On 29 October 2009, Désiré Munyaneza, a 42 year old Rwandan businessman, became the first person to be convicted under the Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act (the “Act”)which came into force in 2001. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for 25 years. He now seeks to appeal his conviction and sentence before the Quebec Court of Appeal.
With the success of CLAIHR’s events and undertakings in 2009, 2010 looks to be an exciting year. In addition to CLAIHR’s continued observation of the Munyaneza case, there are plans to submit a motion to intervene in the case. A variety of CLAIHR’s Student Chapters plan on showing films on relevant human rights topics – either through organizing a film festival or with individual viewings.
Anatoly Vlasov joined CLAIHR’s board in July 2009. He is in private practice in Toronto and has experience working for the defence at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. With CLAIHR, Anatoly has taken over responsibility for CLAIHR’s Student Chapters.
Antoinette Issa holds a LLB and BCL from McGill University, and she specialized in Criminal Law and International Criminal Law for her LLM from York University. She has served as a trial and appeal counsel on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on the case that proclaimed to the Srebrenica genocide. Antoinette further presented to the Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian persecutors on the procedural issues of war crime trials. She presently works for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada as a federal crown. Her interest lies in ICL and IHL and has been on CLAIHR’s board since September of 2009 in pursuit of developing such laws further.
David Andrews is a technology and marketing consultant who runs Ryatta Group, a company specializing in the online marketing of luxury goods. He holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. David will assume responsibility for improving CLAIHR’s marketing, website and social media offerings.
As part of the national Indian Residential Schools Settlement reached in 2006, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (the “TRC”) will be established in early 2008. The TRC will be part of an overall holistic and comprehensive response to the Indian Residential School (”IRS”) legacy in Canada with a view to acknowledging and documenting the injustices and harms experienced by Aboriginal peoples as result of forced attendance at the schools for almost a century.
While the TRC will not have judicial or inquisitorial powers and will not have jurisdiction to order reparations or grant amnesties, CLAIHR is of the view that it has the potential to play a critical role in truth telling, public education, creation of a historical record of past violations of human rights in Canada and providing recommendations for the future relationship between Canada and its Aboriginal peoples. Accordingly, CLAIHR will monitor and periodically report on the work of the TRC and its compliance and acknowledgement of various international human rights norms.
Over the past two years, CLAIHR has closely followed the progress of the First Nations Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) with interest. In 2008 and 2009, CLAIHR was pleased to partner with the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law to conduct research regarding not only Canada’s First Nations TRC, but TRC’s around the world. CLAIHR was also honoured to speak to the students at St. Thomas Acquinas Secondary School in Oakville last May at the request of a student in the human rights class.
The residential schools, which are the subject of the TRC, were notorious for abuse and neglect of First Nations children. The children were forcibly sent to the schools, often hours away from their families, and were punished if they were caught practicing their religion, speaking their native language, among other reasons. An astounding number of children at the schools contracted tuberculosis, resulting in many deaths.
The main purpose of the schools was to assimilate aboriginal children into the dominant Anglo-Saxon culture of the rest of Canada. As Stephen Harper eloquently stated in his apology, “these objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, ‘to kill the Indian in the child.’ Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.”
The First Nations Truth and Reconciliation Project officially began in June of 2008, a year prior to Stephen Harper’s apology. The purpose of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Canada is to rectify knowledge and experiences from the IRS. Ultimately, the First Nations are searching for a truth to continue the healing process for those who may have been former students of the IRS and for all aboriginals that have experienced injustice. The TRC also hopes to offer recommendations to the government of Canada.
CLAIHR was proud to co-sponsor the Good Pitch forum at this year’s Hotdocs festival, which focused on human rights issues.
The forum brought together the Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF) hosting Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program’s Good Pitch, an innovative documentary pitching forum that took place as part of the TDF in 2009.
CLAIHR was proud to present: Mugabe and the White African at the 2009 Hotdocs film festival.
Director: Lucy Bailey Andrew Thompson
UK, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia
90 mins
April 2009 – The Law Society of Upper Canada, in Partnership with CLAIHR, Amnesty International Canada, Canadian Lawyers Abroad, Human Rights Watch and Lawyers’ Rights Watch
Topic: Reconciling State Sovereignty with the Global Responsibility to Protect” Responsibility to Protect Panel Discussion
Panelists: The Honourable Bob Rae, former Premier of Ontario,
Steve Crawshaw, UN Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch
Professor Pacifique Manirakiza, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law
Hon. Harry F. LaForme, Court of Appeal of Ontario
Keynote Speaker at reception after panel: Anne Maria Tremonti, award-winning journalist and host of “The Current” on CBC Radio
CLAIHR was proud to participate in the inaugural event for the Rule of Law Education Series on Monday, April 6, 2009 at the Law Society of Upper Canada and its Human Rights Monitoring Group. The event featured a panel discussion from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. that examined the topic, “Reconciling State Sovereignty with the Global Responsibility to Protect.” Following the discussion, participants were invited to a reception that featured award winning journalist, The CLAIHR is proud to participate in the inaugural event for the Rule of Law Education Series on Monday, April 6, 2009 at the Law Society of Upper Canada and its Human Rights Monitoring Group.
On May 21, 2008, CLAIHR launched its new human rights speaker series in the historic Campbell House. Lawyers, law students, academics and other interested professionals gathered to share a glass of wine, enjoy good company and listen to the guest speaker Allan Rock. Allan Rock, Canada’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, the former Attorney General of Canada,Minister of Industry and Minister of Health, spoke from his unique perspective stemming from his broad experience in international human rights issues at the United Nations.
