“We are all born free and equal.”

Youth for Human Rights International maintains that children who do not know their rights are vulnerable and easy prey for ill-intended individuals. Statistics of loss of dignity and life through child abuse, gang violence, child labor and child soldiers are staggeringly high.

The following are current statistics in five key areas of human rights abuse.

Child abuse—40 million children below the age of 15 suffer from abuse and neglect. (United Nations Children’s Fund, 2008)

Gang violence—100 percent of cities with populations greater than or equal to 250,000 reported gang activity. (US Department of Justice)

Child labor—246 million children, one in every six children aged 5 to 17, are involved in child labor. (International Labour Organization, 2002)

Child soldiers—UNICEF estimates that more than 300,000 children under 18 are currently being exploited in over thirty armed conflicts worldwide.

While the majority of child soldiers are between the ages of 15 and 18, some are as young as 7 or 8 years of age. (US Department of State, 2005)

Human trafficking—It is estimated that there are 27 million people in the world today who are enslaved.

Every year 600,000 to 800,000 persons are trafficked across international borders. (US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, 2006)

(the title represents the Article 1, United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Too cute to have their rights ignored...What do you say?

He Loves You,He Beats You

Turkey's flawed family violence protection system leaves women and girls across the country unprotected against domestic abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on the 4^th of May. Life-saving protections, including court-issued protection orders and emergency shelters, are not available for many abuse victims because of gaps in the law and enforcement failures.

The 58-page report, "‘He Loves You, He Beats You': Family Violence in Turkey and Access to Protection," documents brutal and long-lasting violence against women and girls by husbands, partners, and family members and the survivors' struggle to seek protection. Turkey has strong protection laws, setting out requirements for shelters for abused women and protection orders. However, gaps in the law and implementation failures by police, prosecutors, judges, and other officials make the protection system unpredictable at best, and at times downright dangerous.

Human Rights Watch interviewed women and girls as young as 14 and as old as 65 who described being raped; stabbed; kicked in the abdomen when pregnant; beaten with hammers, sticks, branches, and hoses to the point of broken bones and fractured skulls; locked up with dogs or other animals; starved; shot with a stun gun; injected with poison; pushed off a roof; and subjected to severe psychological violence. The violence occurred in all areas where researchers conducted interviews, and across income and education levels.

This report comes as the Council of Europe is about to adopt a regional convention on violence against women and domestic violence. Turkey played an important role in drafting the convention as the current Chair of the Committee of Ministers, and the convention is scheduled to be signed at a summit in Istanbul on May 11, 2011.

UNICEF - Day for Change

United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF; pronounced /ˈjuːnɨsɛf/ EW-ni-sef^[1]) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953,UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this old name. Headquartered in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.

School in a Box (just watch it :)

Red Cross - The Power of Humanity

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international 
humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and 
staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure 
respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, 
without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, 
class or political opinions.
 
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian 
institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant. Its 
25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law 
to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal 
armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions 
(in 1917, 1944 and 1963).

Save the Children,Save World's Future

Save the Children is an internationally active Non-Governmental Organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries. It was established in the United Kingdom in 1919 in order to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts.

Today, there are 29 national Save the Children organizations participating in the International Save the Children Alliance—a global network of nonprofit organizations working in over 120 countries around the world. 

Current campaigns include Every One, advocating for increased infant and child survival rates, and Rewrite the Future, focused on bringing quality education to conflict ridden areas.

You are a part of this...

All the Nations for a better World

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

The UN has 4 main purposes:

• To keep peace throughout the world;
• To develop friendly relations among nations;
• To help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms;
• To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.

Together we can succeed in make it better

A world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.

The Right Watch

Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, this organization gives voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Their objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.

Their mission:
Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. They stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. Beside challenging governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law, they also enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.

They Watch for Your World's Rights