Rights & Democracy undermined by feds
Ideology should not motivate funding allocations
Rights and democracy aren’t supposed to be controversial things in Canada. In theory, they have widespread support, which is why an agency called Rights & Democracy was supported by all Canadian political parties when it was founded in 1988 by the Conservative government under Brian Mulroney. From the start, the agency was political but nonpartisan, seeking to promote human rights and democratic institution-building through grants to NGOs around the world. The agency has funded human rights groups in Burma, Congo, Haiti, Colombia, Morocco, and the Palestinian Territories, to name just a few places.
But in recent weeks, Rights & Democracy has been in turmoil. Since the Harper government appointed a slew of ideological supporters, this government’s all-too-frequent habit of cutting funds from any group that challenges the current political orthodoxy has made Rights & Democracy its latest victim. Harper’s Conservatives received less than 38 per cent of the popular vote in the last election, yet they have essentially taken carte blanche to reshape spending to mirror their own divisive agenda, taking particular aim at any agency that dares to promote Palestinian human rights or critique Israel.
David Matas, legal counsel for Israel advocacy group B’nai Brith, was one of Harper’s appointees to the Rights & Democracy board, and it was he who pounced on three small donations made in 2009, out of a budget of $10 million. They went to reputable agencies working in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to fund investigative work into human rights violations during the Gaza invasion. B’Tselem (an Israeli group), as well as Al-Haq and Al Mezan (Palestinian organizations), each received $10,000. These grants set off the storm surrounding Rights & Democracy. The new Harper-appointed board clashed with Rights & Democracy’s staff, accusing them of funding terrorists and anti-Semites.
In reports sent to the Canadian Council of Refugee listserv, Matas repeatedly cited NGO Monitor, a blog that tracks NGOs, as the basis for his criticism of these organizations. The mandate of NGO Monitor is “to end the practice used by certain self-declared ‘humanitarian NGOs’ of exploiting the label ‘universal human rights values’ to promote politically and ideologically motivated anti-Israel agendas.” (Emphasis ours.) Few other sources were cited in Matas’s document – the apparent grounds on which funding to B’Tselem and the others was repudiated. This should be a point of concern to all those troubled about the way foreign aid is distributed under the current government.
In personal correspondence with the authors of this piece, Matas further argued that B’Tselem and Al-Haq were dangerous because they engaged in “lawfare” – critiquing housing destructions, illegal settlements, and other human rights violations through the courts. That Matas would find this objectionable is also worrying, given that human rights advocacy is based on a system of seeking legal recourse. “Lawfare,” as conceived by Matas and co., is in no way akin to “warfare.” It is legal advocacy, plain and simple. We think human rights groups should use the courtroom, rather than violence, to advance their cause, and we are concerned about characterizing peaceful advocacy as something Canadian aid dollars should not fund.
Explosive meetings over these grants led other board members at Rights & Democracy to resign, including McGill law professor Payam Akhavan. After the raucous board meeting where Akhavan and others walked out, agency president Rémy Beauregard died from an unexpected heart attack. During his funeral, someone broke into Rights & Democracy’s office and stole the laptops of certain long-time staff, leaving the petty cash.
McGill has had an ongoing relationship with Rights & Democracy. The organization has worked with professors and students in the law and education faculties. The Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism has sent dozens of students to Rights & Democracy for summer internships. These partnerships have fundamentally enhanced and illuminated the study of fields like international law, by grounding the theory that law students learn in the classroom with practical applications in the work of NGOs that receive funding. Anna Shea, a law student and former Rights & Democracy intern, described [her] work as “one of the highlights of her legal education.”
The current situation at Rights & Democracy is about much more than three grants. It is about the implications of cutting funding to human rights organizations in zones of conflict and political dissonance and, more broadly, about Canada’s role in such regions. Where there is no legal recourse for citizens, it is not surprising that mortar shells and rocks are the only alternatives sought. And as recent history has shown, these cycles of violence and terrorism should be a point of concern not only for those directly affected, but for the global community at large, as they often extend beyond their zones of containment.
Alexandra Dodger (Law III) & Safia Lakhani (Law II) are students in the Faculty of Law, focusing on international and human rights law. Write them at alexandra.dodger@mail.mcgill.ca.
Sally Lin
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Bernie Carroll wrote:
Your article came to me from a friend who shares my concern at the erosion of our (and the world's) democracy and freedoms which, without doubt, is an organized, systematic movement led by the W.T.O., W.H.O., the New World Order promoters, et. al., and orchestrated by all the secret organizations (and think tanks), like the Bilderbergs, the Illuminati and many others. I'm old enough that in the 60's I was a young adult and I witnessed with horror the struggles of Martin Luther King and many others, for freedom. I recall, in detail, all the the political assassinations in the US and the implementation of the War Measures Act here in Canada, the Vietnam war, and all the other chaos of that era. I guess Watergate was the final proof for me as an individual that Democracy is a beautiful ideal, but also a cruel myth in the "real" world. For me the world has been a different place than the one we were told about in school, since the events of those times. The struggle for true democracy continues still, after all these years and all the lessons we didn't learn!
Thank god for the Internet! In 2010 traditional media outlets are irrelevant in terms of getting any "truth", as you surely realize. ALL media is owned by a very few huge corporations and all the sponsors of TV & Radio shows as well as Magazine and Newspaper ads are also corporations. With rare exceptions, Investigative Journalism is a relic of the past. "News" itself, has morphed into "infotainment" with the result that anything that clashes with the goals of the multi-nationals is either ignored or "spun" beyond recognition by the media "writers" and the talking heads posing as "reporters"!
Politicians have become the lapdogs of the multi-national corporations, as payback for having funded their election campaigns (usually funding BOTH opposing parties to ensure a favourable outcome for them). They are destroying our environment, our health, our freedoms, our economy and our notions of "truth" and "fair play". We're living in an Alice In Wonderland, Orwellian nightmare where up is down and insanity is sanity. Big Agra, Big Pharma, Big Oil, International Bankers and Big Insurance are pulling all the strings and their only motivation is PROFIT. Because corporations are mandated BY LAW to return profits to their shareholders. Young Canadians, traditionally the hope for our future, are being maimed, traumatized for life and murdered without any declaration of war, in foreign lands. And it's all based on a tissue of blatant, documented lies, perpetrated and forced down our collective throat by corrupt politicians, with the multi-nationals lurking in the dark shadows.
And if one raises any objections to this travesty, the immediate reaction is that you are unpatriotic and don't support the troops. How insane is that? Personally, I have nothing but contempt for the "war" and the group of thugs in Ottawa that involved us in this disgusting scenario - and nothing but compassion for the Canadian men and women who have no option but to serve and die on the alter of Corporate Profits! Just one more example of institutionalized insanity and immorality on the part of our politicians.
The "terrorism" label is employed to further erode our freedoms and democracy at every opportunity! Witness the explosion of C.C.T.V. cameras (a reported 10,000 in the London, England area alone!) and it's already begun in Canada. The sanctioned monitoring of emails, heretofore illegal wiretaps of phones, the "smart" electronic chips on Credit Cards (and soon, inside people and even on money), the implementation of police-state laws behind closed doors and without the knowledge of the electorate they are designed to control are just a glimpse of what the future holds for us all!
So, it surprises me not at all that funding has been taken away from efforts to disseminate the truth about what's going on in the Middle East. The stifling of free speech and truth is a necessary component in the war against free will and the ascendence of control of the citizens of the whole world. The evidence of this organized plan is documented, irrefutable and a matter of public record! We are all being enslaved little by little. The move toward global fascism is well under way!
In Canada, we are in the grips of the most undemocratic, unrepresentative leaders in living memory. The present regime in Ottawa, led by our Prime "Sinister" Stephen Harper, is in lock-step with everything negative that's happening in the society below our southern border. NO ONE knows what his hidden agenda is! He represents the biggest threat to democracy and free speech since the FLQ crisis. The hypocrisy he exhibits is beyond measure and he is systematically dismantling Canadian sovereignty with fervor. His performance at the recent global-warming conference in Denmark brought shame on Canada and Canadians worldwide! His proroguing of our Parliament for the second time within a year removes all doubt about his lust for power and his utter distain for the will of the people he allegedly represents. With examples of this kind of "leadership" how can it be any surprise that Canadians are shunning electoral polling booths in record numbers??
Tragically, the public is kept distracted from the truth and in "survival" mode, as a direct outcome of the endless manipulation of all world economies by the international bankers and the systematic dumbing-down of the electorate by the controlled media. When I mention anything I've learned about what's really going on all around us, 98% of the people in my life react with, "there, there, you'll get over it, you're just being sucked-in by the conspiracy theorists who probably have a vested money-interest in what they're telling you". If it isn't stated, it's certainly implied! People are so used to being lied to they can no longer even recognize the truth when it's thrust into their faces. What does that do to further our aspirations for positive changes?
Any semblance of democracy is in peril, worldwide. We are bombarded with lies and distortions 24/7, 365 days a year from every quarter of business and politics, both of whom are rife with greed and corruption. Canadians are demoralized and disgusted, feeling helpless and hopeless. Every day brings more negativity into our lives.
The latest major distraction in Canada, the Vancouver Olympics, is also the latest example of madness. How is it possible that $Billions are found (the cost of security alone is reported to be in the region of a BILLION dollars) to support this sham. The homeless of Vancouver have been warehoused in temporary shelters, the funding for which will expire in April of this year. Now, that's what I call a long-term solution to that problem! The citizens of B.C. will be paying for years and years for this spectacle, if the history of previous games is any guide. The hypocrisy of elevating Aboriginal peoples to "equal" status and "full partners", along with the sight of them in traditional garb, chanting and performing their ancient dances during the opening ceremonies was the icing on the hypocritical cake! How could they not be included? The games are taking place on THEIR LAND, for which they've never received compensation. Native spokespeople that i've heard since the opening are highly suspicious about any meaningful long term improvement in the lives of ordinary, everyday aboriginals as a result of native participation in this presentation and point out that ONCE AGAIN natives were depicted as they were living 2 or 3 hundred years ago - thereby perpetuating the stereotype of natives as folksy, not too bright remnants of the past - and not seen as citizens of a modern society in 2010. How insulting is that?
And the TV ads showing Olympians in the prime of health, consuming McDonalds fast food - some of the most unhealthy nonfood on the planet - and grinning mindlessly for the privilege, is beyond my ability to comment.
One can only wonder who are the real "winners" in this latest example of stupidity on the part of Canada. Certainly the athletes ascending the podium are winners and deservedly so. But the real winners AGAIN, are all the corporations behind the whole spectacle! Gee, do you think they made any money for their shareholders? Do you think they have ANY interest in sportsmanship or the alleged ideals of the Olympics? Of course not, it's all about the money and market share.
It's easy to become extremely depressed about what life and living has become in 2010 and many of my friends and acquaintances have reached that point long ago. I'm 66 years old and should be relaxing and enjoying whatever time is left to me, pursuing personal interests that I never seemed to have sufficient time for during my formal working life. Instead, I have no option but to continue working at a very physical trade within the construction industry as much as my body will allow; because the reality is that for numerous reasons, I can't afford to retire completely at this point in time. But make no mistake, I am not whining. I'm very grateful that I enjoy extremely good health for someone of my years and I'm very thankful that I'm at least able to do what I need to do to survive on a financial level. I take none of it for granted, believe me.
One of the downsides of being 66 in 2010 is losing longtime friends and family to entirely preventable diseases because we all bought-in to the lies and deception heaped upon us by Big Pharma and the medical profession. In the past six months I've lost two friends to cancer, one to pharmaceutical overdose, two are coping with diabetes, two more are battling cancer and the outcome is unknown at this time and another friend just discovered that he might have a serious heart problem due to a substance in a product that was deemed safe by the lackeys at Health Canada and which my friend ingested for about 30 years. It's being recalled from the marketplace as I write this. And these people are not old. They're all 5 to 12 years younger than me! They just did what we were all told was good for us and "played the game". They consumed the plastic nonfood rampant in TV ads and sold in the Supermarkets and fast food outlets and took the toxic pharmaceutical poisons that their doctors promised would help them. In my opinion we are being murdered by an uncaring multi-national corporate community that is without remorse, morality or integrity. We are less than cattle to these people (cattle have monetary value) and it's all getting worse and worse by the day! Not only in healthcare & nutrition, but ANY societal measuring stick you care to use. But the criminal corporations go on and on, never being held to account nor censured by anybody, save the occasional "slap on the wrist". These criminals are out of control!
I won't be here that much longer, even if I live to 100, which is extremely doubtful. But I wonder and worry a great deal about my bright, beautiful, 22 year old daughter and where she and her generation will be at my age??! I do my best to raise her awareness without "preaching" or possibly confirming (I'm sure) her suspicions that the old man is in the first stages of some kind of mental dementia. God forbid!
What gives me hope and reason for optimism are organizations and people like you. You ARE the minority who are willing to resist the status quo - you understand the importance of exposing the corruption, wrong doing and greed rampant in our societies around the world. You are willing to "risk" and have the courage to take all actions within your power to change it for the little guys like me. You and many others are fighting the good fight on my behalf and I appreciate that more than you can possibly ever know. You and your like-minded colleagues across the planet are our only hope for redress and a return to sanity, in my judgement. Never doubt your chosen path and never give up the fight - PLEASE!
With respect, admiration and thanks,
Bernie Carroll, Kitchener, ON
Feb 23, 2010 at 07:30 PM
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