2004:04 IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTIONS RATIFIED BY CANADA
Whereas
Canada has long supported the original 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and
Whereas
Canada has signed and later ratified a wide range of United Nations Human Rights Conventions, which spell out specific Human Rights norms applied to a wide range of issues, among which the most relevant to the women and children of Canada are the:
- Convention of Political and Civil Rights, signed 1966, ratified 1976
- Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, signed 1966, ratified 1976
- Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women signed 1980, ratified 1981
- Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed 1990, ratified 1991
Whereas
Women and children have a particular interest in the evolution and implementation of Human Rights norms, recognizing that until 1993, their Human Rights were ignored by the United Nations Human Rights machinery as falling primarily in the "private" sphere of life and therefore beyond the purview of the United Nations; and
Whereas
Non-governmental organizations, especially those with consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to which the United Nations Human Rights machinery is accountable, bear a special responsibility to persuade their governments to live up to their United Nations Human Rights commitments; and
Whereas
Canadian, provincial, and territorial Human Rights Codes currently do not cover all of the recommended grounds for discrimination included in the UN Declaration on Human Rights (race, colour, sex, language, age, sexual orientation, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status); and
Whereas
The Councils of Women will be more effective in securing implementation of Human Rights for all Canadians if they work with other equality-seeking organizations; therefore be it
Resolved
That the National Council of Women of Canada adopt as policy:
a. Support for speedier implementation of all the Human Rights Conventions and Declarations that have been signed and ratified by Canada; (Convention of Political and Civil Rights, Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women and Convention on the Rights of the Child); and
b. Inclusion of all the same grounds for discrimination as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (race, colour, sex, language, religion, sexual orientation, age, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, without distinction as to political, jurisdictional or international status) in all its legislation and policy, particularly that covering the Canadian Human Rights Commission; and be it further
Resolved
That the National Council of Women of Canada urge the Government of Canada to:
a. Give urgency and primacy to legislation and policies that protect and promote all human rights Canada has endorsed through ratification of United Nations Human Rights Declarations and Conventions; (Convention of Political and Civil Rights, Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women and Convention on the Rights of the Child); and
b. Include in that legislation and in those policies, particularly in that covering the Canadian Human Rights Commission, all of the same grounds for discrimination listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (race, colour, sex, language, religion, sexual orientation, age, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, without distinction as to political, jurisdictional or international status); and be it further
Resolved
That all Provincial, Territorial, and Local Councils of Women give the same recommendations to their respective governments with regard to their human rights codes; and be it further
Resolved
That the National Council of Women of Canada coordinate with other human rights/equality-seeking organizations in their efforts to secure all human rights for all Canadians.