Human rights centre promotes awareness

The House of Culture in Belize City has been the venue for activities ranging from moonlight jazz to modern photography. Today a group of activists descended on the facility, not for an art exhibition, but to promote human rights. It was the first of three seminars sponsored by the Belize Centre for Human Rights Studies, an independent entity operating from the campus of the University of Belize. Chairperson of the Centre, Antoinette Moore, says the primary objective of the series is to promote human rights awareness.

Antoinette Moore, Chair., Bz. Centre for Human Rights Studies
?And it?s to educate them on human rights education in specific and in away to show all of the groups that we are all doing human rights work, whether they are working with children, work with women or aged, disabled people, and we have people from all of those various groups. The AIDS alliance has been here to let them know that even though they might not define their work as human rights work, in essence it is human rights work and that the need for us all to coordinate our efforts and to work together to have a better Belize and persons who are more educated on what their rights are and how to advocate for their rights.?

Patrick Jones
?What would you hope will come out of this workshop??

Antoinette Moore
?What I really would like to see is that there be a more coordinated effort of the NGO?s in the country of Belize who do work around the various rights; rights of children and women and various other vulnerable groups, and the population as a whole. I see that as a good result and I think that that is what will be the outcome.?

Over thirty people, most of them leaders representing various non-governmental organisations, attended today’s forum which was held under the theme: People Value People–This Is Human Rights.