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From the Backgrounder of the Press Release (see below) ... THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Sadly and invariably whenever UN human rights bodies review Canada’s record of compliance with its international obligations, safeguarding the rights of Indigenous peoples readily emerges as a very serious area of concern. Amnesty International’s Human Rights Agenda has consistently stressed that improving the protection of Indigenous peoples’ rights is one of the most pressing human rights challenges that Canada faces.

In 2005, the Human Rights Committee laid out seven recommendations regarding the rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada, including two areas highlighted in Amnesty International’s Human Rights Agenda: violence against Indigenous women, and the plight of the Lubicon Cree.

i)Violence against Indigenous Women

Amnesty International’s October 2004 report, Stolen Sisters, outlined alarmingly high levels of violence and discrimination faced by Indigenous women in Canada. Indigenous women’s groups across Canada have been pressing the government to recognize and respond to this serious human rights concern for many years, such as through the Native Women Association of Canada’s Sisters in Spirit Campaign. Over the past year a number of important initiatives have been announced by both federal and provincial government departments, including substantial funding for NWAC. Indigenous women’s organizations have a central role to play in stopping violence against Indigenous women and need adequate, sustained funding to do so. But other institutions, including the police, also have a crucial role to play.

The Human Rights Committee notes that Aboriginal women are far more likely to experience a violent death than other Canadian women and calls on Canada to:

… gather accurate statistical data throughout the country on violence against Aboriginal women, fully address the root causes of this phenomenom, including the economic and social marginalization of Aboriginal women, and ensure their effective access to the justice system. [Canada] should also ensure that prompt and adequate response is provided by the police in such cases, through training and regulations.

It is time to ensure safety for all Indigenous women in Canada. The government should act immediately to put in place consistent approaches to gathering and analyzing statistics about the level and nature of violence experienced by Indigenous women in Canada. The government should also ensure that effective action protocols are adopted by police forces across the country, so that all police recognize the heightened vulnerability of Indigenous women to violence and take appropriate steps to respond to that violence.

ii)Lubicon Cree

One of the most glaring failures to implement UN level human rights recommendations is the situation of the Lubicon Cree in Alberta. In 1990, the Human Rights Committee issued a detailed report documenting serious violations of the rights of the Lubicon, stemming from a decades-old failure to enter into an agreement with the Lubicon regarding their land rights. The Committee called on the government to ensure a prompt and just settlement of the dispute. Fifteen years later the dispute remains unresolved, the ability of the Lubicon to provide for themselves remains under threat, and there have been no negotiations between the government and the Lubicon for over two years.

Fifteen years on, the Human Rights Committee has called on Canada to:

… make every effort to resume negotiations with the Lubicon Lake Band, with a view to finding a solution which respects the rights of the Band under the Covenant, as already found by the Committee. It should consult with the Band before granting licenses for economic exploitation of the disputed land, and ensure that in no case such exploitation jeopardizes the rights recognized under the Covenant.

It is time, far past time, for a just resolution of the land rights dispute with the Lubicon Cree. Canada must make negotiation of a just settlement a high priority, and ensure that its negotiators are given a clear mandate to reach a settlement that ensures full respect and protection of the rights of the Lubicon Cree under national and international law.

http://www.amnesty.ca/themes/resources/unchr_ip_rights_booklet.pdf

Advancing the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples - A Critical Challenge for the International Community Voices from a forum at the 61st Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights - 13 April 2005

Presented by Amnesty International, la Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH), the Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples (NCIV), Friends World Committee for Consultation (Quakers), and Rights and Democracy  - October 2005

Amnesty International Canada
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Quaker Aboriginal Affairs Committee
Canadian Friends Service Committee
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http://www.quaker.ca

Rights and Democracy
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Suite 1100
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http://www.dd-rd.ca

PRESS RELEASE - AMR 20/C11/2005 - 19 December 2005

http://www.amnesty.ca/resource_centre/news/view.php?load=arcview&article=3129&c=Resource+Centre+News

Putting human rights on the agenda: It Is Time To Comply with UN recommendations, says Amnesty International Canada

Canada’s commitment to human rights has been weakened but it is not beyond repair, says Amnesty International Canada. The challenge for all the political leaders is to make human rights issues a priority in the next Parliament with a commitment to implement recommendations for Canada by United Nations human rights bodies this past year and years previous. The problems have been identified, now It Is Time To Comply, says Amnesty International Canada in an update released today.

“The rights of Indigenous people, the maintenance of security through human rights, and justice and oversight mechanisms for refugees, torture survivors and prisoners are all areas that require serious attention”, says Alex Neve, Secretary General of the English branch of Amnesty International Canada.

The UN Human Rights Committee’s call for compliance by Canada must be met with federal, provincial and territorial cooperation in a new coordinated public approach that ensures Canada meets its international human rights obligations, says the organization.

In the critical area of Indigenous peoples, the right to safety of all Indigenous women must be ensured. Effective action protocols for all police, that reflect the particular vulnerability of Indigenous women are critical, as the UN Human Rights Committee has asserted. Canada must also make a high priority the negotiation of a just settlement of the land rights of the Lubicon Cree in Alberta. In 1990 the UN Human Rights Committee called for a “prompt and just settlement of the dispute”. It is now long past time for Canada to comply, says Amnesty International Canada.

In December 2004 Amnesty International’s Human Rights Agenda outlined the importance of security grounded in respect for human rights. Without respect for these rights there is only greater injustice and insecurity, notes the organization.

The UN Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture have both called on Canada to uphold the absolute prohibition against deporting individuals to torture. Amnesty International Canada says is it time for Canada to enact legislation to ensure that no one will ever be sent from Canada to a place where they face the possibility of torture. And the government must refrain from seeking ineffective diplomatic assurances that allow transfers to countries where there is a grave risk of torture.

The troubling use of security certificates under immigration law to detain non-Canadians has received scrutiny from the UN Human Rights Committee and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, for failing to meet international fair trial standards. Amnesty International Canada is calling for the process to be brought into line with international law and allow those accused of involvement or support for terrorism to have a fair hearing that meets international standards.

In the last two years there have been a number of cases - Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmed El Maati, Muayyed Nureddin - of arrest, detentions and torture abroad, where questions have been raised about the involvement of Canadian officials. The government cannot play a role in the rendition and torture of Canadians in other countries. The UN Human Rights Committee made it clear in their report this year that a public and independent inquiry must review all the suspected cases and determine direct or indirect involvement of Canadian officials. All cases of Canadian citizens detained and tortured abroad in the context of national security investigations must be subject to a fair, independent and comprehensive public review, says the organization.

In the area of justice and oversight Canada is also failing to meet recommendations set out by the UN human rights committees. Canada must change the State Immunity Act to allow individuals to seek redress in Canadian Courts for torture and other serious human rights violations suffered abroad, says Amnesty International Canada.

Canadians cannot seek redress for torture in other countries and rejected refugees who may face the danger of torture, as the Committee against Torture has noted, are being denied a judicial review on the merits of their cases. The Committee has called for this type of review. Canada must meet this recommendation, says Amnesty International Canada, and live up to the requirement of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and establish the refugee appeal process.

In the oversight area there are two critical issues that need attention to bring Canada into compliance with the recommendations of the UN committees. The UN Human Rights Committee has noted the need for an independent external redress body for federally sentenced women prisoners. This independent oversight body is critical says Amnesty International Canada. And Canada must adhere to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture that provides for national and international inspection of detention centres to help identify conditions that are conducive to torture. Intergovernmental wrangling cannot be allowed to stall Canada’s commitment to a crucial mechanism to ensure that the conditions that lead to torture do not exist in prisons in Canada and around the world.

This year the UN committees reviewing human rights issues have made it clear what Canada must do to meet its international human rights obligations.

“Amnesty International says it is time for Canada to comply with the UN recommendations,”, says Michel Frenette, the executive director of the francophone branch of Amnesty International Canada. “We are challenging all the political leaders to make a commitment during this election that action on these human rights issues will be a priority in the next Parliament. Canada’s international human rights reputation depends on it.”

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