Human Rights Awareness Week in the Congo

Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 19, 2016 (Newswire.com) - A delegation of members from the Brussels chapter of Youth for Human Rights International traveled to Katanga, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the cities of Kasumbalesa and Lubumbashi to counter human rights abuse through education. 

The most recent report from United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (2011-2012) describes the state of human rights in the DRC as “grave.” It reports little progress despite government commitment to remedy the situation, with the most flagrant violations perpetrated by the government itself. “In 2011,” it reports, “the national army (FARDC) and the police (PNC) and other security forces were responsible for numerous human rights violations, including summary executions, mass-rapes, arbitrary and illegal arrests and detentions, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments, extortion, forced labor and looting.”

The volunteers began their week-long project with a visit to the governor and  the mayor of Katanga, who welcomed the volunteers to the region.

Then, with the help of a local journalist and several other residents they began distributing copies of the Youth for Human Rights booklet What Are Human Rights, which provides a very simple description in words and images of the 30 articles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world’s most embracive human rights document. 

The Brussels chapter of Youth for Human Rights International is supported by the Brussels-based Churches of Scientology for Europe, located at Boulevard de Waterloo 103. Scientologists on six continents engage in collaborative efforts with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to bring about broad-scale awareness and implementation of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world’s premier human rights document.

Source: ScientologyNews.org