Azadeh Shahshahani’s Testimony

About the Testify Project!

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 here, or a simplified version here.

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.

Vote for Azadeh’s testimony!