Features

October 2008

Transitional Justice review of Canada

ICTJ has released a new review (also available in French) of efforts in Canada to address the legacy of past human rights abuses and to combat impunity.

This review describes Canada's recent steps to address past abuses committed against Aboriginal people through the Indian Residential School system, which for more than a hundred years worked to suppress the cultural identity and native languages of Aboriginal children, and also often inflicted physical and sexual abuse.

According to the review, these measures -- which include the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a reparations program for victims -- are significant and promising, but it also underlines several unresolved issues that require attention, such as the lack of prosecutions for and the preservation of the anonymity of those responsible for these abuses.

ICTJ submitted the report to the UN Human Rights Council, which will consider them as part of its Universal Periodic Review of member states' fulfillment of their human rights obligations. This review includes concrete recommendations Canada should implement in order to provide justice for victims of atrocities, end impunity, and foster long-term stability.