Youth for Human Rights International held an International Youth Summit with 120 youth delegates and UN, embassy and human rights officials at the United Nations this week.

 

 

The fellow in this photo is Joseph Jay Yaseriah, founder of the Youth for Human Rights Liberia Chapter.  Joseph was captured and held prisoner by rival factions in his home country.  He escaped but came back to help his fellows overcome oppression.  Caputred again, he escaped once more, only to come back again to help his country.  

 

 

 These three beautiful women are, left to right, Teresa Cheung, the Japanese youth delegate and Nazanin Afshin-Jam. Ms Cheung and Ms Afshin-Jam were both presented with "Human Rights Heros" awards.

 

Ms. Afshin-Jam is the former Miss World Canada 2003.  She was awarded by Youth for Human Rights International and the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International Friday for her courage and persistence in assisting an 18-year-old girl in Iran who was sentenced to hang for stabbing one of three men who tried to rape her and her niece. Because of the 210,000 signatures Nazanin has collected on her petition, and the international pressure this has generated helped the girl get a new trial, which observers hope will now be just. The awards were presented by Academy-award nominated actor and human rights activist Anne Archer.