Archive - Year 2007
Press Release November 2007: Pakistan Crackdown
CLAIHR issued a press release in November supporting Pakistani lawyers during the government crackdown. We are currently working out details with a group of lawyers in Pakistan to determine how we can best support their efforts to return the country to the rule of law.
Read the press release
Board Meeting Nov. 6, 2007
Read the meeting minutes
CURRENT CLAIHR INITIATIVES
CLAIHR is currently involved in two high-profile cases which are described in detail in the Projects page of our website.
The Prosecution of Déseré Munyaneza
Désiré Munyaneza, born in 1966, is a Rwandan man being prosecuted in Montreal for crimes committed during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. This case is notable as this is the first person to be arrested in Canada on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. This is the second attempt in Canada to prosecute someone for crimes against humanity for crimes committed abroad in the context of an armed conflict.
CLAIHR will be actively monitoring these proceedings and will be updating this website regularly with highlights of the trial and commentary as interesting issues arise. The University of Ottawa chapter has compiled the complete trial summaries here. Further, should this case become appealed, we will be seeking intervenor status to ensure that international human rights and humanitarian legal standards are adhered to and drawn upon.
The Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission
As part of the national Indian Residential Schools Settlement reached in 2006, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (the “TRC”) will be established in early 2008. The TRC will be part of an overall holistic and comprehensive response to the Indian Residential School (”IRS”) legacy in Canada with a view to acknowledging and documenting the injustices and harms experienced by Aboriginal peoples as result of forced attendance at the schools for almost a century.
While the TRC will not have judicial or inquisitorial powers and will not have jurisdiction to order reparations or grant amnesties, CLAIHR is of the view that it has the potential to play a critical role in truth telling, public education, creation of a historical record of past violations of human rights in Canada and providing recommendations for the future relationship between Canada and its Aboriginal peoples. Accordingly, CLAIHR will monitor and periodically report on the work of the TRC and its compliance and acknowledgement of various international human rights norms.
Do you have any ideas for CLAIHR projects? If so, please let us know!