Rights & Democracy’s Cross-Canada Dialogue Series
Part II: New Media vs. Repressive Regimes
Rights & Democracy hosted the second instalment of its Cross-Canada Dialogue Series on Oct. 7th at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada. The roundtable discussion brought together renowned Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas, University of Toronto professor Megan Boler, author of Digital Media and Democracy, and Rights & Democracy’s Micheline Lévesque, who leads our work with the Democratic Voice of Burma.
What is the effect of new media on democratic progress in repressive countries like Egypt and Burma? Can protest in the cyber world really lead to democratic transition on the ground? According to Wael Abbas, the answer is yes – “Bloggers have one foot on the Internet and one foot on the street.”
A webcast of the event is archived at www.dd-rd.ca/seminar2.
Read Canadian newsmagazine Maclean’s interview with Wael Abbas.
The Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations
Annual General Meeting, Oct. 2-3
The Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations held its annual General Meeting October 2 and 3 at Rights & Democracy’s head office in Montreal, Canada. The Coalition is coordinated by Rights & Democracy’s Women’s Rights Programme and brings together leading women’s rights defenders from Africa, Latin America, Europe and North America.
Interview with Isabelle Solon Helal
Isabelle Solon Helal, Programme Officer with Rights & Democracy's Women's Rights programme, discusses the year ahead for the Coalition on Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations.
Interview with Godeliève Mukasarasi
Rwanda's Godeliève Mukasarasi, winner of Rights & Democracy's 2004 John Humphrey Award, discusses the ongoing work of her organization, SEVOTA, with orphans and women and girl survivors of sexual violence during the 1994 Genocide
(in French only).
The future of Canadian Official Development Assistance, Ottawa Sept. 29 and 30
Rights & Democracy played a key role in this two-day conference looking into Canada’s new Official Development Assistance (ODA) law. Razmik Panossian, Rights & Democracy’s Director of Policy, Programmes and Planning, chaired the panel discussion “Understanding the Practical Implications of Human Rights Standards for Canadian ODA content and processes.”
Rights & Democracy’s contributions also included a parallel session on the Right to Food led by Carole Samdup, Senior Advisor, Economic and Social Rights, and an overview of legal interpretations of the ODA Accountability Act provided by Sylvain Beauchamp, Senior Advisor. The conference was organized in partnership with the Canadian Council of International Cooperation (CCIC), Amnesty International Canada, The North-South Institute and the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa.
The Student Network’s Fall Retreat kicks off a year of human rights projects on campuses across Canada
Twenty-two Canadian students from universities across Canada met at Rights & Democracy’s offices in Montreal from September 24-27, 2009, for a weekend of presentations, workshops, debates, and discussions on how to promote human rights and democracy on their campuses.
Highlights included attending a live television interview on Radio-Canada with Colombia’s Ingrid Betancourt and a screening of the Witness-produced film, “Hear Us: Women Affected by Political Violence in Zimbabwe Speak Out” followed by a discussion by the filmmaker, Kudakwashe Chitsike.
BURMA: Canadian Parliamentarians meet with Prime Minister Sein Win of Burma’s government-in-exile
Micheline Lévesque, Rights & Democracy’s Regional Officer for Asia, accompanied Prime Minister Sein Win of Burma’s National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) when he was in Ottawa Sept. 28 to Oct. 1. During his visit, Prime Minister Sein Win testified before the House of Common’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and the Sub-Committee on Human Rights.
Rights & Democracy was the first international organization to support Prime Minister Sein Win and his fellow MPs after they received a mandate to establish a government-in-exile in December 1990.
Rights & Democracy promotes redress for abuses committed against Indigenous women
Rights & Democracy presented a statement on the right to redress for human rights abuses suffered by Indigenous women at the Second Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva on Aug. 12, 2009. The statement proposes that redress for such abuses should be framed by the tenets of the Nairobi Declaration on Women’s and Girls’ Right to a Remedy and Reparation. The Nairobi Declaration was drafted by the Rights & Democracy-coordinated Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations.
The statement is available online at /nairobi
Rights & Democracy on Parliament Hill
Rights & Democracy’s President, Rémy M. Beauregard, and our staff experts made four recent appearances before various committees of Canada’s Parliament, including:
House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development
• September 29: Mika Lévesque, Asia regional officer, on Burma
• October 20: Rémy M. Beauregard and Carole Samdup, Senior Advisor, Economic and Social Rights, on foreign investment and human rights
• October 29: Rémy M. Beauregard on Rights & Democracy’s Five Year Review.
Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights
• October 26: Isabelle Solon Helal, Programme officer - Women’s Rights, and Michael Wodzicki, Deputy Director of Programmes, on Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 and international justice for women and girl victims of sexual violence in conflict situations.
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CALL FOR SPEAKERS:
Rights & Democracy’s International conference on Sharia and family law reform in Kabul next February
Rights & Democracy is searching for two speakers to present papers at an international conference on Sharia and family law reform in Muslim countries that we are hosting next February in Kabul, Afghanistan. We are looking for speakers with a strong background in gender analysis of Islamic laws, with an expertise in Sharia and family law reform. The two languages of the conference are English and Dari. Arabic papers are welcome. All submissions must be received no later than 09:00 Afghanistan time on December 15, 2009.
For more information, please send an email with the subject heading “Speaker proposal for international conference” to: jobs@dd-rd.af
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NEW PROJECTS
Zimbabwe; Democratic Republic of Congo; Access to Land; and the Right to Food
Rights & Democracy will launch four new projects in the coming months. These initiatives include:
• Training and support for independent media in Zimbabwe
• Support for civil society organizations from the Democratic Republic of Congo seeking justice and reparations for women and girl victims of sexual violence
• Research and establish legal and policy positions on the issue of Access to Land in the context of the R&D’s ongoing work on the human right to food
• Support for follow-up initiatives related to Rights & Democracy’s fact-finding missions on the Right to Food in Malawi and Nepal.
For more information about these projects, please contact the following Rights & Democracy staff members:
• Zimbabwe: Karim Laz, Regional Officer, Africa
• Democratic Republic of Congo: Gisèle Eva Côté, Programme Officer, Women’s Rights
• Access to Land and the Right to Food: Carole Samdup, Senior Advisor, Economic and Social Rights
Rights & Democracy to open Ottawa bureau; announces new Senior Advisor for Democratic Development
Rights & Democracy will open an office in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, in November. Nicholas Galletti, Senior Policy Advisor to the President, will be based in Ottawa and will contribute to policy development and research and work to strengthen Rights & Democracy's relationship with Parliament as well as with governmental and non-governmental partners. Nicholas previously served Rights & Democracy as a Regional Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean and most recently as the Executive Assistant to the President.
Rights & Democracy also announced the selection of Maxime Longangué as its new Senior Advisor, Democratic Development. Maxime served as a Regional Officer for Africa since 2004. He joined Rights & Democracy in 2003 as a Liaison Officer of the Rights & Democracy Network.
Upcoming Events
NOV. 10: Rights & Democracy’s John Humphrey Award winner announcement
Stay tuned for the announcement of this year’s winner of Rights & Democracy’s John Humphrey Award on November 10th. The winner was selected from more than 100 nominations and will join Rights & Democracy at the end of November and early December for a two-week speaking tour of Canadian cities including Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.
NOV. 10: Colloquium for Chambers of the International Criminal Court
Rights & Democracy, in collaboration with REDRESS and the Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situations, will conduct a one-day experts colloquium on reparations for victims of sexual violence with judges from the International Criminal Court at the ICC in The Hague. The colloquium is an important step toward the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration on Women’s and Girls’ Right to a Remedy and Reparation. It will address the legal and theoretical frameworks in international law relating to reparations for victims of sexual and gender violence, as well as the practical issues pertaining to the ordering of reparations in such cases in international tribunals.
NOV. 17: Burma Documentary
Rights & Democracy presents the international premiere of Birmanie l’indomptable, a documentary by Quebec directors Pierre Migneault and Hélène Magny. The directors crossed the Thai border unofficially to record conditions in Burma. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the directors, Mika Lévesque, Rights & Democracy’s Regional Officer for Asia, and Khin Maung Win, Co-Director of Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).
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