As the UN Human Rights Council (the Council) prepares to hold a Special Session on the situation of human rights in Côte d'Ivoire on 23 December in Geneva, Amnesty International is calling on the Council’s members to end the ongoing human rights violations.
Amnesty International calls on the Council to:
On December 10th, International Human Rights Day, Chinese prisoner of conscience and co-author of CHARTER ‘08 Liu Xiaobo will be awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Despite this tremendous international honour, he remains imprisoned in China for his peaceful advocacy for human rights and democracy. Chinese authorities have refused to release him and have also refused to allow his wife to travel to Norway to accept the award on his behalf. On December 10th, a delegation of leading human rights advocates will seek to deliver to the Chinese Embassy petitions signed by thousands of Canadians from across the country urging the Chinese government to release Liu Xiaobo immediately. The advocates have written to the Ambassador, seeking a meeting. It is not yet clear whether Embassy officials will meet with the delegation or agree to receive the peitions.
The human rights advocates will make comments to the press at the time of the petition delivery.
Place: Embassy of the People's Republic of China
515 St. Patrick Street, Otttawa
Date: Friday, December 10, 2010
Time: Between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m.
Following a meeting with members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes against Humanity, leaders of Colombia’s National Indigenous Organization (ONIC) will publicly call for Canadian action to confront an emergency situation for Indigenous Peoples in Colombia.
Last month, the ONIC testified at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that at least 64 of Colombia’s 102 Indigenous Peoples are at risk of physical or cultural extinction. The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples describes the situation as “grave, critical and profoundly worrying” and has called for a visit to Colombia of the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. Colombia’s own Constitutional Court has ordered the Colombian government to put into place protection plans for 34 Indigenous Peoples determined to be at risk of extinction.
The ONIC visit to Canada comes less than six months after Canada entered into a free trade agreement with Colombia, the impact of which could exacerbate this human rights crisis.
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