Ottawa Attacks: What We Must Do—and Not Do—in Response0

• analyse
• 22 octobre 2014

Locked in today at the University of Ottawa, looking down on the largely deserted canal bike path, several hundred metres from the cenotaph where this morning’s horrifying events began, I was stunned. I was also shaking, and afraid—but not out …

Inside and Out at the Human Rights Museum0

• analyse
• 12 octobre 2014

Published on openDemocracy.net on October 14, 2014 The Canadian Museum for Human Rightsopened this month in Winnipeg, in western Canada, reigniting a long-running controversy over its portrayal of human rights issues. Before turning to that debate, however, an initial …

A Do and Don’t List for the UN’s New Human Rights High Commissioner0

• analyse
• 9 juin 2014

Published on openDemocracy.net on June 7, 2014

The Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein (“Prince Zeid”), has just been nominated as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The outgoing High …

Coming Soon: A Truly Global Human Rights Revolution?0

• analyse
• 31 mars 2014

Published on the openGlobalRights Blog, March 31, 2014 

There is an unmistakable fin de régime sentiment to much current thinking regarding international human rights. Conferences and discussion forums convene to debate ‘the future of human rights’, with implicit in …

Russia’s Crimea Caper: One More Nail in the Non-Intervention Coffin0

• analyse
• 6 mars 2014

Both Russia and those opposing its intervention in Crimea are making claims regarding the legality of its acts. Russia is asserting the right to use force in Crimea and, if necessary, in eastern Ukraine. The U.S., Canada, and European states …

To Shun or Shake Hands? Assessing Harper’s CHOGM Boycott0

• analyse
• 18 novembre 2013

Prime Minister Harper’s decision to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which concluded on the weekend in Sri Lanka, was hotly debated over the past few weeks. Now that the meeting has ended, what impact has the boycott …

As Nuclear Talks Progress, Baird’s Concern for Human Rights in Iran Rings Hollow0

• analyse
• 10 novembre 2013

Negotiations over the past three days in Geneva almost achieved a historic nuclear deal with Iran, and the parties’ concluding statements suggest there is a good chance a deal will be reached when talks resume on November 20.

Canada, however, …

Sweeping Rights Aside: Ottawa, Pakistan and Netsweeper0

• analyse
• 25 octobre 2013

Imagine the scenario: a private Canadian software company provides sophisticated technology to the Iranian government, allowing it to deny access in Iran to thousands of websites on account of their political or social content. How would the Canadian government respond?…

Relief Not Regret Over Harper’s UN Absence0

• analyse
• 29 septembre 2013

John Baird’s address to the UN today, his third, is likely to cover familiar ground: long on rhetoric, short on constructive policy. Regarding the important developments last week on Syria and Iran, Baird will insist that both countries will be …