|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 
Kairos Times: May 2005 Vol 4, #5
|
 |
|
| Now more than ever human rights activists must play their part, mobilizing public opinion to put pressure on governments and international organizations. In very different ways in the course of 2004, popular mobilization for the victims of the Madrid bombings and the Indian Ocean tsunami showed the power of ordinary people to promote hope over fear, action over inaction and solidarity over indifference. |
| -- Irene Khan, Secretary-General of Amnesty International |
In This Edition
- Refugee rights petition – Over the top!
- GOOD NEWS: Government backtracks and offers funding to the Native Women’s Association
- Fourth anniversary of the abduction of our friend Kimy Pernía Domicó
- New on our website—and recommended reading
 |
Refugee rights petition – Over the top! |
|
 |
 |
Thanks to the extended KAIROS network, we have achieved a final count of 22,585 French and English signatures on the APPEAL FOR REFUGEE RIGHTS petition. This is more than double the number of signatures we have achieved on an action as KAIROS—we are pleased at this sign of growth in our social justice world.
Bloc Québecois MP Meili Faille and New Democrat MP Alexa McDonough tabled the first 10,000 signatures in the House of Commons on April 4 (Refugee Rights Day). Citizenship and Immigration Minister Joe Volpe has now responded to the petition, stating that security remains a primary concern of the government; that the appeal process should be looked at in the context of a full-scale review of the refugee determination system; and that Canada is under no international obligation to instate any particular form of refugee determination.
KAIROS remains concerned about the government’s continued
use of the “security agenda” to postpone implementation
of an appeal process that has been a part of Canadian law since
2002. And we say again that Canada has a moral and ethical obligation
to treat refugees claimants with justice. With the support you have
given us in the form of your signatures, we will continue to pursue
this point with the Minister. Now that a federal election is very
unlikely, we are planning to present the remaining 12,585 petitions
signatures before June 15; Conservative MP Diane Ablonczy and Mario
Silva of the Liberals will present. On June 15 Minister Joe Volpe
is obliged to respond to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and
Immigration’s recommendation that the appeal be implemented.
Stand by for more information, or contact Tanya Chute, Refugees
and Migrants Program Coordinator, 1 877 403 8933 x230 or
tchute
Top
of page |
GOOD NEWS: Government backtracks and offers funding to Native Women’s Association |
|
|
|
The federal government has reversed its previous position and announced that it will provide $5 million to the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) in response to its Sisters in Spirit proposal. These funds were designated in the Government 's February 2005 budget but then withdrawn. At the request of NWAC, church groups including KAIROS sent out an urgent action pressuring the government to keep its promise. Thanks in part to the excellent response from people like you, the government was pressured into restoring the funding.
Through this funding and the Sisters in Spirit initiative, the Native Women's Association of Canada will work with other Aboriginal women's organizations and the federal government to address the racialized and sexualized violence facing Aboriginal women in Canada. The Women’s Interchurch Council of Canada, the Anglican and United Churches, and KAIROS are among the national church organizations to support the Sisters in Spirit campaign.
Andy Scott, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development noted that: "Racism and discrimination underpin the violence Aboriginal women of all backgrounds - First Nations, Métis and Inuit women alike - face on a daily basis across this land. The Sisters in Spirit initiative is helping to change that reality, advancing the fundamental human rights of Aboriginal women."
For more information on Sisters in Spirit, see: http://www.sistersinspirit.ca
or contact Ed Bianchi, Aboriginal Rights Program Coordinator, at 613 235 9956 or ebianchi
As this edition of Kairos Times was being written, the number of
women known to have been murdered on a pig farm outside of Vancouver
climbed to twenty -seven. The final toll will probably be much higher,
and has already placed a horrific burden on families and communities
across Canada. This mass murder includes a large number of Aboriginal
women, and is a direct result of the often violent discrimination
faced by Aboriginal and poor women. We believe that the best response
to this atrocity is justice and true respect for Aboriginal rights.
We commit ourselves to this journey alongside our sisters in spirit,
the families and friends who mourn, and all people dedicated to
justice and human rights.
|
June 2nd marks the fourth anniversary of the abduction of our friend and colleague Kimy Pernía Domicó |
|
|
|
Kimy Pernía Domicó, a leader of the Embera Katío nation of Colombia, was forcibly disappeared in the town of Tierralta, Colombia, on June 2, 2001. Kimy had been leading his community in a struggle for indigenous rights, including peaceful protest against the impacts of the Urra hydroelectric dam, a project which flooded his community’s crops and sacred sites. To date, there has been no progress in locating him or bringing the perpetrators of this crime to justice.
Kimy’s community continues to protest the impact of the dam. In December 2004, more than 400 Embera Katío set up an encampment outside the Colombian Ministry of the Environment in Bogotá to peacefully press for protection against further violence and for steps to mitigate the effects of the dam on their lives.
KAIROS is once again writing a letter to Colombian President Uribe to express our indignation with the lack of progress by the Colombian authorities in pursuing investigations into the murders and disappearances of community leaders like Kimy. As well, we are appealing to the Colombian government to provide the promised measures for the Embera Katío’s survival, including compensation, new lands, and guarantees of their safety.
KAIROS has issued actions on Kimy for the past number of years: This year, Amnesty International in Canada has issued an urgent action request. Click here to see it.
For more information contact John Lewis, Program Coordinator, International
Human Rights, 416 463 5312 ext. 224 or
jlewis
|
New on our website—and recommended reading |
|
|
|
Our recommended reading for the week:
The new Amnesty International Human Rights Report. Begin with Secretary-General
Irene Khan’s opening message at: http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/message-eng
On our website:
Our debt action continues at: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/economic/debt/KAIROSUpdate_Debt_April05.pdf
Take a look at the final report and “web logs” of our
Church Leaders’ Delegation to Mexico:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/economic/trade/delegation.asp
And of course our Events page is open 24/7. Take a look and be sure to send us your event: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/events/listing.asp
|
|