Global
U.S. Department of State’s Human Rights Report focuses on labour issues, women, and Indigenous people
By David Jones May 28, 2018
Consequently, despite occasional warts, it would be a more humane world were there 198 other entities with Canadian attributes.
The annual U.S. Department of State's Human Rights Report, considered existentially a socio-political document which has long moved past 'traditional' human rights, is one of the few legacies of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, writes David Jones. Photograph courtesy of Flickr
WASHINGTON, D.C.—On April 20, the Department of State released its annual Human Rights Report (HRR). Officially designated Country Reports on Human Rights Practices—2017, the report, mandated by Congress, was technically due on Feb. 25. In recent years, however, this deadline has been more honoured in the breach than honoured with its release contingent on the availability of the secretary of state, who traditionally presented the report to a media audience. Consequently, the secretary, often travelling, negotiating, or unable to find a 15-minute window to say a few anodyne phrases before passing the steaming potato to a human rights senior official has pushed the HRR release past “March Madness,” the beginning of spring, the opening of the baseball season, and into the professional baseball and hockey playoffs.
Related Stories
Explore, analyze, understand
Democracy, Terrorism and Killer Robots: Embassy News covers the 2015 Halifax International Security Forum
The Halifax International Security Forum is one of the world’s biggest gatherings of defence and security leaders.
Get the book
The Halifax International Security Forum is one of the world’s biggest gatherings of defence and security leaders.
Get the book
Spinning History: A Witness to Harper’s Canada and 21st Century choices
An unvarnished look at the Harper years and what lies ahead for Canadians
Get the book
An unvarnished look at the Harper years and what lies ahead for Canadians
Get the book
The Federal Response to the Opioid Crisis
This e-book summarizes the work on the opioid crisis that is going on at the federal level: what the House of Commons and the Senate have been listening to and acting on to help stop and mitigate this tragedy.
Get the book
This e-book summarizes the work on the opioid crisis that is going on at the federal level: what the House of Commons and the Senate have been listening to and acting on to help stop and mitigate this tragedy.
Get the book
Related Policy Briefings
Cannabis
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Privacy and Security in the Digital Age
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Politics This Morning
Your email has been added. An email has been sent to your address, please click the link inside of it to confirm your subscription.
Stalled Liberal agenda awaits fall return of Parliament
The time is ripe for the Liberals to strike a deal on pharmacare, says former Liberal adviser John Delacourt.Government spending tops $392-billion, and counting, for 2020-21
Spending by Employment and Social Development Canada has risen by $74-billion compared to last year.Effective handling of COVID-19 pushes Liberals into majority territory; Conservatives must ready an alternative vision, say pollsters
Canadians currently are primarily paying attention to the federal and provincial governments, and not the opposition parties, because of the economic and health implications of the outbreak, says Frank Graves. Restoring trust to help in race-based data collection could be ‘impossible’—unless communities control the data, say Indigenous experts
'A lot of the ambivalence towards collection is actually a fear of what the data is going to show, from the institutions that are now being asked to collect that data,' says Akwasi Owusu-Bempah.Feds’ policing reforms should respect self-governance of Indigenous people, say experts, Parliamentarians, in wake of deadly, violent run-ins with police
'Our relationship with police has been one of violence, from the colonial nature of everything that has happened in Canada,' says Judith Sayers, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council in Port Alberni, B.C.Lack of privacy oversight could hurt buy-in for COVID contact-tracing app, say critics
'I get we're in a pandemic, and I'm very supportive of using the technology, but until I know that it respects the basic rights and has the highest standards, I can't see that it's going to work,' said MP Charlie Angus.‘I felt silenced’: voices missing from Upper Chamber’s systemic racism debate, say some Senators, highlighting need for hybrid model
Senator Mobina Jaffer is among those who say the in-person-only approach to spring Senate sittings limited participation and worries it will remain in place when Parliament returns in September.Mounting deaths stemming from police wellness checks a ‘wake-up call,’ says Senator
‘We need to address poverty and support community programs to prevent many of the situations that police are being asked to handle with guns and handcuffs,' says NDP critic Don Davies.New NAFTA comes into force after months of testy renegotiations, but ‘disruptions’ will need to be addressed
'We all have to expect that there's going to be some bumps over the next six months,' said Ohio-based trade lawyer Daniel Ujczo. Trending Stories
