According to some media reports, Amnesty International’s new secretary general, Salil Shetty, has accused the Canadian government of a “serious worsening” of human rights in Canada. He cited a “shrinking of democratic spaces” in Canada, and organizations that have lost their funding for asking “inconvenient questions.”
“You expect more from Canadians. … I think there is a growing gap between the values and the track record of Canada historically and the actions of the current government, which is deeply concerning.”
It reads like a Liberal Party press release, doesn’t it?
So what, exactly, has Mr.Shetty so upset about that he’s decided to slam Canada rather than, for instance, Iran?
Why, it’s the fact that Ottawa hasn’t sought the repatriation of young Omar Khadr from his detention in Guantanamo Bay. Which is a rather curious thing to criticize, since “the values and the track record” of the previous Liberal government is entirely consistent with what the Conservatives are currently doing.
But let’s not engage in the tortured logic of Amnesty’s newest cultural relativist. After all, this is the same organization that has worked tirelessly to undermine support for the mission in Afghanistan by complaining about the treatment of Taliban detainees, and then turned around and pleaded that any peace agreement with the Taliban not compromise the rights of women and the people of Afghanistan. Talk about cutting off Aisha’s nose to spite the Taliban’s face.
The fact is that people like Salil Shetty are an unfunny joke. Canada’s international reputation speaks for its unimpeachable character by virtue of the tens of thousands of refugees from all over the world who flee their own countries for the opportunity at a chance to live here.
This year the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal ranked Canada as having the eighth “freest economy” in the entire world, ahead of the United States, but behind Switzerland. The State of World Liberty Index, compiled in 2006 by combining the rankings of four other indexes of world liberty into one: the “2005 Economic Freedom of the World” Index [Fraser Institute/Cato Institute], the “2006 Index of Economic Freedom” [The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal], the “2005 Freedom in the World” index [Freedom House], and the “2005 Press Freedom Index” [Reporters Without Borders], ranked Canada third. Although this index was not updated by the same organization, independent observers posted a 2009 ranking by using the same methodology, in which Canada ranked sixth. Five of the top six countries are British commonwealth nations. India, the country that Salil Shetty is from, ranked 79th of 178 countries in the 2009 update.
Regardless of what people may think about the Conservative government, Canada remains among the freest, most democratic countries on the face of the planet. If there is a list of nations to publicly rebuke, Mr.Shetty should be getting around to Canada near the very end, after he’s done with North Korea, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar. And if anybody really wants to complain about the erosion of human rights, they would do well to begin by calling for an end to the so-called “Human Rights Commissions” in Canada, where truth is not a defence.
“. . .organizations that have lost their funding for asking ‘inconvenient questions.’ ”
I’m getting really tired of that line. Canada’s commitments to humanitarian NGOs are drying up, whether they ask ‘inconvenient questions’ or not.
Adrian – Amnesty is reacting to the growing numbers of Canadians who are seriously looking at who they are championing and why. They want us to be self-doubting and join them.
I was a supporter for some years but grew disenchantted when they loudly wanted Canada to refuse the US request for extradition for a man who was susupected of being complicit in many murders. Said man was living rough in Calgary and was captured – if my recollection is correct – by a brave security guard at the downtown Bay when he was shoplifting.
Amnesty International built their reputation on defending those who were condemned in their home countries for purely political reasons; when they defended the accused serial killer from Calfornia (or environs), I realized they were going beyond ttheir original mandate to defend anyone who might face the death penalty, no matter horrendous their crimes.
Subsequently, it obvious they have lapsed into seriously political purity. A shame. In their original form, they were much needed.
You’re not the only one who noticed AI had strayed from their original purpose. I washed my hands of them about twenty years ago.
When pointing out how Amnesty International isn’t actually doing their job very well at all these days, it worth noting their reaction when one of their own people, Gita Sahgal, criticized them for jumping into bed with Taliban supporters.
http://www.global-sisterhood-network.org/content/view/2412/59/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gita_Sahgal
Obviously Shetty is just another shill for the social engineers that too afraid to go after the real human rights abusers. She can get stuffed!!
Yet when I wrote more than once to Amnesty for help with my human rights plight – they wouldn’t even reply! Good for nothing organization.
Like you noted – be critical of Canada but silent about real issues – like Iran…
“Many organizations have lost their funding for raising inconvenient questions”
…
Does he not see the problem in relying on a government funded organization to criticise the government? Would you trust an environmental watchdog funded by BP?
I find it quite odd that anyone in a Human Rights organization would want groups that supposedly exist to keep the government accountable to be funded by the government.
To control the purse strings is to control an organization.
And yet he seems to think that government funding is a good idea.