Human rights has become the dominant vernacular for framing social problems around the world. In this book, Dominique Clément presents a paradox in politics, law, and social practice: he argues that whereas framing grievances as human rights violations has become an effective strategy, the increasing appropriation of rights-talk to frame any and all grievances undermines attempts to address systemic social problems. His argument is followed by commentator response from several leading human rights scholars and practitioners in Canada and abroad who bridge the divide between academia, public policy, and practice.
Is there such a thing as a Canadian rights culture? There are virtually no limits to how people employ rights-talk today, from the most profound violations of individual freedom to the mundane realities of daily life. This book is both a history of human rights in Canada and an attempt to better understand our rights culture.
The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories are put into perspective in Human Rights Watch's signature yearly report. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken in 2016 by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.
In the first major study of postwar social movement organizations in Canada, Dominique Clément provides a history of the human rights movement as seen through the eyes of two generations of activists. Drawing on newly acquired archival sources, extensive interviews, and materials released through access to information applications, Clément explores the history of four organizations that emerged in the sixties and evolved into powerful lobbies for human rights despite bitter internal disputes and intense rivalries. This book offers a unique perspective on infamous human rights controversies and argues that the idea of human rights has historically been highly statist while grassroots activism has been at the heart of the most profound human rights advances.
Examines minority rights issues central to the concerns of Canada's three major ethnic constituencies: self-determination of aboriginal peoples; anti-racism strategies and multiculturalism; and the national sovereignty of the Quebecois. Analyses and evaluates the comparative strength of legal protection for the human rights of ethnic groups. Includes texts of the following documents: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Declaration of the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities; the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Constitution Act, 1982, Part I); and the Rights of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada (Constitution Act, 1982, Part II).