CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY CELEBRITY CENTRE INTERNATIONAL HOSTS FORUM ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International hosted a forum and fundraiser March 31 to increase awareness of human trafficking and its consequences in Southern California. Funds raised will go to support human rights education.

Virginia Isaias, whose Foundation of Survivors of Human Trafficking (Fundacion de Sobrevivientes de Trafico Humano) is a resource center to help those who have escaped or been rescued from slavery, urged survivors to speak up to raise awareness of the plight of trafficking victims.

Youth for Human Rights volunteer Cristal Logothetis, who organized the forum, explained why she became involved with this issue.

“A few months ago, I was shocked to learn the International Labor Organization estimates as many as 27 million individuals are enslaved today and according to the U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report, every year 600,000 to 800,000 persons are trafficked across international borders.”

The U.S. State Department also estimates 14,500 to 17,500 individuals, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the United States annually. Last week, The New York Timesreported an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 American-born children are sold for sex each year. In its October 2007 Final Report, the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force noted that California is a top destination for human traffickers.

According to Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna who hosted the National Association of Attorney Generals (NAAG) human trafficking summit in Seattle, Washington, March 28-30, 2012, human trafficking is a $32 billion global industry.

At the March 31 forum, Tracie Parker, Human Rights Youth Coordinator of the Church of Scientology International, highlighted the importance of human rights education in fighting human trafficking: “Most people think this is only a problem in third-world countries, but it is happening right here. Raising awareness is vital. Tips to authorities from private citizens are a prime means of locating and freeing victims and apprehending traffickers.”

The Church of Scientology sponsors one of the world’s largest nongovernmental human rights information campaigns, aimed at raising awareness and calling for governments to meaningfully support and ensure respect for human rights.

For more information about the human rights initiative of the Church of Scientology, visit theScientology website. For more information on Youth for Human Rights International, visitwww.youthforhumanrights.org.

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The Scientology religion was founded by author and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in the United States in 1954 and has grown to more than 10,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups and millions of members in 167 nations.

"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.

Slovakian Youth Promote Human Rights Awareness

Bratislava, Slovakia—The Slovakia chapter of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) celebrated the 61st Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) with the launch of a new web site and a human rights walk from Old Town in Bratislava to Grassalkovich Palace, the residence of the President of Slovakia. This was part of the “International Walk for Human Rights,” where youth from countries around the world, including Australia, Austria, Barbados, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Holland, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, United Kingdom the United States and Zambia, walked to raise awareness of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The new YHRI Slovakia web site at www.MladezZaLudskePrava.org features 30 public service announcements, one illustrating each of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration, available for the first time with Slovakian subtitles. The short films were produced by Youth for Human Rights International in partnership with the Church of Scientology International.

^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Youth for Human Rights 2009 World Fosters Peace and Hope

For eight weeks, members of Youth for Human Rights International carried out the Sixth Annual Human Rights World Tour, led by Scientologist and International Association of Scientologist Freedom Medal Winner, educator Mary Shuttleworth. The Scientology Press Office interviewed Mary on what inspired her to undertake this project and what results were accomplished.

Scientology Today: You are not only the President of Youth for Human Rights, you also founded it in 2001. Why did you decide to do this?

Mary: As a young girl growing up in apartheid South Africa I saw firsthand the devastating effects of discrimination and the lack of the most basic human rights. Traveling abroad I realized that discrimination and slave-like conditions could be found far beyond the borders of my country. Children who do not know that they have human rights are vulnerable. As an educator I knew that teaching learners about human rights would be the first step for them to defend and protect not only their rights but also those of their peers.

Scientology Today: In less than a decade you have turned this idea into an international organization — Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI). What are you most proud of having accomplished?

Mary: Taking the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), an excellent but scholarly document, and depicting those rights in simple literature and videos so that anyone can quickly learn and teach the 30 articles enshrined in that document. We have brought the UDHR, a document for the people, to the people.

Scientology Today: You have just completed the 6th annual Youth for Human Rights World tour. In less than two months, you visited twelve countries. Why did you decide to do human rights world tours?

Mary: Human rights cannot be taught at people-it has to be with people. Because those rights need to relate to the people where they live, study, work and dream.

Nothing replaces meeting people and interacting with them where they live.By traveling to different countries I can see the issues people face and the outstanding efforts individuals are making to improve conditions. One face-to-face meeting accomplishes more than months of e-mails, phone calls or faxes.

This year our World Tour started in the US and wound its way through twelve countries: From Mexico to Barbados, Colombia and Argentina in the Americas, on to the Pacific and Australia and Timor-Leste (East Timor). From there we went to Jordon in the Middle East and Russia and Switzerland, and finally to Africa with Uganda and South Africa. Within the space of a couple of months, with the help of dedicated volunteers around the world, we spoke with hundreds of leaders, met thousands of students and reached millions through the media resulting in exponential expansion of global knowledge about human rights.

Scientology Today: What stands out about this year’s tour?

Mary: It was an inspiration to see how much support there is for human rights, and how many public-spirited leaders and dedicated individuals are adopting our program. United Nations officials, heads of state, ministers of education and so many other political and community leaders took it on themselves to teach human rights to the next generation as soon as they realized how easy it is to do so.

We learned the most profound lessons from the many wonderful people working hard to improve conditions with incredibly limited resources and under the poorest and most devastating conditions.

Scientology Today: What kind of impact is your campaign having on the world today?

Mary: When we started nine years ago, few people had even heard of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Even high-level officials whom I interviewed did not know what their human rights were.

Today millions of people are learning about human rights through community groups, religious groups, schools and the media. Thousands of groups have incorporated the YHRI materials into their own programs.

We are making “Human Rights” buzz words!

Scientology Today: You are a Scientologist — what does this have to do with why you chose human rights as the project you wanted to create and support?

Mary: What I believe is beautifully expressed in The Creed of the Church of Scientology, which states that “Man is basically good; That he is seeking to survive; That his survival depends upon himself and upon his fellows and his attainment of brotherhood with the universe.”

I have witnessed extreme poverty and I have met children who are raising their brothers and sisters after their parents, families and even societies turned their backs on them. I have seen children dying of preventable diseases.

I have seen the effects of widespread illiteracy in the information age and I have listened to scholars discussing human rights with cold disconnect from the harsh realities faced by so many millions.

So I was inspired by L. Ron Hubbard who wrote, “Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream.”Scientology Today: Is there something that stands out about this year’s tour?

Mary: I was so impressed with the grassroots level work of local YHRI teams. Watching them in action in their own communities was amazing. During one of our meetings with top officials I listened to one of the YHRI youth leaders discussing human rights. He talked about the issues and the vital role that informed youth can play to help officials handle their local problems. That country has a majority youth population -more youth than adults. I watched the profound impact he created with his insight into the situations at hand and his clear explanation of solutions that can be brought about by teaching human rights to the youth. I was so incredibly proud!

Scientology Today: Where do you plan to go from here?

Mary: We are planning our sixth annual YHRI International Summit to bring together youth from around the world to discuss human rights issues and the important role of human rights education in raising the quality of life for young and old alike. And we are already planning the YHRI World Tour 2010. The exact route is not yet set but the countries are lining up with outreach and meetings that promise, once again, to expand YHRI exponentially!

Scientology Today: Do you have a message for people reading this interview?

Mary: It’s easy to teach Human Rights. Tell your friends, your family and your neighbors. Inspire them to teach Human Rights. As a non-profit organization we need the help of likeminded people, groups and organizations to help reach people in all corners of the world so that everyone has the opportunity to learn about the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and our human rights.

^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Human Rights campaign sponsored by the Church of Scientology

Human Rights

The Church’s human rights initiative is aimed at bringing about global awareness through 30 PSAs, one for each article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the film The Story of Human Rights.

Central to Scientology beliefs is a conviction that all humankind is entitled to inalienable rights. So it is that for more than 50 years Scientologists have championed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Today, the Church of Scientology sponsors the largest non-governmental information campaign to make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights known the world over.

The Church’s human rights initiative sponsors groups and activities and provides its materials to individuals, groups and government agencies in 82 nations. This includes:

• What are Human Rights? booklets educate youth and adults on the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in terms anyone can understand.
• A study guide, activities manual and educator’s classroom kit give teachers, human rights groups and governments effective tools to educate youth and adults on their human rights.
• An accompanying documentary video, The Story of Human Rights complements the PSAs, booklets and educator materials as a further tool to bring about a universal awareness and respect for human rights.

Overview of results:

• Since 2006, more than 1.6 billion people have viewed the Human Rights PSAs on 3,553 stations in 16 languages across 73 nations.
• The Human Rights World Tour has traveled 174,000 miles throughout 45 nations, reaching over 11 million people.
• Over 1.5 million human rights publications containing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have been distributed to human rights groups, educators and individuals.
• Over 500,000 people have visited the United for Human Rights (www.humanrights.com) and Youth for Human Rights (www.youthforhumanrights.org) Internet sites in the last three years.
• More than 380,000 human rights information mailings have been sent to human rights groups and government agencies.
• More than 200,000 people have signed the Human Rights Petition urging governments to adopt reforms in human rights and to give the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the force of law.

^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Darfur

Here is a summary, courtesy of the Washinton Post of what is going on in Darfur:

Darfur-Sudan Conflict

THE REGION: Largely arid plateau in western Sudan about three-quarters the size of Texas with a population estimated at about 8 million.

HISTORY OF CONFLICT: Decades of low-level tribal clashes over land and water erupted into large-scale violence in early 2003 when some in the region took up arms, accusing the central government of neglect.

VICTIMS: Government authorities are accused of responding to the uprising with aerial bombings and Arab tribal militias known as Janjaweed, who murdered and raped civilians and destroyed villages. Khartoum officials deny backing Janjaweed.

SCOPE OF TRAGEDY: United Nations says Darfur fighting has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. Chaos has spread to neighboring Chad, where hundreds of thousands of Darfur refugees are sheltering. Estimates say 180,000 people have died, many from deprivation; about 2 million are displaced.

PEACE TALKS: The African Union has deployed peacekeepers to Darfur and sponsored two years of peace talks that resulted in a cease-fire.

Here's the frightening question. Could it really just be greed that carries this genocide forward?

Here is what Human Rights Watch has to say on that subject:

Human Rights Watch welcomes the Treasury Department’s proposed use of its regulatory authority to block dollar transfers by US commercial banks of oil payments to the Government of Sudan.

As has been extensively documented by Human Rights Watch and many other organizations and governments, including the United Nations and the US Department of State, the Sudanese government and government-backed militias are responsible for massive crimes against humanity and war crimes against civilians in Darfur. The Sudanese government’s abusive policies and actions in Darfur have resulted in the deaths of at least 200,000 people and have forcibly displaced more than two million Darfurians, who remain confined in displaced persons camps and who are unable to return home due to continuing attacks by government-backed militias and rampant insecurity.

It is entirely consistent with the purpose of Executive Orders Nos. 13067 and 13400 and their implementing regulations for the Treasury to prohibit any US bank from participating in commercial dealings with the Sudanese government, its leadership or their respective affiliates, including oil export firms in which they have an interest.

Human Rights Watch believes that the imposition of such blocking action by the Treasury is required now, not at some future date, in view of the Sudanese government’s persistent refusal to comply with the international community’s repeated requests—through the United Nations Security Council and through bilateral diplomacy—to immediately accept the full deployment of the proposed United Nations-African Union international peacekeeping force and to reverse its abusive policies in Darfur.

We therefore urge you to exercise your regulatory authority without delay to make clear to the Sudanese government that its continuing human rights violations in Darfur and its massive failure to protect Sudanese civilians will no longer be tolerated, and that it must immediately accept the international force, fully cooperate with all efforts to improve civilian protection in Darfur and end the violations.


Sincerely,

Peter Takirambudde
Executive Director, Africa Division
Human Rights Watch

"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.