Canada: A defensive response to UN report on minority issues

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000817 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR DRL/AWH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV CA SUBJECT: Canada: A defensive response to UN report on minority issues REF: OTTAWA 778; OTTAWA 747; OTTAWA 696; OTTAWA 794 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: A United Nations Independent Expert on minority issues has highlighted Canada's Muslim communities' fears of "unsubstantiated use" of security certificates, racial profiling, and harassment as well as "uneven and unclear" human rights protections for all minorities in Canada. The government has not officially responded to the October 23 report, but Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) contacts have informally expressed concern at the "relatively strong" language in the report, while also noting positive statements about Canada's "open and accepting society." Political commentators and press coverage have focused on the "ridiculous" selection of Canada for such a report and the flawed record of the UN on human rights issues. The UN expert's visit was the first mission to Canada by a UN human rights expert monitoring minority issues. End summary. ¶2. (U) Gay McDougall, a UN Independent Expert on minority issues, visited Canada October 13 - 23, traveling to Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. She met with federal and provincial government officials as well as members of numerous minority groups in Ontario, British Colombia, and Quebec as part of her mandate to promote implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic minorities. McDougall issued her preliminary report at the close of her visit on October 23 and will present her full findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2010. Substantial fear of government authority and policing ¶3. (U) McDougall reported that Muslim and Arab communities in Canada consistently expressed "deep anxiety and fear" of "unfair and unjust" treatment by federal and provincial authorities with specific concerns about the use of security certificates (ref b) against them should they speak publicly about their concerns. According to the report, Muslim groups perceive they have "second class citizenship" as compared to non-Muslim Canadians, particularly with regard to consular services when abroad. McDougall called on the government to alleviate Muslim apprehension of "national security legislation." ¶4. (U) Numerous minority groups raised policing, particularly in areas of Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, claiming racial profiling of "visible minorities" and a perception that "police act with impunity. " McDougall concluded these concerns have led to an atmosphere of distrust and lack of communication, commenting that "it is essential that investigations into serious allegations of police misconduct are carried out" and that "mechanisms of civilian oversight are established." Meetings in Montreal in particular heard strong statements by community members against police tactics. Following the discovery by a local journalist that a civilian police employee had "infiltrated" one of these meetings under an assumed name, minority advocacy groups increased their public complaints about police tactics. Criticisms of human rights commissions ¶5. (U) McDougall's report emphasized the "unavoidable" responsibility of the federal government to ensure that Canada meets its human rights obligations, even in a federal system with strong provincial authority. She concluded that the current practice of separate federal and provincial human rights commissions and tribunals has created an "uneven and unclear enforcement system," with little consistency among provinces. Even with greater federal oversight of human rights complaints, McDougall commented that the provincial bodies are "under-resourced, under threat, and have been abolished in some provinces," leading to a loss of faith by minority groups in their effectiveness. She recommended that the federal government "establish mechanisms" to "guarantee consistent enforcement ... in the area of non-discrimination and equality ... of persons OTTAWA 00000817 002 OF 002 belonging to minority groups." Defensive reactions ¶6. (U) Press coverage of the visit focused heavily on the UN's selection of Canada for a report on minority issues, noting that -- of the seven previous investigative reports by McDougall -- four were on countries generally recognized to be fully functioning democracies, while internationally recognized human rights abusers such as China, Cuba, Libya, and Saudi Arabia had so far escaped the spotlight. Local coverage of the community meetings was generally brief and factual, but opinion pieces in major newspapers and online blogs generally veered from a discussion of the situation in Canada to commentary on the actions of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN's "abysmal" track record on human rights. ¶7. (SBU) DFAIT interlocutors told poloff that they were unprepared to give official comments on the report, stating that they had not had "sufficient time" to review the four-page report in detail. However, in informal conversations, contacts in the Human Rights Policy Division expressed concern at the overall tone of the report and insufficient attention to the leadership role that DFAIT believes Canada should hold as an "open, peaceful, and secure" multicultural society. DFAIT contacts added that they were nonetheless "not surprised" at the issues raised by the Muslim communities on security certificates, policing, and perceived second-class citizenship. Contacts at the Canadian Human Rights Commission separately stated that they had no formal response at this time, but agreed that many provincial human rights commissions were under-funded. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: McDougall's visit follows a summer of heightened press attention to constitutional weaknesses in the government's national security legislation (refs A and B) and discrimination complaints of Muslim Canadians with regard to consular services abroad. This has put the government on the defensive with regard to Muslim communities and anti-terrorism efforts. However, attention to the visit will likely be short-lived in the public eye. Criticisms of the human rights commissions add yet another blow to the struggling quasi-judicial bodies (ref C) but are unlikely to change Canada's system of protecting human rights. End comment. ¶9. (U) ConGens Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto contributed to this message. JACOBSON