Now that Canadians have elected a new government, Amnesty International is asking that it reverse “a slippage” on human rights that occurred under the previous, Conservative administration.
‘That’s not what we stand for’
“For…close to a decade, unfortunately really, we’ve been generally losing ground when it comes to human rights…both domestically and globally,” said Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada.
He referred to human rights issues within Canada as well as “initiatives we take or obstruct on the world stage.” He went on to say “clearly that’s not what we want to see from Canada. That’s not what we stand for as a nation.”
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A call to sign treaties against torture and arms
Specifically, Canada should sign two international agreements: one against torture, the other on the arms trade, said Neve. And he called for “a more consistent and principled” approach in how human rights issues are raised, one less dominated by trade and political considerations.
“We also point to the need for foreign policy to become much stronger with respect to gender equality, women’s human rights, the protection of indigenous peoples, taking firm stand against the death penalty—a whole host of issues where we’ve really slipped badly in recent years,” said Neve.
He was heartened that Canada’s new government has already acted to inquire into violence against aboriginal women and girls, and has started to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees.
Security measures contain ‘human rights failings’
Security measures are a concern though. Neve notes that Liberals supported Bill C-51, an anti-terrorism measure which he said contains several human rights failings. Changes were promised and Amnesty International Canada is asking that there be broad public consultations on the issue.
Canada’s previous government made what Neve called troubling “punitive, targeted” funding cuts to human rights and women’s equality organizations and “punished” environmental groups through charitable tax audits. This had a chilling effect which he said “absolutely has to change now.”
‘Defending rights for all’
Neve was encouraged that the prime minister sent a letter to the taxation minister asking him to revisit the policy and ensure that non-profits are not punished through audits. Neve holds that charities should be able to contribute to public policy debates in a democratic society like Canada’s.
Said Amnesty International in a news release, “Canadians and the world community need to know that Canada’s priority is defending rights for all.”
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