Learning the Rights You Possess Just by Being Human

Volunteer groups around the world educate people on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because it is hard to demand one’s own rights and protect the rights of others if you don’t know what they are.

The subject of human rights may seem daunting and complicated, but it is really very simple, according to the United for Human Rights documentary The Story of Human Rights that describes them as “the rights you have simply because you’re human.”

The 30 fundamental human rights were compiled, clarified and conveyed in 1948 by a United Nations Human Rights Commission chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, then U.S. Delegate to the United Nations. The result was the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Mrs. Roosevelt referred to as the “international Magna Carta for all men everywhere.”

Although adopted by the United Nations nearly 68 years ago, few know even two or three of these rights today.

Although adopted by the United Nations nearly 68 years ago, few know even two or three of these rights today.

United for Human Rights (UHR) is an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to making human rights a reality through education on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its volunteers and those of its youth organization, Youth for Human Rights International, promote human rights awareness through their educational resources and activities.

A survey of recent United for Human Rights and Youth for Human Rights activities shows the breadth and reach of the program.

• A police officer in Lucknow, India, has teamed up with a retired police inspector general to train officers on the rights of the people they serve.
  
• In Morocco, a human rights advocate has formed a chapter of Youth for Human Rights International and is conducting human rights education at home and in Lebanon, Tunisia and France.
  
• A professor and human rights advocate in Malaysia is setting up a chapter in his country.
  
• In Sri Lanka, a human rights group is using the materials to educate primary and secondary school students in Colombo, the country’s capital.
  
• A police sergeant in Cyprus is using the United for Human Rights educational materials to educate local police on the subject.
  
• A nongovernmental organization in Turkey has received their United for Human Rights educator’s package and are about to begin delivery to university students.
  
• In St. Petersburg, Russia, volunteers held a street event with games for children that promoted understanding of the UDHR.
  
• A chapter in Japan is working with Friends of the United Nations Asia-Pacific to counter discrimination and bullying linked with suicide deaths of young Japanese men and women.
  

The Church of Scientology and Scientologists support United for Human Rights, whose award-winning educational materials are translated into 27 languages, bringing the message of human rights to 195 nations.