John Humphrey, a fellow Canadian and the
key drafter of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, said of the document
whose 54th anniversary we’re celebrating
today, “It turns out the achievement
of 1948 was much greater than anybody
would have dared to imagine at the time.”
Il y n’y
a peut-être aucune meilleure façon
de célébrer la Journée
internationale des droits humains qu’avec
Amnistie internationale et l’Association
canadienne pour les Nations Unies.
History
with Amnesty International
When I was appointed Secretary of State
in 1997, I had to resign from most organizations,
including Amnesty International. Earlier,
I had joined because Amnesty had made
a name for itself as a vigilant, courageous
organization that would take up causes
and fight for individuals even when others
wouldn’t.
Incidentally,
AI is both careful with its donors’
money and does things properly. One person
I know, who was appointed to a position
in AI’s London office, discovered
that and would do nothing to spee up getting
a work permit in the U.K.
Pendant
mes cinq années en tant que Secrétaire
d’État pour l’Afrique
et l’Amérique latine, AI a
toujours fait preuve de vigilance en essayant
d’assurer que le gouvernement rend
des comptes et en assurant que les droits
humains soient toujours accordés
une importance.
Bien sûr,
depuis mon debut comme secrétaire
d’État pour l’Asie-Pacifique,
Amnistie internationale continue à
travailler fort sur plusieurs questions.
In Burma they’ve helped to achieve
the release of more than 280 political
prisoners since December 2000, and continue
to fight for the over 1500 that remain
behind bars. Amnesty International is
constantly calling on governments around
the world to raise the issue of human
rights in China. In Pakistan last year,
they helped convert the death sentences
of over 100 people to lifetime imprisonment.
In 2001, Amnesty’s Urgent Action
Network received 408 actions on behalf
of individuals - 117 of which resulted
in good news about the case!
Amnesty
has a record of real achievement.
Ongoing
Challenge
Canadians
deserve to be proud of the role Canada
has played in promoting and protecting
human rights around the world. We were
successful in lobbying for the creation
of the office of the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights.
We played
a leadership role in the establishment
of the International Criminal Court. Nous
avons aussi été l’hôte
de conférences internationales
qui ont aidé au monde à
aborder des questions spécifiques
sur les droits humains, tels que les enfants
victimes de guerres et l’exploitation
sexuelle commerciale d’enfants.
Malheureusement,
notre travail ne sera jamais fini. AI
reports that in Asia-Pacific alone in
2001,
· Confirmed or possible extrajudicial
executions were carried out in at least
9 countries,
·
Victims of torture and ill-treatment by
security forces, police and other state
authorities were reported in 19 countries.
·
Confirmed or possible prisoners of conscience
were held in 15 countries.
·
Armed opposition groups committed serious
human rights violations, such as deliberate
and arbitrary killings of civilians, torture
and hostage taking in 9 countries.
Amnesty
has also never failed to remind us that
Canada is by no means immune to human
rights concerns. Earlier this year I co-authored
a chapter in a book about the impact of
Sept. 11th on civil society in Canada
(Canada and September 11th: Impacts and
Responses) and much of what was reported
during the research process was disturbing
to say the least.
On pense
couramment à tort qu’il est
impossible de renforcer la sécurité
sans réduire le respect des droits
de la personne. Au lendemain du 11
septembre,
il est plus important que jamais pour
nous de contester ce point de vue.
La sécurité de l’État
et la sécurité de la personne
se soutiennent l’une l’autre.
Une culture de respect des droits de la
personne ne peut pas s’épanouir
dans un environnement d’insécurité.
Dans les sociétés qui respectent
les droits de la personne et les libertés
fondamentales, l’opposition tend
à prendre des formes non violentes
constructives. Les partis politiques indépendants,
les médias libres et un secteur
non gouvernemental dynamique donnent aux
citoyens les moyens de contribuer au développement
de leur société.
Bravo to
everyone here for taking the time to come.
Alex, we’re delighted you’re
here. We’ll listen today and remember
throughout the year.
Thank you
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