Church of Scientology London Round Table Promotes Peace

The Church of Scientology London marked International Peace Day with a human rights round table to encourage concerted action to bring peace across London.

Church of Scientology London celebrated International Peace Day September 17 with a round table featuring UN peace envoy OBE Dr. Iftikhar Ayaz. The event forwarded the UN’s 2013 International Peace Day theme: “Education for Peace.”

Public officials, artists and educators joined in a lively discussion of what the public and private sector can do to bring peace across London.

In 2011, London was torn by riots that spread throughout England, resulting in five deaths and estimated property damage losses of more than £100 million. Many of the conditions that contributed to the riots then, continue today.

Church of Scientology London Director of Special Affairs Mark Pinchin introduced the participants to United for Human Rights (UHR), a human rights education initiative the Church supports. He presented the UHR materials, which the Church makes available to educators, law enforcement and community programs.

Pinchin described results from educating youth on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By raising awareness of the rights all men, women and children hold in common, the program helps bridge differences and bring about a more tolerant and humane attitude toward others.

Each attendee was given a copy of the brochure Scientology: How We Help—United for Human Rights, Making Human Rights a Global Reality. They also received the United for Human Rights Educator Package, which includes the components of the program—the booklet The Story of Rights; the award-winning The Story of Human Rights documentary; UNITED music video; and 30 public service announcements illustrating each of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The round table concluded with a plan for the coming year with specific actions participants agreed to carry out to reduce conflict and violence in the city.

Scientologists on five continents engage in collaborative efforts with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to bring about broad-scale awareness and implementation of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world’s premier human rights document.

The Church of Scientology has published a brochure, Scientology: How We Help—United for Human Rights, Making Human Rights a Global Reality, to meet requests for more information about the human rights education and awareness initiative the Church supports. To learn more, visit www.Scientology.org/humanrights.

Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream,” and the Scientology religion is based on the principles of human rights. The Code of a Scientologist calls on all members of the religion to dedicate themselves “to support true humanitarian endeavors in the fields of human rights.”