About the Student Task Force

Who We Are
The Student Task Force (STF), launched in 1999, is fundamentally about students advocating for children's rights. It is a youth leadership-training program that brings together high school students from all over Los Angeles and empowers them to advocate for human rights issues that concern the rights of children.

Human Rights Watch volunteers and STF teachers work in partnership to mentor students in leadership skills and activism, fostering confidence and maturity among students and enabling them to become effective voices for change and social justice within their communities.

Our Mission
Children continue to be denied basic human rights in all parts of the world. The Human Rights Watch Student Task Force is dedicated to promoting human rights for all children by raising awareness in our schools and communities, and providing strategic advocacy support for the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch.

What We Do
The STF works to support the Children's Rights Division (CRD) of Human Rights Watch through advocacy projects. Based in New York, the CRD monitors human rights abuses against children around the world and campaigns to end them. Examples of Student Task Force projects include leadership training workshops, planning advocacy campaigns, meeting with elected representatives and with human rights activists from around the world, documentary film screenings and other public education events.

The Facts
250 million children are involved in child labor,sexual exploitation and trafficking

125 million children are not in school

25 million children have been uprooted by armed conflict

10 million children a year die from malnutrition and preventable diseases

2 million children have died in ten years because of war
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Alicia Ramirez (Manual Arts High School), Los Angeles

How To Get Involved
To learn more about the Student Task Force and how to get involved, please email stflosangeles@yahoo.com.

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