Human Rights

30 Years After Tiananmen: Democracy More Urgent than Ever
- May 30, 2019
In early May, US State Department Director of Policy Planning Kiron Skinner was rebuked in China’s English-language media for characterizing US–China relations as a “clash of civilizations.” Skinner’s rhetoric reflects a Cold War mentality that overlooks centuries of mutual contact …
By Scott Simon
China, Democracy, Human Rights
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Mass Wedding Banquet to Celebrate Same-Sex Marriage in Taiwan
- May 30, 2019
After new legislation permitting same-sex marriage came into effect in Taiwan on 24 May 2019, LGBT couples and their families began celebrating their new freedom. Journalists and foreign diplomats (including Canadian representative Jordan Reeves) crowded into Taipei City Hall to …
By Scott Simon
Asia, Gender, Human Rights
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What Canada Can Do About the Rohingya Genocide
- May 1, 2019
By Payam Akhavan and John Packer

Twenty-five years ago, as young UN human rights officers working together in Geneva, we witnessed how the world watched and did nothing as close to a million Rwandan Tutsis were exterminated. Brimming with idealism …
By CIPS
Asia, Canadian Foreign Policy, Human Rights, International Law, Refugees, United Nations
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“If you want to kill me, please kill me quick”
- April 12, 2019
The images, and voices, from Libya’s migrant detention centres are sickening. An online blog posted a letter written by an anonymous refugee from Darfur, detained in Libya. “RS” writes of having left his village, destroyed by the Janjaweed, to find …
By Patti Tamara Lenard
Africa, Canadian Foreign Policy, Fragile States, Human Rights, Refugees, United Nations
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Punishment or Banishment?
- February 22, 2019
So-called jihadi brides are in the news, accused of supporting terrorism by having travelled to ISIS territory to marry ISIS fighters in support of the caliphate. Three Western states are implicated: the UK, the US, and Canada.

UK citizen Shemima …
By Patti Tamara Lenard
Human Rights, International Security, Women
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“Nothing to Lose”: The Daily Struggles of Venezuelans
- February 5, 2019
By Rosana Lezama Sanchez

Venezuelan emigrants always talk about how much they miss the country they left behind. I returned to Caracas in August of 2018, but I too miss Venezuela. The Venezuela that I grew up in was certainly …
By CIPS
Democracy, Fragile States, Human Rights, Latin America
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Canada Can’t Put Human Rights on the Back Burner in 2019
- December 19, 2018
By Stéphanie Bacher

Over the past year, Canada has taken some important steps to promote and protect human rights abroad. However, the picture is not as rosy as often presented by the government, and Canada still has a long way …
By CIPS
Canadian Foreign Policy, Gender, Human Rights, International Trade, Middle East, Women
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Facing the Biggest Challenges of Our Generation
- December 18, 2018
By Gabriel Bichet, Eve Cassavoy, Maddie Hunt, Jasmine Sebastian, and Emma Turner (ENG1100Q), edited by Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr

In September, I took on teaching three sections of ENG1100: Workshop in Essay Writing, a required course for first-year students at the University …
By CIPS
Éducation, Environment, Human Rights
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Time to Move Past the Errors of the War on Terror
- December 10, 2018
The aftermath of 9/11 produced many problems in many countries. Canadian police and security agencies made numerous mistakes as followers and participants in an ill-considered American-led War on Terror declared shortly after that tragedy. The evidence in two public inquiries …
By Daniel Livermore
Canadian Foreign Policy, Defence and Intelligence, Human Rights, International Security, Middle East
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Human and Non-Human Rights — Convergence or Conflict?
- December 10, 2018
Today is the 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Most reflections on this milestone are likely to sound a sombre note, dwelling on the many challenges faced by those championing human rights in an increasingly …
By David Petrasek
Environment, Human Rights, United Nations
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Democracy’s Promise Unfulfilled while Violence against Women in Politics Persists
- December 10, 2018
In October 2018, the Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls presented a report to the UN General Assembly recognizing violence against women in politics (VAWP) as a human rights violation …
By Gabrielle Bardall
Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, Women
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Blue Wave Swamps Taiwan Elections
- November 28, 2018
Taiwan’s mid-term elections on 24 November brought a renewed “blue wave” to the island democracy. In this case, the blues are the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT) and allies who favour rapprochement with China. The greens are the …
By Scott Simon
Asia, Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, International Relations
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