About the Declaration of Human Rights by American Youth

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNA-USA will create and launch the Declaration of Human Rights by American Youth. Using the framework of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and findings from the 2022 American Youth Priorities Report, this Declaration will capture the voices, feedback and leadership of youth from across the U.S. on human rights issues most important to them. Young people are the future world leaders and this Declaration will serve as a unified proclamation that youth not only care about the future of human rights, but youth are taking action today to advance the rights of those in their local communities. The process of drafting this declaration presents young people with an opportunity to learn more about the UDHR, champion youth action on human rights and use their feedback to create a new Declaration that is forward-thinking, more inclusive and rooted in meaningful youth participation. This Declaration can be used as a guiding document for understanding and acting on youth priorities for organizations like UNA-USA and external stakeholders we engage with at the State Department, UN Youth Envoy Office, US-UN Mission and UN Youth Delegates.

Who can sign the Declaration? 

American youth (under the age of 30) are invited to sign this Declaration in support of human rights. If you are over the age of 30 and affiliated with a youth-led organization or entity that works directly with youth, you are also welcome to sign the Declaration as a supporter; please be sure to include the name of your organization when signing the Declaration.

Are you an organization looking to get more engaged?

Our goal is to reach as many American youth as possible. If your organization would like to become an Organizational Supporter, there are special opportunities to work with UNA-USA as we continue to engage our community after launching this Declaration. With a $1000 donation, Organizational Supporters will have their logo included on this page as part of this project and commit to sharing this Declaration with their networks. For more information, please reach out to Rachel (Rae) McCave at rmccave@unausa.org.