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Burmese villager wins 2006 John Humphrey Freedom Award
Burma's Su Su Nway, who courageously challenged the ruling military junta's use of forced labour and won a historic court ruling against the regime last year, is the winner of Rights & Democracy's 2006 John Humphrey Freedom Award.
Su Su Nway, 34, came to the world's attention last year for her inspiring individual efforts to see the junta's representatives in her village brought to justice for forcing her and her neighbours to repair a road without pay.
Conscious of the dangers inherent to confronting Burma's military authorities, Su Su Nway's determination paid off last year when a judge sentenced the village Chairman and a deputy to eight months in prison under an untested law passed in 1999 that bans compulsory labour. The verdict was the first ever against the military regime's long-standing practice of forced labour.
Su Su Nway's legal victory, however, was met a few months later with charges that she had defamed the village's replacement Chairman. Tried for "insulting and disrupting a government official on duty," she was sentenced last October to 18-months in Insein Prison, a jail infamous for its horrific conditions. Su Su Nway, who suffers from a heart condition, endured nine months in Insein before authorities finally bowed to international pressure and released her on June 6, 2006.
Read more ...
Recent highlights
Rights & Democracy was in Kinshasa as the Democratic Republic of Congo went to the polls to elect members of the national legislative assembly and cast their ballots in the first round of presidential elections. Read more.
The International Criminal Court's investigation into war crimes in the DRC produced its first formal charges in August. The Rights & Democracy-coordinated Coalition for Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations continued its work to ensure the investigation adequately addresses the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Read more.
Aug. 9 was the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. Rights & Democracy marked the day by calling for dialogue between the Government of Canada and representatives of Canada 's First Nations in order to secure Canada's support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Read more.
Jean-Louis Roy, President of Rights & Democracy, delivered the keynote address at the international workshop Knowledge Transfer and Policy Development: Experiences from China and Canada , held at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. His address, "Creating a National Culture of Human Rights: Knowledge Sharing and Policy Development Between Canadian Institutions" is available here.
The Washington Post published an opinion piece by Egyptian democracy activist and Rights & Democracy Board Member, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, on the emerging democratic landscape in the Middle East. It is available on the Washington Post's Web site. The opinions expressed are his own and not necessarily those of Rights & Democracy.
This month, 10 young Canadians left for overseas internships as part of Rights & Democracy's contribution to the Young Professionals International program. Read more.
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News in brief:
Senior Afghan Cabinet ministers meet with R&D
Senior members of Afghanistan's Cabinet and the Hon. Josée Verner, Canada's Minister for International Cooperation, participated in the Rights & Democracy-organized roundtable Promoting the Economic, Social and Legal Rights of Women and Children: Canadian Civil Society Cooperation with Afghanistan on Saturday, Sept. 23. The meeting with Rights & Democracy, organized in association with the Canadian International Development Agency, was part of President Hamid Karzai's three day official visit to Canada.
News Release
Prominent experts to take part in R&D panel on indigenous peoples' issues
Rodolfo Stavenhagen, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, and Vicky Tauli Corpuz, President of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, will be among the distinguished guests taking part in a panel discussion co-sponsored by Rights & Democracy and the Centre d'etude sur le droit international et la mondialisation (CEDIM) at the Université de Quebec à Montreal on Wednesday, Oct. 4. Mr. Stavenhagen and Ms. Corpuz will be in Montreal for discussions around the implementation of Mr. Stavenhagen's recommendations for preventing and remedying violations of indigenous peoples' rights.
Rights & Democracy Network hosts national retreat
The Rights & Democracy Network organized a national retreat in the greater Montreal area on September 22, 23 and 24, 2006. The objective of this initiative was to enable our active members across Canada to meet each other, share information and views, participate in training sessions and plan activities on their campuses for the new academic year.
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