Journalists for Human Rights

1. Journalists for Human Rights Train the Trainer Program Empowering Canadian Youth in Human Rights Education

2. Stream 4: Activity 3 Human Rights in the Canadian Context • Definitions • Redress for Human Right Violations • Canada and International Human Right Treaties

3. Definitions • Treaty • Legally binding agreement • States responsible for ensuring own laws, legislations, policies or practices meet the standards of the treaty • Convention, covenant, or protocol

4. Signature • A signed treaty is not legally binding • Shows the states intent to examine the treaty domestically • The state is obliged to refrain from committing acts considered against the treaty

5. Ratify/Ratification • The point at which a treaty becomes legally binding • State fulfills its own national legislative requirements to be able to implement the treaty • A formal sealed letter signed by the states responsible authority is sent to the UN Secretary General in New York

6. Accede/Accession • State signifies treaty to be legally binding • Not proceeded by a signature • Procedure varies state to state • Typically the national organ of a state (parliament) will make a formal decision to be part of the treaty • A formal letter is sent to the UN General Secretary

7. Declaration • These are not legally binding instruments • Indicates parties do not intend to create binding obligations but want to declare certain aspirations

8. Reservation • Way to exclude or change the legal effect of provisions on the treaty to apply to their State

9. Optional Protocol • Used for additional legal instruments that complements and adds to a treaty • Further address of issues, an emerging concern, or procedure for enforcement • Not automatically binding on States that have already ratified original treaty • States must independently ratify or accede to a protocol

10. Redress for Human Right Violations

11. Redress for Human Right Violations • Domestic • International

12. Domestic • Human Rights Commissions investigates acts of discrimination in both employment and provision of services at the provincial/federal level • Complaints are filed under the Canadian Human Rights Act • Mediation, conciliation or further investigation by the Commissioners for litigation procedures with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal

13. Internationally • Once domestic means of redress have been exhausted, individuals can make complaints to the United Nations through; • Individual Treaties • Commission on Human Rights or the Status of Women

14. Individual Treaties • Individual Canadians can file complaints under three UN treaties which have a committee of independent experts to examine complaints; • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights • Convention on the Elimination on all Forms of Discrimination against Women • Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

15. Individual Treaties • Complaints are provide individual redress through quasi-judicial mechanisms • Complaint relevant only after country has ratified the treaty • Open and accessible to everyone • Committees composed of individual experts elected by States party to relevant treaty

16. Individual Treaties: Procedures • Complaint form is completed and submitted to relevant committee to determine admissibility, merits, and consideration of the case • States are invited to comment on case • Committee indicates appropriate remedy for individual • Decision are made by majority ruling and are final

17. UN Human Right Commissions • Commission on Human Rights /Commission on the Status of Women • Oldest human rights complaint mechanisms • Established under the Economic and Social Council • Mandate is to examine a consistent pattern of gross and reliably attested human right violations and fundamental freedoms of any country/global trends and patterns concerning women’s rights • Complaints may be brought against any country in the world on any human right violation

18. UN Human Right Commissions • Commission on Human Rights/Status of Women ; Procedures • Complaint by mail, facsimile or email • Describe the events providing names, dates, locations and other evidence with evidence that you have exhausted other remedies • Steps: Initial screening, Working Group on Communications, Working Group on Situations, and Commission of Human Rights/Status of Women

19. Canada and International Human Right Treaties

20. Core International Human Rights Instruments • International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) • Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) • Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) • International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICRMW) • International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance • Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

21. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights • Drafted as a means to make human rights binding • Created as a document for positive Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to be enforced alongside the negative Civil and Political Rights • (Positive rights impose an obligation on someone to do something for someone whereas negative rights obliges someone to refrain from doing something to someone) • The protection of these rights are monitored by the Committee of Economic Social and Cultural Rights

22. Core ICESCR Provisions Include; • Labour • Social security • Family life • Standard of living • Health • Education • Participation in cultural life

23. Canada and the ICESCR • Canada acceded to the ICESCR on May 19, 1976 • Since acceding to the ICESCR, Canada has submitted four periodic reports • In October 2004 Canada submitted its Fourth Report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to the UN • Canada will appear before the Committee to review this report in 2006

24. Convention on the Rights of the Child • Sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children • Came into force in 1990 R • Requires the states act in the best interest of the child • Monitored by the Committee on the Rights of the Child • It has been ratified by all member states of the United Nations except for the United States and Somalia • It is the only treaty that gives NGO’s a role in monitoring its implementation

25. Includes 2 optional protocols; • Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict • b. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

26. Guiding Principles; • Definition of the Child • Non-discrimination • Best interest of the child • Right to life, survival, development • Respect for the views of the child

27. Canada and the CRC • Ratified in Canada in 1992 • Canadian Children’s Rights Council is the NGO in Canada which advocates for and monitors the rights of the children in Canada • Accusations that Canada has ratified the convention but has not fully implemented the Convention in Canadian domestic laws whichis evident in the rates of child poverty in Canada