Bad year for human rights must lead to brighter 2018
It has been a particularly tough year for human rights, marked by violent turmoil and hate-filled divisiveness around the world.
Canada has made contributions in 2017 to addressing many of those global challenges; but that has not always been backed up with consistent action at home.
The list of countries devastated by conflict grows long. Entrenched crises continued in Syria, Iraq and South Sudan. Widespread ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people erupted in Burma, with hundreds of villages razed, untold numbers of people killed, and more than 600,000 refugees forced to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.
The crisis in Yemen deepened; the grim civilian toll exacerbated by a Saudi-led blockade that impedes humanitarian relief. The Palestinian people marked 50 years of human rights abuse under Israeli military occupation. And the lawlessness that has ravaged Libya finally made the front pages with reports of harrowing abuses against refugees and migrants, including slavery.
While countries, including Canada, pursue initiatives to provide aid, protect refugees and address the abuses, effective multilateral action is thwarted by geopolitics. There are no UN arms embargoes against Syria, South Sudan, Yemen or Burma; all blocked by threatened Russian or Chinese vetoes.
Particularly troubling this year has been the rise of hate. While racism and bigotry are by no means new phenomena, the extent to which demonization has become part of mainstream politics is chilling. Those targeted are the most marginalized in society, including refugees and migrants, religious and ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ community. This goes beyond Donald Trump’s White House. Vilification is government policy in Hungary, Russia, Turkey and the Philippines, to name a few, and surfaces with every western European election.
Canada has countered by promoting feminism, inclusion and diversity; a campaign that will need greater profile, new allies and more concrete initiatives over the coming year.
Standing up for universal human rights has become perilous worldwide. Human rights defenders are regularly smeared, attacked, imprisoned and killed. They need Canada’s support like never before, including defenders who highlight the impact of Canadian mining companies in their communities.
It has also been a busy year for human rights within Canada.
The rhetoric of embracing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples may finally be backed up by law; with government support for Bill C-262, legislation sponsored by MP Romeo Saganash. Yet a commitment to the declaration’s principles is clearly lacking when the federal and B.C. governments press ahead with the Site C dam despite First Nations opposition, or the Trudeau government fails to comply with Canadian Human Rights Tribunal orders to end discrimination against First Nations children.
The long-awaited National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is proceeding but faces internal challenges and criticism from families and Indigenous leaders. Meanwhile, the government has not advanced measures that are already well-agreed, including more shelters for Indigenous women fleeing violence in remote communities.
Strong Canadian regard for women’s human rights is admirable, particularly the new Feminist International Assistance Policy. Also welcome is a new federal strategy on gender-based violence, which now needs a national action plan bringing all levels of government together in tackling this serious human rights concern.
Last year, Canada enjoyed accolades for resettling more than 45,000 Syrian refugees and the government continues to champion refugee rights globally. But resettlement numbers diminished substantially in 2017. And a refusal to lift the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States forced refugees fleeing increasingly hostile U.S. policies to make unsafe, irregular journeys across the world’s longest undefended border in order to pursue refugee claims in Canada.
There are other disconcerting inconsistencies in Canada’s positions. While contributing to humanitarian relief in Yemen, for instance, the sale of $15 billion worth of light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition responsible for war crimes in the Yemen conflict, goes ahead. And while preparing to sign on to the UN Arms Trade Treaty, implementing legislation exempts arms deals with the United States, accounting for over half of all Canadian arms sales.
Looking to 2018, as Canada hosts the G7, ramps up campaigning for a UN Security Council seat in 2020 and readies, with the rest of the world, for the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this must become a brighter year, devoted to shoring up human rights.
This goes beyond Donald Trump’s White House. Vilification is government policy in Hungary, Russia, Turkey and the Philippines