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Network Newsletter  Rights and Democracy Network Number 21 July 23, 2008 Newsletter Sections |
The Network Celebrates its 5th Anniversary in style
Last May was a great month for the Network! The 5th Anniversary Annual Event brought together representatives from 24 Delegations in Canada as well as the Network’s two international Delegations. Four alumni of the Network also attended, and served as mentors. Delegates participated in the On the Refugees’Path refugee camp experience at UQAM; they shared their experiences from their Delegations’projects and activities; and they looked ahead to next year’s regional and local events.
Five Delegation projects from the last five years were honoured with Awards of Recognition at the Network’s 5th Anniversary Gala event on May 1st, 2008 at the Studio Juste pour rire in Montreal, which kicked off this year’s 2008 Annual Event. Click here to learn more about the event, the projects which were recognized, and to see photos of the ceremony: http://www.dd-rd.net/cms/site/en/5th_anniversary.
Rights & Democracy launches Olympic Journal on human rights
The Summer Olympics in Beijing are a source of immense concern for those who see the Games as a vehicle for the celebration of human dignity. Is China’s record on human rights something to celebrate? Are claims that the Games would serve as a catalyst for improvements proving empty? Does China have much to gain and the Olympic movement much to lose?
Rights & Democracy’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics will begin August 5th with the launch of a new website dedicated to the Olympics. Over the course of the Games, which run from August 8 to 24th, the site will feature eight essays on topics ranging from the relationship between human rights and the Olympics to examinations of specific human rights concerns in China.
We hope that you’ll be inspired to participate in our coverage of the Olympics by submitting a short essay to our Olympic Journal website essay contest. Winning essays will be published on the Rights & Democracy website after the Games. We also hope you’ll send your comments, feedback, and photos, etc.
Watch your email for the announcement of the launch of the website and essay contest, which will be sent to all Network members.
Support women from Burma: Donate your panties for peace!
Network members are invited to donate their panties to a unique international effort to bring an end to Burma’s brutal military regime and the profound suffering it is inflicting on the population of Burma.
Panties for Peace! was conceived last October by Lanna Action for Burma (LAB), a women’s organization based on Burma’s border with Thailand, in response to the military regime’s violent crackdown on monk-led pro-democracy demonstrations. The campaign plays on the regime leaders’superstitious fear that contact with a woman’s underpants will rob them of their power. Women in Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brazil and across Europe have since heeded LAB’s call to post their panties to local Burmese embassies to protest against the regime’s massive violations of human rights, especially those committed against Burma’s women.
For more information about the campaign, visit the Canadian Panties for Peace website. If you would like to get your Delegation involved in this fast-growing campaign, contact Elana Wright, the Network’s Liaison Officer, at ewright@dd-rd.ca.
Students join Network team for the summer
This summer the Rights & Democracy Network has welcomed three students: Laurie Chalifour as an intern, and Julie Dumontier and Josianne Cyr as employees.
Josianne is starting the third year of her Bachelor of Law degree at UQAM. She has been active in the UQAM Delegation since 2006. She is particularly interested in the rights of women in conflict situations, and regional systems, especially the European model. A travel grant will allow Josianne to participate in an inter-university exchange with the University of the Hague, in the Netherlands this winter.
Julie Dumontier is originally from Québec. She studied social sciences at the Université Laval and is now a student of law at UQÀM. As well, she has studied at the Institut d'études politiques of Bordeaux, in Spain, and in Germany. She did an internship at the OMCT (World Organization Against Torture) in Geneva. Julie is interested particularly in the human rights of women, and would like to work internationally.
Julie and Josianne are working as the Network’s Research and Development Officers for the summer. Their work includes developing support tools for the Delegations, including the Delegation Handbook, which is being revised and will be available to each Delegation in September. As well, they are assisting the Network in its planning by documenting the biggest issues related to human rights and democratic development for the 2008-2009 period. Also, they are assisting in the update of the Network’s database, the revitalization of the website, and the organizing of this fall’s Network Retreat. Thanks to their work, when new members register on the Network’s website, they will now receive a welcome kit.
Laurie Chalifour is currently a student at the Université de Montréal in Religious Studies and Political Science. The internship she is doing this summer is part of her studies at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. Her main tasks include updating and developing the resource pages of the Network’s website. She recently completed an internship with CARE Canada on a project for children in Malawi. Her interests related to human rights include children’s rights and oppressed peoples. She specializes in Middle Eastern politics and issues.
On the Refugees’ Path 2008 at UQAM:
Understanding, imagining, feeling, experiencing the realities of refugees in Montreal
From May 2 to 4, 2008, the 2008 On the Refugees’ Path project took place at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), organized by the UQAM Rights & Democracy Delegation which aimed to understand, imagine, feel and experience the realities of refugees. The event took place over three days, from Friday to Sunday, and included a diverse range activities.
Experiencing – An opportunity for interactivity
The event was launched with a press conference on Friday morning, which kicked off the first aspect of the event, the day in the life of a refugee. This experience started when the participants began their exile at a site at Parc Jean-Drapeau. The exile began with a journey to the camp where they would spend the night. This journey, full of obstacles, allowed the participants to experience the uncertainty of people who are forced to leave their homes. After a few hours of exile the participants were directed to the camp, where humanitarian workers waited to receive them.
In the camp located on the UQAM campus, the participants experienced a diverse range of emotions, which are often felt by refugees, including insecurity, waiting, anxiety, and isolation. During their night in the camp, the participants experienced food distribution, the search for other members of their families, medical exams, and other procedures that take place in refugee camps.
Understanding – An opportunity for learning
This second aspect developed by the On the Refugees’ Path team included an information forum, audio testimonies by refugees, guided tours of the refugee camp, information kiosks presented by organizations working with refugees, as well as panel discussions featuring Denise Otis from the High Commissioner for Refugees, Janet Dench from the Canadian Council for Refugees, and Sylvain Thibault from Projet Refuge.
Imagining – An opportunity for artistic expression
Finally, the artistic aspect of the event included an exhibition of photos from refugee camps in Darfur in Africa, children’s drawings from the «
All of these aspects ensured that this awareness event offered a complete view of the issues, which was well-appreciated by the people who attended. The On the Refugees’ Path team would like to thank the partners who made the event possible and congratulate the organizing committee for the dedication:
The 2007-2008 Delegation projects are now available on-line!
Be inspired by all of the projects organized by the Network’s Delegations last year by clicking here to see the complete list, or visit the specific Delegation pages to see what they have achieved.
After Two Months, I Still Can’t Believe I am Here
Living and Working in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
By Lindsay Walton
Early in May, I packed my bags and moved to the Mongolian capital city, Ulaanbaatar, where I will be living until September when I will come back home and to school. Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the world, and so coming from the west coast, I am happy to be here for a summer and not a winter placement. 
After applying for an internship opportunity in Mongolia from the University of Victoria that sounded too good to be true, I was fortunate to be selected. The internship involved spending a summer working for a Mongolian NGO in a field I am interested in, eager to learn about and hoping to study in graduate school. The position is as a Program Assistant for the Shelter House Network, a branch of the National Center Against Violence (NCAV). This organization works to prevent and create awareness of issues of domestic violence, sexual abuse and gender based violence. Their Shelter Network is a developing program within the organization that aims to establish and expand on the existing five women's shelters around the country.
United Nations Security Council resolution on rape as a war tactic: an analysis by Rights & Democracy
On June 19, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war and a threat to international security. The crucial issue now is whether this resolution will actually contribute to international efforts to end sexual violence committed against women in the context of war.
Rights & Democracy, which has been at the forefront of international efforts to see sexual violence recognized as a weapon of war, believes the Security Council resolution is an important step toward this goal for the following reasons:
- Acts of sexual violence committed before and after a war are now part of peace and security issues that could be brought before the Security Council;
- The resolution allows the Security Council to intervene in situations where the extent or level of sexual violence requires such intervention;
- The resolution excludes crimes of sexual violence from amnesty accords as part of peace negotiations and underlines the importance of ending impunity for such crimes;
- Requests that the United Nations Secretary-General submit a report to the Security Council by June 30, 2009, on the application of the resolution in conjunction with situations of war brought before the Security Council.
Rights & Democracy will be monitoring the implementation of this resolution closely, especially in the context of its ongoing work on sexual violence in Burma and the Rights & Democracy-coordinated Coalition for Women’s Human Rights in Conflict Situation’s work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Established in 1996, the Coalition works to:
(…) ensure that crimes committed against women in conflict situations are adequately examined and prosecuted. The main focus of the Coalition’s work is to promote the adequate prosecution of perpetrators of crimes of gender violence in transitional justice systems based in Africa, in order to create precedents that recognise violence against women in conflict situations and help find ways to obtain justice for women survivors of sexual violence.
A related website about Congolese Women maintained by the Coalition : www.drcsexualviolence.org
Rights & Democracy welcomes Rémy M. Beauregard as its new President
Rights & Democracy is pleased to announce the appointment of Rémy M. Beauregard as the organization’s new President.
Mr. Beauregard has led a distinguished career in the promotion and protection of human rights in Canada and internationally. Among his many accomplishments, he has served as the Executive Director of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and has worked with United Nations agencies and civil society organizations for the establishment of national human rights institutions in numerous developing countries. He also assisted with the creation of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies and served as its first Executive Secretary.
To read more, click here.
Fourth World Youth Congress to be held this August 2008 in Quebec City
The Fourth World Youth Congress will bring 600 of the world's most dynamic young activists in the field of sustainable development to Laval University in Québec City from August 10 to 21, 2008. For more information: http://www.cmj2008.qc.ca
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights resigns
Louise Arbour has confirmed that she is to resign from her position as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She announced on Friday that she will leave office on June 30th.
The 61-year-old former Canadian Supreme Court justice disclosed her decision in a speech to the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council.
Reacting to the news, Amnesty International paid tribute to her achievements. Martin Macpherson, Director of Amnesty's International Law and Organizations Programme, called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to ensure that her successor is of a similar high international standard with a proven track-record as a strong and independent advocate for human rights.
As High Commissioner for Human Rights since 2004, Louise Arbour has been a forceful and formidable advocate for human rights protection, stressing the need to apply and enforce legal obligations and establish accountability for the perpetrators of human rights violations. During her time in office, the resources for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights were increased.
Source : Amnesty International
August 12, 2008: International Youth Day
On August 12, 2008, the International Youth Day of the United Nations (UN) will be celebrated everywhere around the world. This summer, the UN agencies will meet in Quebec City for the World Youth Walk!
The main theme for this summer is:" Youth and climate change: Time for action "
Presented by the Uniterra international cooperation program, this walk will be the meeting of the committed young people who care about the sustainable development of their communities. It will be the time to meet 600 young people from around 120 countries who will participate to ReGeneration 2008. The participants of the 5th edition of the summer School of the Institut du Nouveau-Monde will also join this event.
Be part of the biggest and the most inspirational gathering of its kind for young people, during the festivities around Quebec City's 400th anniversary.
For more information: http://wyc2008.qc.ca/marche.php?refresh=1596688915.
The Network’s on-line forum announces job and internship opportunities in Canada and around the world. To access the forum, you must be a member of the Rights & Democracy Network. Become a member by signing up here: http://www.dd-rd.net/members/
If you are already a member, visit the Forum’s jobs and internships section by clicking here: http://www.droitsdemocratie.net/network-forum/index.php?login_lang=en
Network News is a newsletter published by the Rights & Democracy Network.
The Network Team:
Coordinator: Sophie Rondeau
Liaison Officer: Elana Wright
Administrative Assistant: Diane Migneault
Webmaster: Sylvain Aubé
Summer Research and Development Officers: Josianne Cyr & Julie Dumontier
Summer Intern: Laurie Chalifour
Rights & Democracy Network
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Montréal, Québec H2L 4P9 CANADA
Phone: (514) 283-6073
Toll-free: 1-877-736-3833
Fax: (514) 283-3792
network@dd-rd.ca
www.rightsdemocracy.net
Available issues :
Issue 31 (June 1st, 2010)
Issue 30 (March 16, 2010)
Issue 29 (November 9,2009)
Issue 28 (September 25, 2009)
Issue 27 (July 28, 2009)
Issue 26 (March 27, 2009)
Issue 25 (January 29, 2009)
Issue 24 (December 9, 2008)
Issue 23 (October 29, 2008)
Issue 22 (August 27, 2008)
Issue 21 (July 23, 2008)
Issue 20 (April 24, 2008)
Issue 19 (March 27, 2008)
Issue 18 (January 24, 2008)
Issue 17 (December 20, 2007)
Issue 16 (November 27, 2007)
Issue 15 (November 6, 2007)
Issue 14 (October 18, 2007)
Issue 13 (September 25, 2007)
Issue 12 (September 11, 2007)
Issue 11 (Summer 2007)
Issue 10 (April 13, 2007)
Issue 9 (November 2006)
Issue 8 (August 2006)
Issue 7 (May 4, 2006)
Issue 6 (April 12, 2006)
Issue 5 (March 21, 2006)
Issue 4 (March 1, 2006)
Issue 3 (February 16, 2006)
Issue 2 (January 31, 2006)
Issue 1 (January 17, 2006)
