May 8, 2009

NEW YORK – Youth for Human Rights, a world wide rights group promoting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, took to the streets of New York Saturday, May 2, as other branches readied an international drive for May 9th. The effort will continue through May and beyond.

Their mission was to get human rights education taught in schools everywhere, as a realistic and vital step to making those human rights universally respected.

"When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was published by the UN in 1948, it was planned that there would be a broad educational campaign," said Barbara Carmichael, one of the group's coordinators here. "Sixty years later, people don't know the UDHR, and the world continues to be convulsed by human rights violations, conflicts and wars."

"Even in the US, where human rights violations are not as severe as some other places, there is room for improvement," Ms. Carmichael continued. "If human rights were taught in schools as part of the curriculum, "we would have a basis of mutual respect which would improve life here at home, and ultimately in our dealings with other countries as well."

The petition can be signed online at http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/, where people can see a set of award-winning videos which make the 30 points of the Universal Declaration come to life, and find out how else to be part of this movement.

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