UN human rights committee slams Canada's record on women - Canada - CBC News

UN human rights committee slams Canada's record on women - Canada - CBC News

The UN human rights committee is accusing the Canadian government of failing to act on missing and murdered aboriginal women, violence against women generally, and numerous other matters, ranging from refugees to Bill C-51, the new anti-terror law.

The UN's first report card on Canada in 10 years was released Thursday, and measures whether the country has met its human rights obligations.

• Read the full report

At least 26 human rights organizations, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Amnesty International Canada and Human Rights Watch, submitted their own separate reports to the 18-member independent committee on the various issues.

The UN human rights committee says a national inquiry should be called into the fact that 'indigenous women and girls are disproportionately affected by life-threatening forms of violence, homicides and disappearances.' (CBC) Overall, the report took exception to Canada's failure to set up a way to implement some of the committee's recommendations.

"It should take all necessary measures to establish mechanisms and appropriate procedures to give full effect to the committee's views so as to guarantee an effective remedy when there has been a violation of the covenant," the report said.

Here's a list of some of the UN committee's criticisms and recommendations:

• Business: "Human rights abuses by Canadian  companies operating abroad, in particular mining corporations," should  be addressed by an independent authority and a framework that give  victims the possibility of legal remedies.
• Gender equality: The committee notes "persisting  inequalities between women and men" in Canada and wants better equal pay legislation across the country," with a special focus on minority and  indigenous women."
• Violence against women: Continued violence against women in Canada, and the "the lack of statistical data on domestic  violence," led the committee to call for better legal protections for  victims, and for more shelters and services.
• Missing and murdered aboriginal women: In the wake of reports on murdered and missing women, the committee said "indigenous women and girls are disproportionately  affected by life-threatening forms of violence, homicides and  disappearances." It said there should be a national inquiry.
• Bill C-51: Canada's new anti-terror law allows  mass surveillance, too much information-sharing, and a no-fly list that  lacks proper governance and appeal, the committee says. It suggests  Canada should review the act and allow for better legal safeguards.
• Police use of force: The committee notes excessive force during protests such as those at the G20  in 2010 and recommends  prompt, impartial investigations, along with prosecutions of those  responsible where warranted
• Refugees and immigration: The committee worries  "that individuals who are nationals of designated 'safe' countries are  denied an appeal hearing against a rejected refugee claim before the  Refugee Appeal Division and are only allowed judicial review before the  Federal Court" — increasing the risk they may be sent back.

Other recommendations cover prison conditions in Canada, freedom of expression, native land titles, the Indian Act and the condition of indigenous people generally.

It asks for a response from Canada five years from now on what improvements and implementations have been made as a result of its recommendations

Starbucks: adopt a sustainable palm oil policy. | SumOfUs

Starbucks: adopt a sustainable palm oil policy. | SumOfUs

Your Starbucks coffee break is likely to be contributing to  deforestation, extinction of endangered tigers and orangutans, and  abuses of workers and communities. While other industry giants such as McDonald's, KFC, Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme have committed to cutting conflict palm oil from their supply chains, Starbucks is taking an ostrich-like approach -- sticking its head in the ground and ignoring this growing emergency, and the concerns of its consumers.

In 2013, facing public pressure, Starbucks announced that it would be sourcing 100% sustainable palm oil by 2015. That deadline has come and gone, and Starbucks needs to hear from us that we won't wait any longer for responsible palm oil.

Starbucks is a recent member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), but the coffee giant has already failed to report mandatory data on its palm oil sourcing to the overseeing body.

And unfortunately, even if Starbucks met RSPO criteria, it wouldn't mean it had achieved gold standards. The RSPO can't guarantee that the palm oil it certifies is deforestation-free. Deforestation is happening in palm oil plantations owned by RSPO members, and NGOs and consumer companies also criticize RSPO's inability to regulate peatland destruction and greenhouse gas emissions.

What's most remarkable about Starbucks' lack of progress on palm oil is that it's in stark contrast to the company's work on coffee. Earlier this year, Starbucks announced that 99 percent of its coffee is now ethically sourced, which it accomplished by developing and implementing the Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices (CAFE), a third-party verified program for farmers to ensure certain human rights and environmental standards are met. Through its CAFE initiative, Starbucks actually reduced  deforestation in its coffee supply chain. Why is it so hard to do the  same for palm oil?

A sobering look at Canada’s human rights record - The Globe and Mail

A sobering look at Canada’s human rights record - The Globe and Mail

Sir Nigel Rodley, a law professor and chair of the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex, was referring to the deteriorating space for human rights advocacy, protest and dissent in Canada. He noted it was almost unbelievable that the UN committee felt compelled to raise these sorts of concerns with Canada. Sir Nigel highlighted research by the Voices coalition, which pointed to astonishing levels of fear and intimidation felt by Canadian activists and civil society groups, and referred to the disquiet expressed by the UN’s leading expert on the freedoms of assembly and association. He dismissed the Canadian government’s initial response to questions about the crackdown as “thin.”

t was a powerful moment that came near the end of six hours of back-and-forth, over two days, between committee members (drawn from countries around the world) and a sizable Canadian delegation from various federal departments and the province of Quebec. And it captured wider concerns about the range of troubling issues explored in the review.

Canada’s human rights record has been on display, and the range of shortcomings and violations that have been probed has been sobering. Some are long-standing, such as concerns about sex discrimination under the federal Indian Act. Others are more recent, such as many references to Bill C-51, the new Anti-Terrorism Act. Some of the issues, certainly violence against indigenous women, have an impact on hundreds of thousands of people.

The point of the review is not that Canada is among the worst human-rights violators in the world. Of course not. It is a regular review that comes around for all countries that have signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The point, rather, is that all signatories are obliged to protect all rights – and that there is an expectation that a signatory with all the resources and strong institutions that Canada has will set a high example for other countries to follow.

That is not the picture that emerged during the review, however. Instead, it was of entrenched problems in Canada, such as the failure to have an effective process for recognizing and protecting aboriginal land rights. And of new and troubling developments that take Canada in the wrong direction, such as the battle over federal cuts to health care for refugees.

All of this against a backdrop of increasing Canadian disregard for many aspects of the international human rights system. Canada was still dismissive of the important UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – which the government asserted is not binding, not law, only aspirational. Committee members were not impressed, for example, when Canada implied that it has no human rights responsibilities under the covenant when Canadian mining companies operate abroad....

Gordon Brown: 2015 a year of fear for refugee children

2015 a year of fear for refugee children-average time away from home in exile at around 17 years

CNN: Ten million of the world's 30 million displaced boys and girls are now refugees from their home country. With the average time away from home in exile at around 17 years,
children could go through their entire school-age years, from birth to adulthood, without ever entering a classroom. And rising refugee numbers explain why, according to a new UNESCO report published Monday, 124 million never go to school at all, 59 million of them being primary age boys and girls. While shelter, food and health care are vital to survival, it is education -- and the idea that you can prepare and plan for your future -- that, if curtailed or neglected, deprives young people of hope.

Currently, only about 1% of humanitarian budgets go to education. The educational needs of refugees are forgotten, trapped between development aid and humanitarian assistance that understandably focuses on health care, food and shelter, while standard aid budgets are allocated years in advance and take little account of unplanned-for crises.

Climate activists call for greener economy - Toronto - CBC News

Climate activists call for greener economy - Toronto - CBC News

Demonstrators marched through the streets of downtown Toronto onSunday afternoon, calling for an economy that works for both the people and the planet.
Environmentalist David Suzuki, actress Jane Fonda, author Naomi Klein and former diplomat Stephen Lewis were among the notable names in the crowd, which will also included members of First Nations, UNIFOR, the Ontario Federation of Labour, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, Toronto Regional Labour Council and Greenpeace Canada.

Pretty good coverage of the climate justice march today.  I'm actually in the video, marching near the front with the Indigenous group (with my Turtle Island sign :-)