ROME, Italy and and LOS ANGELES, Calif. /CitizenWire/ -- A trawler carrying 500 asylum seekers from Eritrea and Somalia capsized on October 3, 2013, within sight of Lampedusa, an Italian resort island off the coast of Libya; 368 people drowned. Eight days later, a boat carrying Syrian refugees capsized between Lampedusa and Libya. Of the 268 victims who died, 60 were children. These were but two of the many violations of human rights that prompted a religious freedom conference hosted by the Church of Scientology in Rome.
In memory of these tragedies, Italy established the National Day in Memory of the Victims of Immigration in 2016 "to preserve and renew the memory of those who lost their lives in an attempt to emigrate to our country to escape wars, persecutions, and misery."
The Church of Scientology of Rome hosted this conference in partnership with Mediatori Mediterranei, La Collina Community, the Association of Human Rights and Tolerance, the Association of Art and Culture for Human Rights, the IDOS Study Centre Statistical Immigration Dossier, and the Confronti Study Centre.
Panels addressed immigration issues, including how to improve the treatment and integration of migrant communities and the importance of human rights education in creating a humane culture that promotes respect for the dignity of the person-this being the foundation of policies, laws, and regulations related to social responsibility in this field.
The Church of Scientology of Rome supports human rights education as key to raising awareness of inherent rights in each individual, regardless of race, culture, or country of origin. Among these are the right to life, liberty, and security of the person; freedom from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; the right to equal protection under the law; and the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
The Church screened a public service announcement illustrating Article 1 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights: "We Are All Born Free and Equal." The video is part of the human rights education campaign supported by Scientology Churches and Scientologists, who are inspired in their human rights advocacy by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, who believed, "Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream."
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https://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/
VIDEO:
https://www.scientology.tv/documentaries/the-story-of-human-rights.html
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