Remarks before the Subcommittee on International Human Rights upon their Study of the implementation of Canada's universal periodic review


Speaking Notes

Charlotte-Anne Malischewski

Interim Chief Commissioner
Canadian Human Rights Commission

Study of implementation of Canada’s universal periodic review of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights

November 5, 2024

3 minutes

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Good afternoon honourable members,

Thank you for the invitation to appear before your committee.

I am speaking to you from Ottawa, the traditional homeland of the Anishinaabe, whose culture and presence continues to nurture this land.

At the Commission, we recognize our responsibility to address our colonial legacy and the systemic injustices still faced by Indigenous peoples. We are committed to the ongoing work of reconciliation with humility and openness.

The Commission applauds your study.

We’d like to begin by expressing our support for the joint recommendation that has been made by our fellow panelists for Canada to take the lead in working with provincial and territorial governments to develop and adopt a National Framework for International Human Rights Implementation.

As Canada’s National Human Rights Institution, the Commission plays a unique role in the UPR process.

There are so many human rights issues in Canada requiring attention.

So, we have focussed our advocacy during this UPR cycle on a cross-cutting issue that affects some of the most vulnerable people in this country: the conditions of people deprived of their liberty.

This is not just about people detained inside our prison system. It’s also about people who are deprived of their liberty outside of that system.

It’s about migrant detainees, Black and First Nations children who are being removed from their homes and placed in care, elderly people confined to long-term care facilities, and people with disabilities who are institutionalized, in communities across the country.

While some oversight mechanisms do exist, there are overwhelming gaps.

That’s why we are calling for the immediate ratification of OPCAT: the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Ratifying OPCAT would provide a powerful framework for ensuring there is meaningful oversight in all places where people are deprived of their liberty.

We need only think back a couple years to the pandemic to understand how important this is in places like long-term care homes.

And, in prisons, ratifying OPCAT would pave the way for a more proactive approach to dealing with systemic human rights issues.

Issues like:

  • The over-representation of Indigenous, Black and other racialized prisoners, especially Indigenous women;
  • The use of solitary confinement;
  • The treatment of prisoners with mental health disabilities;
  • The warehousing of older prisoners, where alternatives would be more appropriate; and
  • The safety of 2SLGBTQQIA+ prisoners facing sexual coercion and violence.

Eight years ago, the Government committed to ratify OPCAT.

Since then, the Commission has been calling on Canada to follow through.

Many of our colleagues here today have echoed this call as did 25 Member States during the UPR.

Ratifying OPCAT would be a significant step towards fulfilling Canada’s human rights obligations and strengthening protections for all.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

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