Angelina Jolie is one of the most talented actresses Hollywood has seen but she is also a philanthropic humanitarian that has never held her tongue when it comes to things she’s passionate about. Jolie has helped push legislation, started foundations, and has been a UNHCR ambassador for decades and now she has another title: author. In collaboration with Amnesty International, the actress released Know Your Rights and Claim Them with human rights lawyer Geraldine Van Bueren. The actress shared the cover on her new Instagram page and the guide aims to empower children and young people to know their rights, “Here‘s a truth you may not know: As a young person, your rights have equal status to the rights of an adult. Not when you reach adulthood, or leave home, or get your first job, but now. Whoever you are, wherever you live - your life is of equal value to any adult or any other young person on the planet.” Jolie wrote in the caption along with the powerful voices of some of the youth in the book.
“This book is a guide for every young person who believes in a better world for all”—Malala Yousafzai
Geraldine, the lawyer Angelina worked with is one of the original drafters of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which aimed to equip children with knowledge to safely challenge injustices. Per DailyMail, in an interview with Reuters Jolie explained, “So many children are in harm‘s way across the world and we’re simply not doing enough.” “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 added.
Following the release of the book, Jolie shared photos of her and Brad Pitt’s children Zahara, 16, and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt doing their own summer reading. Zahara was deep into Toni Morrison’s 1970 novel The Bluest Eye, while Shiloh was got in The Dark Lady by Akala. “End of #summerreading. These are some of the favorites in our house. Would love to know yours,” Jolie captioned the post.
