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These are not easy times.  Solidarity has never mattered more.

That was the heartfelt and urgent message shared with me by Honduran Indigenous leader Felipe Benitez Vazquez when we reconnected at a meeting in Peru a few weeks ago.  I first met Felipe when he travelled to Canada last year, to bring firsthand accounts of the impact of cruel repression on his people and on human rights defenders throughout Honduras.  We quickly agreed that his description of the struggle for rights and justice in Honduras powerfully captures the mood globally as well.  Without a doubt, not easy times.  And absolutely, solidarity is so vital.

For it has been a year in which the world has witnessed far too much conflict, marked by horrific atrocities with devastating impact on civilians in Yemen, Syria, Myanmar, South Sudan, Gaza, Iraq and many other corners of our world.  At a time when that list should grow shorter, it has been heartbreaking to see precisely the opposite.

January 17th marks the one year anniversary of the Canadian government's announcement to create an independent Ombudsperson that would enable people harmed by Canadian companies overseas to have access to justice in Canada.

We celebrated the announcement, thrilled that Canada would finally be "Open for Justice". Yet one whole year has passed, and the Ombudsperson is still not in place! Equally concerning is whether or not the office will be granted the powers it needs to be effective. The  Canadian government did promise a year ago that Canada's Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise would be independent, transparent, and have the power and tools necessary to conduct effective investigations. But we are still waiting to see whether they follow through on their word.

We need your help! 

DROP PROJECT DRAGONFLY

Google publicly exited the search engine market in China in 2010, citing restrictions to freedom of expression online. Since then, the Chinese government has strengthened its controls over the internet and intensified its crackdown on freedom of expression. 

Indicating a reversal in strategy, Google is now preparing to re-enter the Chinese search engine market, and is developing a new, search engine app codenamed “Dragonfly” that would facilitate China’s online censorship and surveillance. This would represent an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights, and a dark day for internet freedom as it would legitimize China’s model of internet repression for other governments and set a precedent for tech companies compromising human rights in exchange for access to new markets.

It has been reported in the media that Google is now planning to drop its Dragonfly project. While this is amazing news, it isn't confirmed yet, so we intend to keep the pressure on until it it official.

This piece was originally published on Ipolitics.ca 

As 2019 begins, how can we describe the state of our world in one word? Sadly, hopeful and confident aren’t the first that come to mind. Turbulent. Volatile. Unpredictable. Uncertain. The adjectives we think of come from a deeply unsettled feeling.  

Indeed, if 2018 is our guide, this year will likely roil with an ugly combination of too much conflict in global affairs, too much divisiveness in national politics, and too much bickering about the enormity of the climate crisis.

What better time, then, to look to a different guidepost? One that’s about resistance and transformation? One that puts, at long last, the vision that states embraced when they adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 70 years ago at the heart of world affairs? Not as a secondary thought, taken up only when the necessary measures don’t cost too much, and not as something to be addressed only after we deal with the economy, the environment, armed conflict or national security.