Friends of the Lubicon
PO Box 444 Stn D,
Etobicoke ON M9A 4X4
Tel: (416) 763-7500
Email: fol (at) tao (dot) ca
www.lubicon.ca
October 16, 2005
In addition to Lubicon Nation representatives pressing their case before the UN, Amnesty International will also be in Geneva this Monday to address the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). Amnesty will, among other things, be asking for the UN's help to get the government of Canada to "immediately resume negotiations with the Lubicon Cree with the aim of achieving a timely settlement of the land dispute that fully respects their rights under national and international law and ensure that unless the Lubicon give their free, prior informed consent, no activities are undertaken on the disputed land that could jeopardize the fulfillment of Lubicon rights"
The Amnesty submission to the UNHRC addresses a number areas where "Canada's human rights performance" needs "significant improvement". The complete twenty three page report is available here.
Canadian Press
OTTAWA – The Canadian branch of Amnesty International is urging the federal government to change its controversial security certificate system.
The certificates are a counter-terrorism measure which allow for the arrest, detention and deportation of non-citizens deemed to be threats to national security. Evidence and allegations against them may be kept secret, reviewed only by a Federal Court judge.
Four people are being held under security certificates as the government tries to deport them. Another was recently released under stringent bail conditions.
In a paper to be presented at a United Nations human rights committee meeting in Geneva on Monday, Amnesty said the security rules should be changed to allow more openness.
"The process does not conform to a number of essential international legal standards, which are meant to safeguard against the very possibility of arbitrary detention,'' the paper says.
It points out that detainees are not informed of the precise allegations against them, they see only a summary of the evidence and evidence can be presented to a judge in the absence of both the detainee and counsel.
The paper accepts the special measures may be needed in some security cases but "any such measures must be consistent with international law.''
It urged the government to change the law to ensure a substantive review of reasons for such detentions and by making all evidence available to people being held.
The group's submission also focused on Canada's aboriginal population, saying it has serious concerns about the protection of the rights of indigenous people.
Among other things, the paper urged the government to:
Study the extent of violence against aboriginal women.
Provide better financing of programs for battered aboriginal woman.
Ensure that police forces work with aboriginal women's groups to ensure that disappearances of aboriginal women and girls are handled with due diligence.
Improve funding for aboriginal child welfare services.
Educate police on the handling of people who are drunk or on drugs to ensure they get proper treatment.
Set up independent civilian review panels to investigate claims of human rights abuses by police.
Find better ways of handling land claims.
Speed up settlement of the land claim dispute of the Lubicon Cree in northern Alberta.
The paper says Canada prides itself on its commitment to human rights, but "there are still a number of areas where significant improvement in Canada's human rights performance are needed.''
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