Rights & Democracy
| Established | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Last chairman | Aurel Braun |
| Staff | 47 |
| Location | Montreal |
| Address | 1001 de Maisonneuve Blvd |
| Dissolved | 2012 |
The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy), was created to be a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution. It was established by an act of the Canadian parliament in 1988 to "encourage and support the universal values of human rights and the promotion of democratic institutions and practices around the world." R&D received around C$11m per year in funding from the Canadian government.
R&D was charged with working with individuals, organizations and governments in Canada and abroad to promote the human and democratic rights defined in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). To this end, R&D sought to develop tools for Human Rights Impact Assessment that can be applied by civil society groups.
The center offered an annual prize, called the John Humphrey Freedom Award (named after John Peters Humphrey), to an organization or person from any part of the world, including Canada, for outstanding achievement in promoting democratic development or respect for human rights. The award consisted of $25.000 (later $30,000) endowment and a speaking tour to Canadian cities to increase the awareness of the laureate’s work. Notable winners include Kimy Pernía Domicó (Colombia), bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo (East Timor), Cynthia Maung and Min Ko Naing, (Burma).
R&D had been criticized intensely for promoting antidemocratic positions and allying with radical groups that supported policies inconsistent with Canadian values. In particular, after the Harper government declared that in the UN Durban Review Conference, scheduled for Geneva in 2009, Canada would not participate and no government funds could be used in support of this antisemitic event, R&D reportedly defied this policy. On October 29, 2009, in a parliamentary hearing of the standing committee on Foreign Affairs, MP James Lunney asked Rémy Beauregard, R&D's organization's president and a holdover from the Liberal government, "Did Rights and Democracy play any role, directly or indirectly, in planning for or participating in the conference in Durban?" Beauregard replied: "No, we did not," but an R&D staff member reported that during 2008, the organization had in fact been active in the preparations for this event. Reports also noted that "at least seven R&D employees were working in Geneva" at the time, and when Deloitte & Touche audited the funding, it was "impossible to identify" how more than $140,000 in R&D funds had been spent.
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