Testify Project

[critter - a white non-ndn person]

This is through Witness.  I am thinking of the crisis this last winter..  and I am thinking that this would be a worthy try to get voices from ndn's to the UN and help expose the USA in these and other matters.   

Terms & Conditions:   http://ushrnetwork.org/testify/?page_id=95

The Contest begins on June 21st, 2010 at 12:00 pm Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on two separate deadlines days.  Two different prizes for the two deadlines are described below.  The first deadline is August 20th at 11:59 pm ET (the “first contest period”).  The second deadline is October 8th at 11:59pm ET (the “second contest period”).  As stated above, all written entries must also be submitted by October 8th, in order to be submitted to the United Nations in November.


About the Testify Project!    http://ushrnetwork.org/testify/?page_id=2

We need the voices of individuals across the country facing injustice to stand-up for themselves and others.

It is time for people in the United States to make their voices heard at the United Nations. The Testify Project collects stories of injustice from throughout the United States through one-minute video and one-page written testimony. The top videos and stories will be screened for United Nations delegates in Geneva, Switzerland in preparation for the United States’ Universal Periodic Review.

Core questions: How are human rights violated in your community? What should the US Government do to protect these rights?

Videos and written testimony should tell us about human rights violations in your community. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) specifies many rights everyone has simply by being human, such as the right to life, liberty and security of person (Article 3), freedom from arbitrary arrest (Article 9), freedom of thought and religion (Article 18), right to form and join unions (Article 23) and right to an adequate standard of living, including housing, food, and medical care (Article 25). You can read a full version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=eng, or a simplified version at www.adcq.qld.gov.au/pubs/UDHR_easyrefguide.rtf.

Testify Project submissions may reference the UN Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights or any international treaties the US has ratified, but the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the most all-encompassing of these agreements, and is the best place to start. The most important thing is to show the barriers in your community that prevent people from realizing their full potential.

We also need your help selecting the finalist videos. Vote for your favorite videos by leaving a comment on the video’s page.

[critter - a white non-ndn person]

La Jolla band video being shown to UN as voice of human rights violation in America.

Video and website:  (edited to fix link to work)

http://ht.ly/19MJKP


The TESTIFY! Project: U.S. Voices at the Universal Periodic Review
By Kelly Matheson | November 3rd, 2010

Yesterday we brought you a video report from Eric Tars highlighting the work being done around the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the U.S. human rights record in Geneva, Switzerland. Today, we will highlight the video aspect of the work done in anticipation of and during the first review of the U.S.

The U.S. Human Rights Network (USHRN), in collaboration with countless other American human rights organizations, launched the Testify! Project to bring personal stories of human rights violations to the 400+ pages of detailed legal analysis submitted to the UN Human Rights Council and ensure the voices of American citizens affected by social injustices were heard in Geneva.

The Testify! Project asked individuals across the country to create a one- to two-minute video addressing how human rights had been violated in their communities and asking what actions the U.S. Government should take to protect these rights. Video topics ranged from access to adequate health care to the denial of rights of indigenous communities, to immigration issues faced by the gay and lesbian community. Ten of the videos submitted will be screened tonight in Geneva in preparation for the U.S.’s review on Friday.

One of the videos screening this evening is from the La Jolla Band of Indians. It highlights a community walk bringing attention to the disproportionately high rates of rapes and assaults on native women.