REMARKS BY EMBASSY OF CANADA TO LIBYA 11 DEC, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY Your excellencies, Ambassadors, colleagues and friends, on behalf of myself and Ambassador Beaulieu, allow me to welcome you all to the Embassy of Canada on the occasion of International Human Rights Day. It is my great pleasure to welcome you here, in conjunction with our co-host, Ambassador Natalya Apostalova of the EU Delegation to Libya. On this occasion allow me also to offer a particularly warm welcome to our Libyan guests – representatives of civil society, non-governmental organizations, human rights advocates and defenders, and local activists - whose efforts in the face of considerable adversity and great personal risk, deserve our recognition and respect. Please join me in offering them our warmest welcome. Since 1950, we have all paused on 10 December to reflect on the state of human rights in our home countries, and around the world, and the course of our common efforts to achieve the standards articulated in the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today, more than sixty years later, work continues to secure the universal and effective recognition and observance of the principals enshrined in the Declaration. While considerable progress has been made over the past sixty years, and important victories have been won, the obstacles to universal application of the Declaration remain serious and widespread. The need for continued effort, and resolute commitment to the everyday defence of fundamental human rights is vividly illustrated by events in Libya. This year, we have all witnessed the serious deterioration of the political and security situation in Libya, and with it the proliferation of sustained (and even systematic) attacks on fundamental human rights. Organizations like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Nations, and the Libyan National Council for Civil Liberties and Human Rights, and Lawyers for Justice Libya, amongst others, have all alleged that serious human rights violations are taking place. Reports suggest that arbitrary detentions, torture, and extra-judicial killings are increasingly commonplace. Libyans lack the most basic access to justice systems, and are left vulnerable by the absence of the rule of law. Racial and gender-based discrimination remains a major issue, including continuing violence and discrimination against women. The forced displacement of populations remains unresolved. Attacks on freedom of speech and expression, including targeted attacks against journalists, media and civil activists have crippled access to information and terrorized the population.The current crisis has imposed new restrictions on political freedoms, robbed Libyans of their right to democratic expression, and introduced new challenges to freedom of association and assembly. Against this already worrisome backdrop, the unchecked impunity enjoyed by armed groups, and the rise of violent crime and extremism further undermines the ability of Libyans to exercise their fundamental human rights. The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canadian foreign policy. We believe that all peoples around the world are entitled to freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law - values that are central to our country and our way of life. Canada continues to work at the United Nations, and with our partners around the world, to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights. We will continue to do so in Libya. Over the past year, Canada has worked closely with a number of Libyan organizations to attempt to advance the cause of human rights. We were proud to work with Nabd Libya to promote women’s participation in the democratic process, and with the NGO Development Center to promote citizen engagement on the development of the Libyan constitution, including in ensuring the safeguard of fundamental human rights. This year, will continue our efforts, working in close collaboration with our Libyan partners to empower and assist those who, despite adversity, great difficulty, and mounting insecurity, remain committed to the advancement of the cause of human rights in Libya. Canada will also continue to stand with our allies, our partners, and the Libyan people against impunity. As our Foreign Minister, John Baird, said in October: “Canada believes that those guilty of violating international humanitarian law, as well as those who are actively working to derail efforts to bring an end to the fighting, must face consequences for their actions. UN Security Council Resolution 2174 must be respected, and violators must be sanctioned.” This resolve to defend human rights is also central to the message of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for 2014. We note that the UN has challenged us all to consider every single day to be Human Rights Day – an appeal that reflects the need for a determined and constant effort to promote and defend human rights in the face of myriad and diverse challenges. In the words of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Zeid Raad Al Hussein, “the power of the Universal Declaration is the power of ideas to change the world. It tells us that human rights are essential and indivisible – 365 days a year. Every day is Human Rights day: a day on which we work to ensure that all people can gain equality, dignity and freedom”. Today, as we hear from colleagues about their work and struggles to advance human rights in Libya, I invite to consider how we can together take up the challenge to make every day a human rights in Libya in year ahead, and what progress we might hope to celebrate on 10 December, 2015 in Libya.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 13:19:42 +0000
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