Human Rights Day 2021 and the Role of Education in Achieving Rights for All

As Human Rights Day 2021 approaches, the Church of Scientology International shares the work of human rights activists featured on the Scientology Network.

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights whose first article proclaims “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” More than seven decades later, deep-rooted forms of discrimination persist. 

 

Mary Shuttleworth, featured in an episode of Voices for Humanity, founded Youth for Human Rights International in 2001 to promote full implementation of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Youth for Human Rights stresses that education is the foundation and catalyst for changing the state of human rights in the world. As Human Rights Day 2021 approaches, Youth for Human Rights celebrates a milestone: its 20th anniversary. Youth for Human Rights, the youth component of United for Human Rights, is sponsored by the Church of Scientology in its longstanding tradition of championing freedom for all.

“When we began Youth for Human Rights International, 90 percent of those surveyed were unable to name more than three of the 30 rights granted by the Declaration,” says Shuttleworth.

Those who crafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserted the importance of human rights education. The preamble calls on “every individual and every organ of society” to “strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms.”

An educator, Shuttleworth knew the key to change was making the rights enshrined in the UDHR easy to understand. Youth for Human Rights’ educational tools do just that and they engage and interest young people.

These materials help them understand the 30 principles of the document. For example, the program has been used to reduce bullying, a human rights violation suffered by a third of the globe’s youth, according to Stopbullying.gov, an interagency effort of the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.

In 1969, Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote: “Very few governments have implemented any part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These governments have not grasped that their very survival depends utterly upon adopting such reforms and thus giving their peoples a cause, a civilization worth supporting, worth their patriotism.”

The Church of Scientology and Scientologists support Youth for Human Rights and make its educational materials available free of charge. Watch a documentary on the history and activities of Youth for Human Rights International on Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network. Since launching with a special episode featuring Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige, Scientology Network has been viewed in 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church’s global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320 and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.