blake 3:17
31st July 2013, 06:03
Canada gets human rights failing grade from Amnesty International
International human rights standing "a wake-up call" that we have long-standing issues with aboriginal, womens and refugees rights that need to be addressed
For Canadas international human rights standing, 2012 was an annus horribilis.
This year three UN expert committees rated the countrys performance on meeting rights commitments and returned a failing grade.
These mandatory reviews are carried out every four or five years, and it just happened that this year Canada was the focus of three, said Alex Neve, who heads Amnesty International Canada. Its a wake-up call that although we have things to be proud of, there are many fronts where we have long-standing issues that need to be addressed.
An Amnesty report released Wednesday says that committees on racial discrimination, prevention of torture and childrens rights found a range of ongoing and serious human rights challenges, especially for indigenous peoples.
By every measure, be it respect for treaty and land rights, levels of poverty, average life spans, violence against women and girls, dramatically disproportionate levels of arrest and incarceration or access to government services such as housing, health care, education, water and child protection, indigenous peoples across Canada continue to face a grave human rights crisis, it said.
In response to Amnestys report, Rick Roth, spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, said, we are proud of the work weve done to advance freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law at home and around the world.
The Amnesty report was one of three reports this week that pointed a warning finger at the treatment of aboriginal people.
The B.C. governments final report from its Missing Womens inquiry charged that there was a disproportionate number of missing or murdered indigenous women and girls on Vancouvers downtown East Side from 1997-2002, and that their cases did not receive equal treatment by police.
In addition, Human Rights Watchs womens rights researcher Meghan Rhoad said that the epidemic of violence against indigenous women and girls in Canada is a national problem and it demands a national enquiry.
Amnestys report calls for a new human rights agenda for Canada that includes all levels of government, beginning with a process of law reform . . . to establish a formal mechanism for transparent, effective and accountable implementation of Canadas international human rights obligations.
It says that UN recommendations have too often been ignored, and the implementation process is so cloaked in secrecy that most Canadians have no idea whether the government plans to act on them.
The gap between commitment and action has grown in the past decade because of the complexities of federalism, lack of political will and failure of leadership, it said.
The report welcomed changes to immigration and refugee laws in the past year that allowed for refugee appeals, but said they have also created two new classes of migrants and refugee claimants whose rights have been restricted.
Those designated irregular arrivals such as the Sri Lankan refugee claimants who arrived in B.C. face mandatory detention, with intermittent reviews, and if accepted as refugees are barred from travelling outside Canada for five years.
Asylum seekers who come from so-called safe countries are put on a fast-track refugee claim schedule and denied access to the new Refugee Appeal Division.
Under the new Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, those who are accused of crimes, found guilty or labelled security threats including permanent residents who have lived in Canada for years will be deported without appeal. That now includes those who have committed relatively minor crimes with six-month sentences.
Meanwhile, Canadian law continues to allow deportation to countries where those rated as security threats may be tortured. And Ottawas refusal to bring the security certificate process in line with international fair trials standards means that people deemed security threats are denied access to key evidence and witnesses.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2012/12/19/canada_gets_human_rights_failing_grade_from_amnest y_international.html
International human rights standing "a wake-up call" that we have long-standing issues with aboriginal, womens and refugees rights that need to be addressed
For Canadas international human rights standing, 2012 was an annus horribilis.
This year three UN expert committees rated the countrys performance on meeting rights commitments and returned a failing grade.
These mandatory reviews are carried out every four or five years, and it just happened that this year Canada was the focus of three, said Alex Neve, who heads Amnesty International Canada. Its a wake-up call that although we have things to be proud of, there are many fronts where we have long-standing issues that need to be addressed.
An Amnesty report released Wednesday says that committees on racial discrimination, prevention of torture and childrens rights found a range of ongoing and serious human rights challenges, especially for indigenous peoples.
By every measure, be it respect for treaty and land rights, levels of poverty, average life spans, violence against women and girls, dramatically disproportionate levels of arrest and incarceration or access to government services such as housing, health care, education, water and child protection, indigenous peoples across Canada continue to face a grave human rights crisis, it said.
In response to Amnestys report, Rick Roth, spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, said, we are proud of the work weve done to advance freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law at home and around the world.
The Amnesty report was one of three reports this week that pointed a warning finger at the treatment of aboriginal people.
The B.C. governments final report from its Missing Womens inquiry charged that there was a disproportionate number of missing or murdered indigenous women and girls on Vancouvers downtown East Side from 1997-2002, and that their cases did not receive equal treatment by police.
In addition, Human Rights Watchs womens rights researcher Meghan Rhoad said that the epidemic of violence against indigenous women and girls in Canada is a national problem and it demands a national enquiry.
Amnestys report calls for a new human rights agenda for Canada that includes all levels of government, beginning with a process of law reform . . . to establish a formal mechanism for transparent, effective and accountable implementation of Canadas international human rights obligations.
It says that UN recommendations have too often been ignored, and the implementation process is so cloaked in secrecy that most Canadians have no idea whether the government plans to act on them.
The gap between commitment and action has grown in the past decade because of the complexities of federalism, lack of political will and failure of leadership, it said.
The report welcomed changes to immigration and refugee laws in the past year that allowed for refugee appeals, but said they have also created two new classes of migrants and refugee claimants whose rights have been restricted.
Those designated irregular arrivals such as the Sri Lankan refugee claimants who arrived in B.C. face mandatory detention, with intermittent reviews, and if accepted as refugees are barred from travelling outside Canada for five years.
Asylum seekers who come from so-called safe countries are put on a fast-track refugee claim schedule and denied access to the new Refugee Appeal Division.
Under the new Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, those who are accused of crimes, found guilty or labelled security threats including permanent residents who have lived in Canada for years will be deported without appeal. That now includes those who have committed relatively minor crimes with six-month sentences.
Meanwhile, Canadian law continues to allow deportation to countries where those rated as security threats may be tortured. And Ottawas refusal to bring the security certificate process in line with international fair trials standards means that people deemed security threats are denied access to key evidence and witnesses.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2012/12/19/canada_gets_human_rights_failing_grade_from_amnest y_international.html