17-year-old Represents Ghana at Youth for Human Rights International Summit at the United Nations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 23, 2004 -- New York City - On August 23rd and 24th, when young delegates from Australia, Guyana, India, Nepal, South Korea, South Africa, Zambia, Germany and the United States arrive at the United Nations in New York for a two-day international human rights summit, 17-year-old Rosemary Lokko will be there to represent the youth of her own country - Ghana.

Rosemary, the secretary of her school's Youth for Human Rights Club, has a passion to improve human rights for all children in Ghana. In her own words: "The worst cases of human right abuses occur in the areas of child trafficking or slavery, child labor, and the deprivation of children's rights to free education."



Trafficking in children is a global problem affecting as many as 1.2 million children every year, including more than 400,000 youth from the West African Region alone according to Mark Taylor, a US State Department Specialist in Trafficking of Persons.



In Ghana, where, through a government program, hundreds of trafficked children were freed in September from employment by fishermen along the banks of the Volta River, a draft Trafficking In Persons Prevention Bill has been proposed to deal directly with this issue.

Youth For Human Rights delegate Rosemary Lokko, selected to represent Ghana at this summit because of her human rights contribution, said "It has always been my dream to champion the campaign against human right abuses, not only in Ghana but the world as a whole. I'm vehemently involved in education of youth about the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights both in my school and in my neighborhood. I am of the view that participating in the youth conference at the United Nations will furnish me with knowledge and experience to effectively carry out my duties."



Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) visited Ghana earlier this year as part of a 13-country 34-day tour to promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. YHRI released the English-language edition of �What are Human Rights?� This booklet contains a simplified version of the Declaration written especially for children. It has now been translated into 19 languages and is in use in more than 25 countries.

This international human rights summit at the United Nations was organized by Youth for Human Rights International in coordination with Friends of the United Nations, the International Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance, and the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International. UNICEF, the United Nations Children�s Fund, will officially welcome the young delegates on the opening day. The focus of the summit is on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the importance of youth responsibility and leadership in making Human Rights a reality for all people on earth.



For more information on the youth summit and other human rights programs and activities for youth see www.youthforhumanrights.org or e-mail Mary Shuttleworth at YouthHumanRights@aol.com