YOUNG DELEGATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD TAKE PART IN AN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS YOUTH SUMMIT AT THE UN
Twenty-five advocates for human rights from around the world participated in an international Youth Human Rights Summit at UNICEF on Tuesday, 24 August. Aged from twelve to twenty, the delegates addressed human rights violations facing youth in their countries and their resolutions.
The Youth Summit was hosted by Youth for Human Rights International and co-organized by the Church of Scientology, the Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance, and the Friends of the United Nations. The Summit was a culmination of a world tour by Youth for Human Rights International to raise awareness of human rights among youth.
The delegates were selected from hundreds of applicants and were chosen based on their essays and on their community service.
“Grounded for Life” TV star and Youth for Human Rights International spokesperson Lynsey Bartilson greeted the delegates and spoke about the growing problem of sexual trafficking of women and children around the world, including in the United States.
The delegates gave presentations about human rights abuses in their countries, including child slavery, false imprisonment, religious intolerance, and economic oppression. Sasha Rajah, of Johannesburg, South Africa, created a 15 minute film about human rights abuses in her country which she presented at the Summit. Natasha Jain, of India, prepared for her trip by visiting orphanages and other groups of children speaking about human rights. She has met with the President of India and received an award from the Delhi Police for her human rights work. Hao Wang, the Chinese delegate, spoke about the oppression of practitioners of Falun Gong in China.
Sharon Lim, of South Korea, gave a moving speech about human rights abuses in North Korea and then summed up with, “I believe that one day the North and the South may reunite, but only if the youth of the South are empowered with the knowledge of human rights in order to provide an essential bridge to the North.”
Delegates from Israel and Palestine greeted each other with a warm handshake, and both spoke of human rights abuses of the Palestinian people and how this can be addressed.
Participants in two panels on human rights included delegates as well as adults representing permanent missions to the United Nations, AIDS education organizations and the Eleanor Roosevelt Foundation. Highlights included a moving speech by the delegate representing disabled youth, and interactions between the delegates and adult panelists.
Following the afternoon summit, the arts came more strongly into play Tuesday evening, with an awards ceremony and the World Premiere of “UNITED,” a cutting-edge music video about human rights, created from images from a world tour and welded together with a message emphasizing education: “Know your human rights: they may help you some day.” Several celebrities made cameo appearances in the video, including Isaac Hayes, Erika Christiansen, Jenna Elfman, Catherine Bell, and Lynsey Bartilson.
The result was a commitment by the youth delegates to work even harder to expand awareness and implementation of human rights in their own countries.
More information is available at www.youthforhumanrights.org. The group publishes a highly effective 36 page booklet communicating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in simple, clear language, in 16 languages.
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