Scientology Churches Mark Human Rights Day with Events Around the World: Making Human Rights a Global Reality

December 15, 2005

	Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre of London invited religious and community leaders to join their human rights petition drive

In commemoration of Human Rights Day, Scientologists on five continents celebrated the 57th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this week, with open houses, round tables, human rights festivals, concerts and petition drives.

These activities featured educational materials produced by the Church of Scientology International Human Rights Office, in coordination with Youth for Human Rights International: booklets which cover each of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration, public service announcements and a human rights teacher’s manual for use in schools and by community leaders.

The Church of Scientology of Moscow held a round table with representatives of prominent human rights groups including the famous Moscow Helsinki Group, the International Society of Human Rights, International Association of Religious Liberty and the Charity Foundation of Moscow.

In France, Scientologists passed out human rights booklets at the Paris landmark where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was first signed.

In Madrid, the Church held a human rights forum that featured the Presidents of the Peace and Cooperation Association, the Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance of Spain and the Panafrican Federation for the Black Communities of Spain.

The Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre of London hosted a Human Rights Day conference featuring a petition to require that all schools provide human rights education.

Scientology churches in Tokyo and Mexico held human rights seminars in local schools, and Scientologists converged on the busiest street in Taiwan to bring home the message by holding a petition drive, while their human rights public service announcement played on an electronic billboard.

Scientology Churches in Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt held round tables, meetings and information events, while the Church of Scientology of Johannesburg held a human rights festival to focus attention on the need to end human trafficking. Veronique Lalouette, semi-finalist in this year's South African "Idols" contest, entertained the crowd and pledged to reach all youth with the message that discrimination in any form should not be tolerated.

The Church of Scientology of Auckland, New Zealand, kicked off their human rights petition drive with a musical performance at a local fair; Scientologist in Copenhagen, Denmark, manned information booths at the town hall, while in Hungary, Scientologists arranged to have human rights PSAs air in shopping centers and theaters throughout Budapest.

Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard once wrote: "Human Rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream" and Scientologists are determined to make this dream come true.