both young people and adults can instantly identify with.

Since the campaign began, more and more youth and adults have taken responsibility to promote human rights and have created their own projects, showing that one individual can make a difference.  Among them is 19-year-old University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) student Vanessa Alfaro, who formed an active Youth for Human Rights chapter at UCLA. She began teaching the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in LA schools, held a human trafficking forum with expert panelists at UCLA and helped to raise funds for newly formed Youth for Human Rights groups in the African countries of Liberia and Uganda.  Another, 14-year old Skyler Hardy, testified three times before his New Mexico legislature about human rights violations which would have been created by a proposed bill.  The bill was defeated.

L. Ron Hubbard, humanitarian and founder of Scientology said, “Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream.”  Together we can take this human rights campaign and turn it into a human rights movement.

Learn what the 30 basic human rights are by going to the website, www.youthforhumanrights.org.   There you can read and download the “What Are Human Rights?” booklet, view the UNITED video, watch some of the public service announcements and download them as posters to print and display.  You can also start a Youth for Human Rights Club using a starter kit provided on the website and get people active on a grass-roots project that promotes human rights or addresses violations that you find in your own area using the human rights activation handbook.  The website also has lesson plans for teaching human rights to youth of any age.

There is also a petition on the website that you can sign.  The petition calls upon governments to raise awareness and teach human rights, urging that the “Declaration be broadly displayed and promoted; with human rights education made available to children and adults throughout the world.”           

Rev. Patty Allread is the Director of Public Affairs for the Church of Scientology of Colorado.  She may be reached at 303-789-7668 or Patty_Allread@yahoo.com.