Human Rights: Canada’s Successes Shouldn’t Overshadow Its Failures

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, 75 Years of the United Nations Special Issue, 2020

By Martha Beach

Many of us likely take basic universal human rights for granted. Yet in a legal sense, human rights have existed for less than 75 years. When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on December 10, 1948, it drew a distinct starting line for a large body of international human rights laws, including here in Canada.

John Humphrey

Canadian lawyer and scholar John Peters Humphrey became director of the UN Division of Human Rights in 1946 and played a key role in drafting the UDHR. In Humphrey’s time, Canada was apathetic (and in some cases politically opposed) towards implementing such laws. Since then, interest and commitment has grown and in many respects Canada is touted as a leader in human rights. But we can’t let that success overshadow the fact we’ve got a long way to go in certain areas.

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Martha Beach lives and works in Toronto as a freelance fact-checker, editor, and writer for a wide variety of publications. When she’s not working, you’ll find Martha on her yoga mat or hanging out with her daughter and husband.

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Martha Beach
Martha Beach
Martha Beach lives and works in Toronto as a freelance fact-checker, editor, and writer for a wide variety of publications. When she’s not working, you’ll find Martha on her yoga mat or hanging out with her daughter and husband.

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