BRUSSELS, Belgium — 29 January 2026 — Human-rights education efforts supported by the Church of Scientology through United for Human Rights (UHR) and Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) continue to highlight the UDHR as an easy-to-use reference for daily community life, especially for young people and educators in diverse European communities.
The programmes are built on a clear premise: knowledge of rights supports respect for rights. Adopted on 10 December 1948 by the UN General Assembly, the UDHR sets out 30 articles describing core rights and freedoms.
Programme partners highlight a common challenge: many people endorse human rights as a principle but have limited familiarity with what the UDHR actually says, including topics such as non-discrimination, due process and freedom of thought.
UHR states it was founded on the UDHR’s 60th anniversary, with a goal of helping individuals and organisations promote and apply the Declaration’s principles. Youth for Human Rights International, founded in 2001 by Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, focuses on introducing young people to the UDHR and strengthening everyday tolerance and peace.
Both initiatives emphasise education, aligning training and media resources with each of the UDHR’s 30 articles. With backing from the Church of Scientology, the nonreligious initiatives report their resources being used by educators and civic groups, with delivery shaped by local partnerships.
A key feature is a toolkit-style approach: short videos, PSAs and teaching materials designed for educational and civic contexts. The package includes the documentary “The Story of Human Rights” and a series of PSAs mapping each right through “30 Rights, 30 Ads”. Materials are hosted online across 17 languages, supporting adaptation to local needs and age groups.
The Church of Scientology links its support for human-rights education to wider prevention- and education-based community initiatives. Church materials reference L. Ron Hubbard’s writings and the Code of a Scientologist as underscoring support for humanitarian work, including human-rights education.
Ivan Arjona-Pelado, Scientology’s representative to the European Union, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the United Nations, said:
“Human rights are not strengthened only by legal texts; they are strengthened when people can recognise them, explain them, and apply them in daily interactions—especially in schools and neighbourhoods where diversity is a lived reality. Europe’s civic culture is reinforced when young people learn the UDHR’s principles early and view respect, equality and non-discrimination as news euros practical responsibilities.”
For 2026, the focus is on making materials easy to use in real settings—clear language, modular tools and training that supports educators and community discussions without specialist legal expertise. In practice this includes training sessions, youth workshops, community discussions and partnerships with civil-society organisations engaged in inclusion, anti-bullying, equal treatment and intercultural dialogue.
The Church of Scientology, its churches, missions, groups and members are present across the European continent. Scientology Europe reports a continent-wide presence through more than 140 churches, missions and affiliated groups in at least 27 European nations, alongside thousands of community-based social betterment and reform initiatives focused on education, prevention and neighbourhood-level support, inspired by the work of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Within Europe’s diverse national frameworks for religion, the Church’s recognitions continue to expand, with administrative and judicial authorities in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany Slovakia and others, as well as the European Court of Human Rights, having addressed and acknowledged Scientology communities as protected by the national and international provisions of Freedom of Religion or belief.
Full text of the press release: Human Rights for Youth: Scientology’s Community Focus.