HELP MAKE CANADA ‘THE TRUE NORTH, STRONG AND FREE’, AGAIN

March 27, 2010 at 21:27 (Activism, Canada, Democracy, zionist harassment)

A federal government funded organisation that has been under attack by the federal government. Prime minister Harper wants to transform it into a pro-zionist mouthpiece. Harper, as you know, is anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and just generally anti-democracy.

Don’t let his administration turn Canada into another satellite of Israel….. show your support for Democracy by supporting THIS organisation.

The current turmoil at Canada’s flagship public agency for human rights and democratic development, Rights & Democracy, is stark evidence of the progressive deterioration of Canadian democracy. The time has come to stand up and be heard.

Rights & Democracy is a Canadian institution that was created by an Act of Parliament in 1988. Its mandate, as described in the Act, is to defend and promote universal human rights and to support the development of democratic institutions and practices around the world. The Act emphasizes that Rights & Democracy is an independent, non-partisan institution operating at arm’s-length from government.

Over its 22 year history, Rights & Democracy has earned an international reputation for its essential work on issues including women’s rights in Afghanistan, sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, civil society development in Haiti, freedom of expression in Burma, the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples by the United Nations, and the fight against impunity for human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Last April, Rights & Democracy’s efforts to ensure that controversial family law reforms in Afghanistan respected the rights and equality of women received international praise.

Recently, however, a number of events have cast doubt on the ability of Rights & Democracy to fulfill its mandate as intended by Parliament.

Over the last two years, the Government of Canada made a series of appointments to the Board of Directors that now threaten the non-partisan mandate of Rights & Democracy.

Attacks were subsequently leveled against Rights & Democracy’s former President, Rémy Beauregard, on files related to the agency’s work defending human rights in the Middle East. Mr. Beauregard’s death in early January following a difficult Board of Directors meeting made the internal turmoil a public crisis. (For more on the crisis read here). These actions by the government directly endanger Rights & Democracy’s mandate and its credibility at the international level.

The implications of the crisis at Rights & Democracy go far beyond the interests of a single institution. Other defenders of human rights here in Canada and abroad are also being silenced. What is actually at stake is nothing less than the essence of Canada’s democracy – threatened by reduced political space for diversity and debate.

The time has come to speak out in defence of these principles that for so long have defined who we are at home, and beyond Canada’s borders. Parliament must exercise its powers and insist that the government cease its interference in the orientation and operations of arm’s-length agencies like Rights & Democracy.

Please support Rights & Democracy’s mandate and join the call for Parliament to intervene and protect the ability of the institution to fulfill it with the required autonomy and integrity.
Add your voice to those of many other concerned organizations and individuals who see the crisis at Rights & Democracy as symbolic of the state of human rights and democracy in this country.

Please click HERE and add your name to the supporters.

Say NO to Harper!

Say NO to zionism!!