Magazine article: A Universal Human Rights Renaissance (2008)

RESHAPING THE DESTINY OF EARTH IAS CAMPAIGN

[Image captions: The human rights program is blowing away the clouds of repression that shroud this planet to create an environment in which everyone can live freely.

 The yearly International Human Rights summit brings human rights delegates to the United Nations headquarters in New York where the Universal Declaration was adopted.]

UNITED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Violations of human rights can stop a the civilization cold, hence the worldwide human rights crusade, sponsored by the IAS, to engender support and respect for Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It extends from these words from LRH, “The United Nations came up with the answer. An absence of human rights stained the hands of governments and threatened their rules. 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. It is vital that all thinking men urge upon their governments (for the governments’ own sake if no other) sweeping reforms in the field of human rights.”

It commences with a grass roots initiative wherein the human rights mandate is literally brought to the streets through a petition drive. Public service announcements, each depicting one of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration, air on all continents, while Scientologists join with similarly aimed organizations in Human Rights Day celebrations. It all coalesces yearly at the United Nations where petitions are presented in the name of human rights. The Human Rights Petition drive is done on a scale never previously envisioned. Volunteers collect signatures in parks, in schools, on the street, at fairs and anywhere people gather. When all petitions are tallied, there are now 180,000 signatures of individuals calling upon their governments to support the Universal Declaration and mandate human rights education in schools.

Cooperation with like-minded individuals and groups was also at an all-time high, as human rights leaders and government officials came out in support of the Universal Declaration at human rights concerts in Moscow, Brussels, Rome and Milano.

IAS-sponsored human rights public service announcements played in every conceivable location: on Argentinian trains, Cape Town’s city airport, St. Petersburg’s shopping malls and the main train stations in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne. They were televised on dozens of national TV channels, as well as on CNN, Sky International, Arts & Entertainment, BBC America, Discovery Channel, History Channel and MTV Networks.

The third stage of the human rights campaign then went into effect with IAS-sponsored mailings to human rights activists and organizations, resulting in adoption of the program at all levels—from the US Human Rights Network to the West African Center for Peace to international human rights organizations.

UN SUMMIT

The annual conference at the UN headquarters in New York was indeed strength in numbers. In attendance were human rights representatives from every continent. Special guests included Ford Roosevelt, grandson of Universal Declaration architect Eleanor Roosevelt, and Human Rights Action founder Jack Healy.

All told, 570 organizations and governments are now a unified front for human rights across 85 nations.

WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS?

In today’s society, the term human rights is a crashing misunderstood word. Authoritative websites of renowned human rights organizations carry much information on abuses, specific issues and case histories. They deal with human trafficking, political detainment and poverty. Omitted however, is an actual definition of the subject itself. What are human rights? The definition is crucial because while every human rights organization works to gain support for their cause, the fact remains that they all depend on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Hence a definitive definition and presentation of the document would be something every human rights organization could use and rally behind as a common purpose. It is about to become reality through a new documentary entitled The Story of Human Rights. It presents the definition of human rights, its history extending back to 539 BC, the formation of the United Nations and the subsequent creation of the Universal Declaration. Each of the articles of the Universal Declaration are presented in brief.

The film opens the door to human rights education on all fronts and will help align all human rights groups planet-wide.

MAKING IT AVAILABLE

The first step is to make it available so that as individual groups pursue their own specific causes, they will have an educational tool to assist them and align their activities. Many already conduct seminars for field volunteers and area directors and will find The Story of Human Rights of immense value in training them. Key to the future is educating youth on the subject of human rights. A complete educational package centered on The Story of Human Rights documentary is being prepared for educators. Contents include the documentary itself, all human rights public service announcements, fact sheets on human rights abuse zones, model petitions, and advocacy hats detailing exactly how to make one’s voice heard.

It is a genuinely comprehensive human rights curriculum suitable for adults and for high schools and colleges. Additionally, an education package has been designed for grade and middle schools as part of the Youth for Human Rights program.

To educate the rest of the planet who have long since left school, human rights ads in governmental publications will make known the brutality of planet-wide abuses—from slavery to torture to suppression of thought. Each directs the reader to the Internet and the all new coordinating site: humanrights.com.

It is the first fully interactive online human rights center with the full array of PSAs, immediate access to petitions to governments, advocacy programs and human rights resource directories and will have the film The Story of Human Rights. An adjoining wing is separately dedicated to Youth for Human Rights activities. All human rights education packages may be ordered online.

This next phase is designed to educate, activate, mobilize and unify all humankind into an irresistible force for Universal Declaration of Human Rights enforcement. This is the IAS sponsored campaign, United for Human Rights.¹

[Image caption p. 50: In Mexico City, thousands signed the petition calling upon their government to mandate human rights education in schools and uphold the Universal Declaration.]

[Image caption p. 51: From top: Public service announcements play in Bern’s train station. Human Rights concerts in Brussels and in Moscow. Guest speaker at the
Human Rights seminar in New York.]

[Image caption p. 52: At the United Nations headquarters in New York, petitions and proclamations were signed (left). Above, the Ecuadorian delegate presents her petition. To the left in the photo are Ford Roosevelt, grandson of Universal Declaration author Eleanor Roosevelt, and IAS Freedom Medal Winner Mary Shuttleworth.]

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