Many people know something about rights. They know they have a right to be paid for the work they do and they have a right to vote. But there are many other basic human rights.

When human rights are not well known, abuses such as discrimination, intolerance, injustice, oppression and slavery can arise.

Born out of the atrocities and enormous loss of life during World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created by the United Nations to provide a common understanding of what everyone’s rights are. It forms the basis for a world built on freedom, justice and peace.

Article 3 of the Declaration is “The Right to Life” – it states, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."
 
Yet, every year, nations turn back asylum seekers who face detention, torture or even death in their home countries. For example, in El Salvador, one of the cruel tactics employed by the military during the civil conflict in prior years was to portray parents living in opposition strongholds, who were separated from their children, as people who had deserted their children. 

According to Amnesty International, pictures of young boys and girls appeared in contemporary newspaper reports, frequently accompanied by the caption “abandoned children”.  Military personnel implicated in taking children were often portrayed as their “saviors”.  Some of the children ended up for adoption in El Salvador, as well as other countries including the USA, Spain, Italy, France and the UK.

Article 4 of the Declaration, “No Slavery", states, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."

Young people are the most vulnerable to human trafficking victims.  An estimated 67 million primary school children do not attend school, and some 1.5 million are trafficked each year. This occurs without regard to developing or fully-developed nations. Some 18,000 individuals are trafficked into United States each year, many of whom are forced into sexual and labor exploitation. An estimated 171 million youth, most under the age of 15, work in hazardous conditions.

Putting into practice what humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard has stated, that "Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream," Youth for Human Rights teaches young people about human rights so they may become advocates for tolerance and peace.  

Designed to present the subject of human rights in multimedia formats suitable for all ages, the materials for this program include "The Story of Human Rights," a documentary video that illustrates the history of human rights through the ages; booklets; public service announcements that educate youth and adults on the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,  and more.

Because Foundation YFHR sees that 60 years after its issue the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality; it has these materials in order to make human rights a fact through education.  To learn more about your human rights or Youth for Human Rights visit: www.youthforhumanrights.org