As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enters its 75th year, it is time to create a sea change in the field of human rights.

As humanitarians everywhere set their goals for 2023, Scientology Churches and Scientologists join them in rededicating themselves to achieving the purpose of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 

 

In announcing that 2023 will be a yearlong celebration of the 75th anniversary of the UDHR, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed the intention: “to rekindle the spirit, impulse and vitality that led to the UDHR 75 years ago and rejuvenate a worldwide consensus on human rights.” 

Yet by survey, only 56 percent of global citizens say they know “a great deal” or a “fair amount” about human rights. And four in ten people across the 28 countries surveyed (38 percent) admit their ignorance on the topic, saying they know “not very much” or “nothing at all.” 

Those crafting the UDHR pointed out that “the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,” and that “a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization” of these rights.

This is why the Church of Scientology sponsors human rights initiatives that raise awareness of human rights, in keeping with Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s statement that “human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream.”

United for Human Rights and its program for young people, Youth for Human Rights International make it easy to understand the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to see how they apply to their lives and in their interaction with others. These materials, in the hands of humanitarians across the globe, have created the kind of change those drafting the UDHR envisioned.

Many examples of the effectiveness of the campaign are featured on the Scientology Network in the original series Voices for Humanity. These include:

• A brother and sister team who traveled to Colombian war zones where they impinged on the troops that article 3, the Right to Life, applies to everyone—even to the lives of guerrillas.
• A Mexican humanitarian who uses the programs to tackle human trafficking in his country.
• A human rights advocate who has reached into every stratum of his country with the 30 articles of the UDHR and was instrumental in the country’s legislative assembly mandating human rights education throughout the country’s school system.

Since launching with a special episode featuring Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige, Scientology Network has been viewed in 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church’s global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320 and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.