Projects for 2005-2006
Projects > International
A Call for Women’s Rights within National Justice Systems
Level of action: International
This is a three-year project supported by Rights & Democracy which involves the participation of many groups within Canada and internationally. It involves the analysis and promotion of strategies for nations to adopt within their justice systems, resulting in a basic concept of women’s rights which exist irregardless of religious law. As an example in this struggle for women’s rights within national justice systems, Rights & Democracy has opposed the occurrence of faith-based arbitration. The government of Ontario, Canada had unexpectedly proposed the use of religious law to settle family disputes among Muslim Canadian families. Muslim women activists world-wide voiced their concern about the gender implications of such a precedent. On February 15, 2006, Ontario put an end to the ambiguity surrounding the possibility of using the Arbitration Act to settle family matters. By adopting legislation that stipulates that all family law arbitration must be based solely on Canadian law, the government has resolved a situation that sparked heated criticism both in Canada and abroad. In support of the coalition coordinated by the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and supported by hundreds of organizations and concerned individuals, Rights & Democracy participated in several events aimed at raising the awareness of parliamentarians, NGOs, the media and the general public regarding the devastating consequences of faith-based arbitration in family matters for women’s rights in Canada and throughout the world. For example, we published a brochure entitled Behind Closed Doors: How Faith-Based Arbitration Shuts Out Women’s Rights in Canada and Abroad.
Burma: Supporting Advocacy Efforts in Canada and Internationally
Level of action: National, International
Rights & Democracy seeks to promote democratic development in Burma by two sets of activities: through advocacy, which includes support for the legitimate democratic institutions from Burma (e.g. the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB) and condemnation of the dictatorship, in Canada and at the regional and international levels; and through capacity building by empowering women located on the borders of Burma and facilitating their participation in the pro-democracy movement. In 2005 and 2006, Rights & Democracy supported the lobbying efforts of the NCGUB as well as the Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB). R&D also supported advocacy activities in Canada, including the visit of the Prime Minister in Exile to Ottawa on the 10th anniversary of Daw Aung Sun Kyi’s house arrest. Finally, R&D contributed to the publication of human rights advocacy tools on Burma, including reports on the use of forced labour by the military regime.
Five Case Studies for Human Rights Impact Assessments of Investment Projects
Level of action: International
Based on the model of environment impact assessments, Rights & Democracy is entering the second year of a project to provide policy decision-makers, investors and communities with a methodological tool to assess the magnitude of the impact of such projects on human rights. In order to test this methodology and to develop the relevant educational and awareness-raising materials during the project’s third year, five case studies have been selected in Argentina, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Philippines and Tibet. This year, Rights & Democracy staff conducted field missions, often under very difficult conditions, in an attempt to systematically document, with partners in the above-mentioned countries, the effect on human rights of the investment projects in question. At the same time, the need for human rights impact assessment methodologies was acknowledged both in Canada by a Parliamentary Committee examining the actions of Canadian mining companies overseas, and by various multilateral organizations. Rights & Democracy wishes to contribute to the debate by ensuring that the voices of communities directly affected by foreign direct investment are heard. Click here for more information.
Respect for Intellectual Property and Biological Diversity
Level of action: International
This project, supported by Rights & Democracy, is the extension and cohesion of various projects in the past dealing with intellectual property among indigenous peoples. Stemming from the work of groups previously supported by Rights & Democracy in Panama, such as Coordinadora national de mujeres indígenas de Panamá (CONAMUIP), and Centro de asistencia legal popular – Panama (CEALP), this project seeks to continue to administer pressure internationally for the implementation of national legislation respecting the intellectual property of indigenous peoples. It has been identified that indigenous art work is the sources of income for many indigenous groups. Being linked to self-determination and economic potential, protecting this unique aspect of culture will contribute to the development of communities. Aside from lobbying national governments and international organizations, this project also works to create an information exchange among indigenous groups, particularly in Peru, Venezuela, Panama and Canada.
Responding to Rising Fundamentalisms
Level of action: International
Rights & Democracy invited members of several organizations devoted to advocating and protecting human rights to an international meeting from May 12 to 14, 2005, in Montréal.
Organized by the Women’s Rights team, the meeting provided an opportunity to examine the phenomenon of rising fundamentalisms, define how to defend and promote women’s rights and protect them from fundamentalist efforts to turn back the clock and to conceive ways to work together on these issues. According to a number of the people attending the meeting, the obsession with security can become an obstacle to human rights discourse, insofar as any objection to, criticism or questioning of increased national security measures is often poorly received. One of the current priorities of women living in countries where fundamentalist movements are particularly powerful is to find a way to establish the direct accountability of non-state actors within the framework of human rights law. The report of this meeting is posted on our Web site.
Strengthening the Work of Women Indigenous Members of ONIC in Colombia
Level of action: International
Rights & Democracy invited Victoria Neuta, a member of the Women’s Commission of the Organización Nacional Ind?gena de Colombia (ONIC) and a member of the Continental Network of Indigenous Women, Enlace, for meetings in Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal in August 2005. The goal of the visit was to raise awareness among the media, government representatives, NGOs and the public about the human rights situation in Colombia, particularly with regard to indigenous peoples, and to present their peace-building strategies. The conflict, which has lasted for more than 45 years, has had a disastrous impact on the indigenous peoples of Colombia. While the Colombian constitution is one of the most progressive in terms of indigenous rights, the implementation of its provisions is far from being a reality. For example, according to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, several indigenous peoples are in danger of extinction as peoples.
Supporting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Level of action: International
After more than ten years of arduous negotiations, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is finally on the verge of being adopted. The Declaration would be a first step toward recognizing the collective rights of indigenous peoples. During the last meetings of the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, on December 5 to 16, 2005 and January 30 to February 3, 2006, consensus began to emerge around several articles of the Declaration that had frustrated prior discussions. Progress included provisional agreements on 21 paragraphs of the Preamble and 25 of the 45 Articles. The Chair of the working group, Luis Enrique Chávez, drafted a compromise text for each controversial article, taking into account the different points of view as much as possible. Before these meetings, only two articles of the Draft Declaration had met with consensus after more than ten years of negotiations. The text reflects the agreement of a majority of indigenous representatives involved in this process, as well as that of many States. Rights & Democracy has been following this issue since the beginning and works with the Canadian government and the UN to improve the climate of cooperation between indigenous leaders and government representatives. To help advance the negotiations, Rights & Democracy organized a technical seminar on the Declaration, in collaboration with the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and the Grand Council of the Crees, in Montréal from August 10 to 13, 2005. The workshop enabled the Indigenous Caucus to propose alternative solutions in order to move the negotiations forward.
For more information please click here.
For more information please click here.
Supporting the Work of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
Level of action: National, Regional, International
Rights & Democracy continued supporting the work of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women. The project, which began in 2004, included organizing a regional consultation between the African Commission’s Special Rapporteur on women’s rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, as well as with African women’s NGOs, in order to strengthen regional and international protection mechanisms.
