Zimbabwe: Elections and the Situation of Refugees

Rights & Democracy and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum called on President Robert Mugabe to respect the outcome of the elections, which has President Mugabe poised to finish second to Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). We were also in South Africa in March to assess the situation of Zimbabweans seeking asylum there.

Press Release
Zimbabwe country page
Embassy Magazine

Recent Highlights Burma: Political Prisoner Min Ko Naing Requires Medical Attention We called on Burma’s military rulers to ensure that Min Ko Naing, our 1999 John Humphrey Freedom Award winner, receives immediate medical attention. Press Release Burma Country Page Project on Women’s Rights in Afghan Family Law Launched in Kabul Rights & Democracy launched its new $5-million project in support of Afghan-led efforts to entrench the domestic rights of women and girls in six provinces, including Kandahar. For more information: Alexandra Gilbert. Afghanistan Country Page Rights in Practice website in Afghanistan Rights & Democracy Calls for Restraint and Dialogue in Tibet Press Release Rights & Democracy Calls on China to Release Human Rights Defender Hu Jia Press Release Democratic Republic of Congo Partner Receives Death Threats In March 2008, we issued an alert to protect our partner and DRC human rights activist, Julienne Lusenge of Solidarité Féminine pour la Paix et le Développement Intégral, who was the target of death threats. Press Release Deliberating Canada’s Role in Haiti On April 3, 2008, we were invited by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to participate in their on-going deliberations about Canada’s foreign policy towards Haiti. For more information: A Citizen-Centered Rights-Based Approach to Democratic Development in Haiti Sudan Training Session in Uganda We organized a human rights training programme in March for the commissioners and secretariat of the Southern Sudan Human Rights Commission (SSHRC). For more information: Maxime Longangue. Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) Through the Glyn Berry Program and with support from DFAIT, we organized training sessions for DVB journalists. The DVB played a critical role during the recent demonstrations in Burma and subsequent military crackdown in providing citizens’ access to information about the political situation and also in getting information to the international community. For more information: Micheline Levesque. Mauritanian Study Mission to Morocco We organized a mission to Morocco in April for the six members of the National Human Rights Commission of Mauritania to learn from Morocco’s Human Rights Advisory Council. For more information: France-Isabelle Langlois. Student Network Celebrates Five Years of Campus Activism The Rights & Democracy Network celebrated its 5th anniversary in Montreal by recreating life in a refugee camp. www.surlapistedesrefugies.net www.rightsdemocracy.net Press Release Right to Food Mission in Haiti Building on our fact-finding missions to Malawi (2006) and Nepal (2007), we are preparing a similar fact-finding mission to Haiti in May to highlight the problem of chronic hunger through the lens of human rights and democratic governance. For more information: Carole Samdup.

Upcoming Events

Danish Institute for Human Rights visits Montreal

Rights & Democracy will host three guests from the Danish Institute of Human Rights during the week of May 19, 2008 to exchange information on our respective programmes in Asia, Africa and the Americas and to meet with a number of our Canadian partners, such as Equitas, The North-South Institute, IDRC, CIDA and DFAIT.

Fore more information: Sylvain Beauchamp.

Youth and Democracy: the OAS and Civil Society in Medellin, Colombia

From June 1 to 3, 2008, the Organization of American States will hold its 38th annual general assembly in Medellin, Colombia, with a focus on youth and democracy. Rights & Democracy is supporting a series of public events and workshops in Medellin just prior to the general assembly to help engage youth in democratic processes, the promotion of non-violence and peacebuilding activities. For more information: Geneviève Lessard, Marie St-Louis, and Sophie Rondeau.

Maina Kiai of Kenya to Speak at CASHRA Conference

From June 12th-17th, Rights & Democracy welcomes Mr. Maina Kiai of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to Montreal. Mr. Kiai will also participate in an expert panel during the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA) entitled What Can We Learn From Human Rights Systems of the Global South?

For more information: www.cashra2008.ca or Sylvain Beauchamp.

New Publications

New Publication: Public Interest Litigation and Political Activism in China

In March 2008, we published YiYi Lu’s study that examines lawyers attempts to promote the primacy of law and human rights awareness in China by carefully choosing causes that do not attack the government head on yet offer possibilities for changes in government policy.