Human rights initiative

Sir — I would like to respond to the article ‘Scientology-linked group “represented Ireland” at the UN’ (Sunday Independent, January 28).

United for Human Rights and its programme for young people, Youth for Human Rights, is active in 195 nations. It is supported by the Church of Scientology.

We collaborate with government agencies and nongovernmental organisations to spread awareness and implementation of the principles enshrined in the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The UDHR holds that not only are people everywhere equally entitled to their human rights without any discrimination, but that their rights to their own religion, education, employment and justice, for example, are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

Our programme is completely secular and is the largest nongovernmental human rights education initiative in the world today.

The 14th annual Human Rights Summit at the United Nations in August 2017, organised by Youth for Human Rights and co-sponsored by the Church of Scientology, was attended by people from 64 countries: diplomats from many nations including Ireland, youth delegates from 42 nations, UN ambassadors, human rights activists, educators, and representatives of nongovernmental organisations, including former Costa Rican president Oscar Arias Sanchez, who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize. Diana Stahl, Director of Public Affairs, Church of Scientology & Community Centre of Dublin