Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
02 January 2012
Human Rights
Are Former U.S. Leaders War Criminals?
The Geneva Conventions expressly forbid the
torturing of prisoners of war, so should
U.S. officials be brought to account over the issue?
Canadian Citizen Stranded in Sudan
Whether because of bureaucratic bungling or malicious intent, Abousfian Abdelrazik languished in Sudan for six years before a public outcry caused the Canadian government to pay attention to his plight
In awarding the 2008 Summer Olympics Games to China,
the International Olympic Committee hoped to leverage an easing of the government’s human rights repression
Geneva Conventions Need Updating
Inter-
is an entirely new conflict, and some battles
are just struggles between criminal gangs
Historical Struggle for Human Rights
The people of the Western world enjoy a level of human rights that has never been known before; getting to this state of freedom has been a long, tough struggle
Human Rights Commissions in Canada
Canada has 14 human rights commissions. Their job is to protect citizens from abuses of their rights. But, some say they’re stepping outside of their original purpose of preventing discrimination in housing and employment, and moving into the dangerous territory of censorship
The most vulnerable people are subjected to human
rights abuses because they are powerless to resist
Kim Jong-
There are lots of monsters in the world – people who come to power and then brutalize
their own citizens. One of the worst is North Korea’s Kim Jong-
Trading with countries with bad human rights records can involve moral hazards. Are the principles by which we live worth making sacrifices for? These might include no more cheap goods from China, no more oil for eastern Canada from Saudi Arabia
The Canadian government has repeatedly blocked all efforts to have a Canadian citizen returned home
Products of Slavery Appear on Store Shelves
Bargain hunters should think twice about picking
up some of the low-
aisles because of exploitation in the supply chain
Should access to clean water be a basic human right?
The selling of people into bondage is thought by
most to be a minor scourge in the developing world,
but it still goes on in rich countries
Sudan’s President Indicted for War Crimes
The International Criminal Court wants
Omar Hassan al-
he orchestrated atrocities in Darfur
“Enhanced interrogation methods” have been authorized
by U.S. for use on suspected terrorists but experience suggests it delivers low quality information
Trafficking of Human Organs Growing
Desperate poor people in the developing world
are selling their kidneys to rich foreigners
Uighur Minority Unrest in China
The July 2009 outbreak of violence in China’s
westernmost province is just part of a long
history of a people’s struggle for independence
According to Refugees International,
there are about 12 million people in the world
who do not have citizenship status in any country
An attempt to inject a small amount of
Humanity into the inhumane business of warfare