UN rights council gets cold shoulder from Ottawa

[Ancient Demon]

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/06/09/steven-edwards-un-rights-council-gets-cold-shoulder-from-ottawa.aspx

Canada told the United Nations Tuesday more than half of the 68 recommendations other countries say will improve Canadian human rights standards are unacceptable.

In an address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Canada rejected outright 14 of the recommendations issued in March, and partially rejected 22.

Rejected advice touched on issues that included racial discrimination, aboriginal rights, fighting poverty, and seeking clemency for Canadians facing the death penalty overseas.

Delivering the snub, Marius Grinius, Canadian ambassador in Geneva, read from a prepared statement that said Canada had "sought to approach its review in an open and constructive manner."

In Ottawa, several human rights groups said Canada had missed an opportunity to set an example to abuser states of the way forward.

But the Geneva-based monitoring group UN Watch noted many of the countries handing out advice have themselves poor human rights records.

The so-called Universal Periodic Review is a key oversight component of the 47-member Council, which the UN launched in 2006 after the earlier Human Rights Commission became top-heavy with human-rights abuser states.

All 192 UN member states will have undergone their first review by 2011.

"The UN's discussion of Canada's human rights record was hard to take seriously when those doing the lecturing were serial human rights abusers like Iran, Russia, Cuba and Algeria," said Hillel Neuer, UN Watch executive director. "Democracies like Canada also need to be scrutinized, but not by the anti-democratic regimes of Ahmadinejad, Castro, and Putin."

But Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, argued the identities of countries making the recommendations were irrelevant if the issue was of concern in Canada.

"Our focus has to be on the message, not the messenger," he said.

Neve also said responding positively strengthens Canada's hand when seeking to persuade abuser states to change their ways.

"It's very important to be able to look at countries like Iran, Egypt or Cuba in the eye and say, 'You asked us to reform our practices, and we did. We're now expecting you to do the same,'" he said.

Still, Neve noted several of Canada's "closest friends and allies" were the source of some rejected recommendations.

Norway, Denmark and Austria, for example, were among countries encouraging Canada to adopt the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada has argued the document, launched in 2007, would allow for the re-opening of historically settled land claims.

Canada rejected as superfluous a recommendation from Egypt which, despite its record of discriminating against gays and other minorities, had called for the training of judges and prosecutors on the nature of race-based hate crimes.

On the economic front, Canada rejected related recommendations from Russia and Ghana to launch a national poverty-elimination program. Canada said provinces and territories have jurisdiction in that area.

On the death penalty, Canada rejected calls by Denmark and the Netherlands to seek clemency for Canadians facing capital punishment in all cases, including where Canada considers the "rule of law" reigns.

The Council agreed by consensus to adopt Canada's response as part of the international record, but not before Algeria, Cuba, Russia and Iran expressed additional criticism.

By contrast, the United States said Canada "sets high standards for its human rights practices."

[ulmont]

Yeah, I gotta say, being lectured about human rights from the UN would just leave me with a "Go Fuck Yourself" response.

[Grey Fox]

We're Canada. If some people here are treated badly, it's probably their fault.

[HVC]

We're Canada. If some people here are treated badly, it's probably their fault.

As a quebecer, never forget that. You deserve a better language

[Malthus]

I can well imagine that this sort of nit-picking aids regimes that regularly torture dissidents and hang gays.

"But your judges don't have race-based sensitivity training - you are just as bad as us".

[The Minsky Moment]

The UN is really an impressive organization.  Where else can one find such a unique combination of stultifying bureaucracy, outrageous stupidity and sheer offensiveness?

[Valmy]

I guess I missed the "human right" to not be poor.

[Syt]

Marius Grinius

How imperial.

[Malthus]

I guess I missed the "human right" to not be poor.

Heh I remember back in university days having many an argument about the difference between so-called "positive" and "negative" human rights.

Again, the purpose of such always seemed to me to be basically to give comfort to abusive regimes. After all, even the advanced societies of the first world cannot provide all the "positive" rights for everyone - some people here are still poor, uneducated, etc. ...

[Valmy]

After all, even the advanced societies of the first world cannot provide all the "positive" rights for everyone - some people here are still poor, uneducated, etc. ...

Right even when you have all your rights you still have to get out there and earn your keep.  The UN claims that everybody has a right to free stuff?

[Malthus]

After all, even the advanced societies of the first world cannot provide all the "positive" rights for everyone - some people here are still poor, uneducated, etc. ...

Right even when you have all your rights you still have to get out there and earn your keep.  The UN claims that everybody has a right to free stuff?

They wouldn't put it that way, of course.  More like "everyone has a right to a certain basic level of support, medical care and education" (my grandfather would have approved rather more of "if you don't work, you don't eat"  ).

[saskganesh]

I guess I missed the "human right" to not be poor.

it's a process. those pesky people are always claiming more and more rights.

[Valmy]

it's a process. those pesky people are always claiming more and more rights.

But that is not a right, that is being entitled to be given things at others expense.

A free public education is a great thing and in every country's own interests to provide but it is hardly some sort of human right.  It is, after all, not free and requires the consent of the people to vote in funding for it (or a decision by whoever is calling the shots in a non-democratic system).  If they decide not to vote funding that is hardly equivalent to taking away somebody's rights.  They had no right to other's money.

[Berkut]

Canada is the Ottoman Empire of our time.

[Valmy]

Canada is the Ottoman Empire of our time.

The sick man of North America?