Journalists for Human Rights Train the Trainer Program

Empowering Canadian Youth in Human Rights Education

Stream 4: Activity 3

Human Rights in the Canadian Context

Definitions

Redress for Human Right Violations

Canada and International Human Right Treaties

DefinitionsTreaty

Legally binding agreement

States responsible for ensuring own laws, legislations, policies or practices meet the standards of the treaty

Convention, covenant, or protocol

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

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

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

Declaration

•These are not legally binding instruments

•Indicates parties do not intend to create binding obligations but want to declare certain aspirations

Reservation

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

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

Redress for Human Right Violations

Redress for Human Right Violations

a.Domestic

b.International

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

Internationally

Once domestic means of redress have been exhausted, individuals can make complaints to the United Nations through;

a.Individual Treaties

b. Commission on Human Rights or the Status of Women

Individual TreatiesIndividual Canadians can file complaints under three UN treaties which have a committee of independent experts to examine complaints;

a.International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

b.Convention on the Elimination on all Forms of Discrimination against Women

c.Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

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

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

UN Human Right CommissionsCommission 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

UN Human Right CommissionsCommission 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

Canada and International Human Right

Treaties

Core International Human Rights InstrumentsInternational 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

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

Core ICESCR Provisions Include;

• Labour

• Social security

• Family life

• Standard of living

• Health

• Education

• Participation in cultural life

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

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

Includes 2 optional protocols;

a. 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

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

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