Vancouver friends, come join us, May 14th at SFU Harbour Centre. Very much looking forward to joining the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies' Amyn Sajoo for their Belonging and Citizenship Conversation Series.

Registration details: events.sfu.ca/event/48346-...

Alex Neve Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World

West Coast friends, I'm speaking at the Salt Spring Forum, May 13th.

"... the promise of human rights can feel distant and sometimes impossible. But for Alex Neve, that promise is not an outdated ideal; it is a call to action that still matters deeply, and urgently."

About 250 missing after boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsizes in Andaman Sea Trawler set off from Bangladesh and reportedly capsized due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding

Heartbreaking.
#Rohingya
#refugees

Hungarian opposition ousts Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power Péter Magyar’s Tisza party wins election as prime minister concedes defeat, in result likely to reshape ties with EU

In case we needed reminding. Change is possible. Change is in the people's hands. Thank you #Hungary.

Sudan: On third anniversary of conflict, UN and ACHPR-AU Fact-Finding Missions jointly warn of escalating violence and heightened risk of further atrocity crimes As the conflict in Sudan approaches its fourth year, serious and widespread violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law continue with increasing intensity and impun...

A grim anniversary in #Sudan.

Honduras must implement Group of Experts recommendations on Berta Cáceres case, says UN expert GENEVA – The final report of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts on the murder of Berta Cáceres is crucially important, The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor* said today, expressing grave concern about the threats human rights defenders in Honduras continue to face.

Ten years since she was murdered, there must at long last be justice for Berta Cáceres.

Trapped in a human rights paradox. Venezuelan refugees, not welcome on two fronts.

This is not about taking the world as it is. This is about standing up for the most basic principles of humanity. 3/3

@mark-carney.bsky.social & @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social, Canada must react. And must push every world leader to do so as well. We do not know whether these will remain chilling words or are a terrifying harbinger of what may be or even is to come. Neither can be allowed to stand. 2/3

Trump says ‘a whole civilisation will die tonight’ if Iran does not make a deal – Middle East crisis live The US president once again warned Iran to make a deal to avert threat of massive attacks

"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again."

Whether this is raving lunacy, deliberate hyperbole, depraved strategy or unabashed criminality, this is beyond war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is, essentially, a threat to commit genocide. 1/3

Be unrelenting in championing what matters and what is good. We are the ones who must reverse this ugly tide. We have the conviction & the power. We believe. We can be the change. No one else will be. 3/3

No matter.

Look for every moment & every opening to raise up rights, justice, law & simple decency. In every conversation. Every exchange. Every post. Seek out those moments. Do not choose silence. Join with others, friends & strangers. Lead & follow. Make solidarity your anthem. 2/3

No matter the lunacy & illegality of what emanates from the White House, the Kremlin, the Knesset & beyond. No matter the vile hate that is manufactured & spewed. No matter the festering toll of genocide, war crimes & crimes against humanity, and the cruel & contemptuous disregard for life. 1/3

We must be the change. We cannot let this be. Not a moment longer.

‘They’re making them disappear again’: families fear Mexico’s missing are being erased Government accused of removing loved ones from record after report says tens of thousands lack information to be found

“Instead of looking for our disappeared, they’re disappearing them.”

From Cesar Jaramillo:

"...those well aware of the erosion of int'l norms should be struck by the speed with which civilian protections are sliding. And there is no shortage of responsibility: the perpetrators, the enablers, the silent observers & those who feign concern but ultimately do little..."

Now, as he soars higher and his voice reverberates more than ever, we must fill all of those hidden and forgotten, and contested and beleaguered spaces of inequality and exploitation with a lush universe of rights and justice. And we will. He has shown us not only that we must, but that we can. 3/3

I remember being tempted to scrap my speech and simply say: what he said. Instead I realized that he had opened up a space for the rest of us to also lift our voices and do so in powerful unison. By the end of that evening that space was booming and overflowing. 2/3

NDP giant Stephen Lewis remembered as someone who demanded better of all | CBC News Stephen Lewis, a giant in Canadian activism, is being remembered as a tireless fighter who demanded better of all.

One of the first public talks I gave had me up immediately after Stephen Lewis’ words had taken flight and taken all of our hearts and minds soaring out of that hall and around the world. Needless to say it was a wee bit daunting. 1/3

‘Discriminatory’ Israeli death penalty law would be war crime, says UN rights chief Volker Türk says bill, which applies to Palestinians convicted of terror charges but not Jewish extremists, must be repealed

At the core of international law constraining the death penalty is that it should never be used discriminatorily. This new law could not be more discriminatory if it tried. Grounded in the racist belief that Palestinian lives matter less.

UN’s landmark slavery ruling energises African Union’s fight for reparations Despite resistance from states who had role in chattel slavery, many feel this is an idea whose time has come

The colossal injustice of the slave trade is undeniable and the profound need and right for there to be substantial, global reparations can no longer be dodged, ignored & denied.

Canada will cancel thousands of refugee claims under new retroactive law Immigration and borders legislation known as Bill C-12 has received royal assent. It will mean thousands of asylum seekers have their claims terminated.

As if the rights-stripping and refugee-endangering new border legislation just passed by Parliament wasn’t disheartening & troubling enough, it will reach back in time and cancel nearly 30,000 pending & lawful refugee claims. #CharterChallenge

It has been 10 years since there has been any news of his whereabouts, well-being or fate. @mark-carney.bsky.social @anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social, the Canadian government can and must do more to bring Huseyin home. 3/3

20 years ago Uyghur-Canadian Huseyin Celil was arrested in Uzbekistan and within three months had been unlawfully sent to China, where he remains imprisoned today. The Chinese government refuses to allow Canadian diplomats to see him. 2/3

Yesterday, on the Hill, a press conference with
@mehmettohti.bsky.social, Sameer Zuberi MP & Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe MP, marking a somber anniversary.
#HuseyinCelil 1/3

How RCMP spies infiltrated the 1970s Indigenous rights movement | CBC News A CBC Indigenous investigation has found the Cold War-era RCMP Security Service had a widespread and intrusive surveillance operation targeting at least 30 legitimate Indigenous political organization...

This shames us all. And it is the just the very tip of a disgraceful iceberg of racism and deceit. We need full disclosure, accountability, genuine apologies & substantial redress.

Without that, human rights will inevitably continue to flounder. Minister @marcmillermp.bsky.social, that has to be at the very top of the agenda for the Forum of Ministers on Human Rights, scheduled for May. 10/10

Above all the Committee has - once again - stressed that foundational to living up to our human rights obligations is the need for an effective national framework that will ensure effective, coordinated and consistent implementation by all federal provincial and territorial governments. 9/10

...failure to comply with previous Committee Views about healthcare/the right to life/immigration status, and renewed call for Canada to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (a torture prevention treaty we have been "considering" ratifying for > 20 yrs). And more. 8/10

...repatriating Canadians unlawfully detained in NE Syria (some now transferred to Iraq), problems with the CORE, racism and discrimination, violence against women, over-incarceration, the need to fully operationalize the Public Complaints and Review Commission, immigration detention,... 7/10