Chapter 13

What is Global Citizenship?  Global citizenship is an attitude and a state of mind  It requires you to respect and appreciate other cultures  To realize that...Canada is not the center of the Universe but rather a small part in it

Protecting Human Rights Internationally  Activists worked to end injustice against human beings after years of persecution in many areas of the world WWII Slave Trade Etc War needed to be regulated as well– needed to have rules ○ The Swiss led the charge to create the Geneva Conventions beginning in 1864

Tyranny in Europe  During the first half of the 20 th century, tyrannical Communist and Fascist regimes came to power in Europe  These groups violated the rights of their own citizens  They suppressed any opposition and used manipulation and national pride to control their populations Germany initiated it’s “Final Solution”- the plan to exterminate their Jewish population Many still are unaware of similar atrocities carried out by the Soviet Union around the same time Nazi leaders faced Tribunals at the Nuremberg Trials after the war and were convicted of Genocide

Human Rights Since the Universal Declaration  The UDHR is not a law– just a guideline This means that nations can choose to follow it or not It is meant to make clear what a violation of human rights is ○ Like using Child Soldiers or persecuting a particular racial group  Even if the UDHR is violated, however, it is unlikely that any nation, even the UN, will take action... Is this a problem?

Rwanda: A U.N. Failure  Rwanda had two tribes of people The Minority Tutsi and the Majority Hutu Both sides were exploited when the nation was a Belgian Colony, until 1945 The Belgians gave the Tutsi most of the power– this creates tension  When Rwanda was set free, power began to shift in favour of the Hutu As a result many Tutsi began to leave the country These refugees started to attack the country in an effort to bring down Hutu control

Rwanda  Open conflict erupted and the Hutus killed 20,000 Tutsis within the country and forced 300,000 to flee  The UN sent in a peacekeeping force under Canadian General Romeo Dallaire He was supposed to stop fighting between the two tribes but was not, himself, allowed to fight  When the Hutu president’s plane was destroyed, killing him, the Tutsis were blamed and attacked  Dallaire was not allowed to intervene and so over 1,000,000 people were slaughtered

The International Criminal Court  Human Rights Activists wanted to set up a court to try individuals suspected of violating Human Rights  The succeeded in 2002 with the establishment of the ICC at the Hague in the Netherlands  120 Nations voted in favour of the new body with only 7 voting against it The United States, China, and Israel voted against it... Why do you think this is?

Canada: Facing the Human Rights Challenge  Canada has been a staunch supporter of Human Rights since 1948 and has signed every human rights convention since then  We believe that if a nation respects human rights, it will be less likely to erupt in violence  Canada also accepts thousands of refugees every year

Not a Perfect Record  Canada has not been perfect with regard to Human Rights... Problems with our Aboriginal population Immigration discrimination (we let lots of Americans and British in, but not so many blacks, Chinese, etc.) Discrimination during War time – Japanese internment Canada eventually apologized for this, but not until 1988 (about 50 years) ○ Gave 21,000$ to each “survivor”, $12 million to a Japanese Community fund, and $24 million to create a Canadian Race Relations Foundation to keep future discrimination from happening

Canada’s Foreign Policy  Canada’s Federal Government is in charge of Foreign relations  It decides what organizations to join (like the United Nations, World Trade Organizations, etc)  The Foreign Affairs Branch is responsible for our Embassies, Consulates, Ambassadors, and Diplomats  It also assists citizens travelling outside of Canada and advises our government and international issues

Foreign Policy  Canada also has CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) This group works to distribute $3 billion every year Grants this money to projects working to ○ Ensure basic Human Needs ○ Gender Equality ○ Infrastructure ○ Business ○ Environment  The.7 percent solution Canada has historically been a supporter of foreign aid (assistance to other nations) Canadian Prime Minister Lester B Pearson in 1969 proposed the.7 percent solution as a fix for poverty ○ This meant giving.7 percent of our GDP to foreign aid ○ Only a few nations actually achieve this level every year (not including Canada– we’re at about.3)

NGOs and International Relations  NGOs are “Non-Governmental Organizations” – They work to improve the world Usually they focus on a particular problem ○ Like hunger, disease, educational needs, etc ○ NGOs ask CIDA for grant money, usually for a specific project  NGOs feel they are better at fixing problems because they are run by volunteers and can be critical of government policies

Canada on the World Stage  Canada is part of the British Commonwealth – an organization of 53 nations As part of this organization it demanded South Africa end Apartheid We are also part of La Francophonie (like the commonwealth, but with French- speaking nations)