Kolkata: Hollywood actress and child rights activist Angelina Jolie’s latest book Know Your Rights and Claim Them endeavours to apprise kids of ways to counter injustice.
Jolie is determined to “empower children around the world with tools to fight back for their rights” through the book she has co-written with human rights advocate Geraldine Van Buren, a member of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Amnesty International.
“So many children are in harm’s way across the world and we’re simply not doing enough,” Jolie told Reuters in an interview. “These are their rights, decided years ago based on what would make them healthy, balanced, safe and stable adults,” she added.
“We spent a lot of time blocking those rights, so this book is to help the kids have a tool book to say ‘these are your rights, these are things you need to question to see how far you, depending on your country and circumstance, are from accessing those rights, what are your obstacles, others that came before you and fought, ways you can fight’. So it’s a handbook to fight back,” said Jolie who is also Special Ambassador for UNHCR.
“Through the book, you have to find your own path forward, because we are very concerned about the safety of children. We don’t want children just running around screaming for their rights and putting themselves in danger,” Jolie, herself a mother of six, elaborated.