Canada snubs UN suggestions on perking up human rights To members of Aboriginal Commission on Human Rights and Justice, By Steven Edwards, Canwest

By Steven Edwards, Canwest News Service
June 10, 2009













Canada told the United Nations on 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 another 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 to the UN in Geneva, 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 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 reopening 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.


© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Tunisia: Appeal Court entrenches injustice by upholding unfair convictions 4 February 2009

Tunisia: Appeal Court entrenches injustice by upholding unfair convictions
4 February 2009
http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/tunisia-appeal-court-entrenches-injustice-upholding-unfair-convictions-2

Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of trade union leaders and all those imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, as their convictions were upheld by the Gafsa Appeal Court. Others should be retried in fair proceedings, in accordance with the fair trial guarantees enshrined in Tunisian law and Tunisia's international obligations.

"We urge the Tunisian president to intervene and order the release of those sentenced for merely exercising their right to freedom of expression, in a peaceful manner," said Malcolm Smart, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director.

On Wednesday the Gafsa Appeal Court upheld the convictions of 33 people who had lodged an appeal against their conviction and sentence in December 2008, in connection with the Gafsa protests. Most sentences were reduced on appeal, including from 10 years to eight years for trade union leaders Adnan Hajji and Bechir Laabidi.

In addition, five others who were released after the decision of the court of first instance were subsequently convicted by the Appeal Court following an appeal by the prosecution. The 38 people were accused of leading the unrest against unemployment and high living costs in the first half of 2008 in the phosphate-rich Gafsa region in south-east Tunisia and charged with an with an array of offences, including “forming a criminal group with the aim of destroying public and private property” and “armed rebellion and assault on officials during the exercise of their duties”.
Bechir Laabidi, whose sentence was reduced from 10 to eight years on appeal, was transferred to hospital in Tunis as his health had severely deteriorated while in detention. Bechir Laabidi was present during the whole hearing which lasted all Tuesday day and night, with only two short intermissions, and which ended early this morning. The judgement was handed down early afternoon on Wednesday today. Lawyers present in court described to Amnesty International a marathon hearing which ended around 6:30 am, after a night of lawyers’ pleadings.

Amnesty International believes the appeal session was also marred with violations of fair trial standards and while the defence lawyers were able to present their arguments to the court, they were denied the right to call and cross examine witnesses. Demands of the lawyers that their clients be medically examined for traces of possible torture were rejected by the court and torture allegations disregarded.

“Yet again, the Appeal Court has failed to provide a remedy for government critics whose trial before the Lower Court was badly flawed and unfair,” said Malcolm Smart. "It is time that Tunisia’s courts give attention to upholding the basic guarantees accorded to all defendants under both Tunisian law and Tunisia’s international human rights obligations.”