UN Human Rights Council reviewing Canada's treatment of indigenous people
UN reviewing Canada's treatment of indigenous people
BY MICHAEL WOODS, POSTMEDIA NEWS APRIL 25, 2013
OTTAWA - Canada's treatment of indigenous peoples was expected to be a central topic as the country's human rights record comes under scrutiny at the United Nations on Friday.
Documents filed in advance of Canada's universal period review before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva - scheduled for Friday morning - showed that a number of countries are questioning Canada about its aboriginal population.
In particular, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Sweden and Mexico all submitted written questions in advance asking what Canada is doing to tackle the issue of violence against indigenous women.
The Universal Periodic Review sees all 193 UN member states undergo reviews of their human rights records every four years. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has said the review "has great potential to promote and protect human rights in the darkest corners of the world."
It's Canada's second time undergoing the review since the Human Rights Council was established in 2006.
Canada accepted less than half of the 68 recommendations from member states that stemmed from its last review in 2009, partially rejecting 22 and completely rejecting 14. The rejected advice fell in areas such as aboriginal rights, racial discrimination and fighting poverty.
At the time, some human rights groups called it a missed opportunity to set a better example for states with lesser human rights records.
Earlier this year, Canada filed a report to the council in advance of this periodic review, primarily to explain advances made on the recommendations made in 2009. Much of the report touts progress regarding aboriginal issues such as land claims, education, economic development, health and crime prevention on reserves.
But man submissions from 48 other groups, including the Canadian Human Rights Commission and national and international NGOs, argues there is much more to be done.
The review is an important forum for First Nations people to address Canada's human rights record, said Stuart Wuttke, general counsel for the Assembly of First Nations.
"It provides an opportunity for really straightforward, factual commentary about Canada's treatment of indigenous peoples," he said in an interview from Geneva. "First Nations really look towards these mechanisms as an avenue to address some of the human right issues ... in Canada.
"We're hoping that it demonstrates the weaknesses and areas that need improvement."
In particular, the issue of violence against indigenous women was expected to come up. The Native Women's Association of Canada estimates that about 600 Indigenous women in Canada have gone missing or been murdered in the last two decades.
"It is such a glaring, long-standing human rights concern. It's an issue which I think no one disagrees in Canada is a tragedy and a crisis," he said Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. He added that he has met with representatives from about 30 governments in the last few weeks, virtually all of whom raised the issue.
Opposition parties and aboriginal groups, including the AFN, have long called for a national inquiry into the matter. The Conservatives have dismissed calls for an inquiry, instead touting funding for law enforcement, community safety and violence prevention programs.
The Government also says Bill S-2, its proposed Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, would boost protection for families on reserves.
"The proposed legislation will address violence against individuals living on reserve, especially Aboriginal women and their children, by allowing courts emergency protection orders to remove a violent partner from the home," said Andrea Richer, spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt.
Human rights groups also claim that the government has narrowly defined its duty to consult with aboriginals, a condition set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada endorsed the declaration in 2010, while noting its non-binding nature.
"(Amnesty International) noted that Canada narrowly interprets the duty to consult as excluding the need to seek consent, and often fails to ensure Indigenous peoples' concerns are accommodated," a document summarizing the submissions from 48 groups says.
The UN Human Rights Council's 47 seats are held on a rotational basis; Canada was last a member in 2009. Current member states include Italy, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States.
However, the council also includes countries with poor human rights records such as Libya, Pakistan, Uganda and Venezuela. In 2009, Iran and Pakistan used Canada's periodic review to criticize its staunch support of Israel in council votes on Middle East issues.
The Harper government has taken a dim view of the Human Rights Council because of what it considers a disproportionate amount of tension focused on Israel, and the fact that some members have poor human rights records.
But Neve said that overlooks the fact that many of the recommendations last time from Canada's closest allies, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, were important and helpful.
Neve said Amnesty International is "deeply disappointed" in Canada's record since the 2009 review, saying there's a widely-held concern amongst civil society groups about Canada's ability to implement the recommendations.
"The bulk of (the recommendations) are important, relevant and appropriate," he said. "They come back to Canada, and they go nowhere. ... We have no system that in any way brings the federal and provincial governments together at a decision-making level to move some of this stuff forward. So it just stalls."
The council will adopt the report on Canada next week and invite the federal government to report back on the recommendations it receives.