IREJ Advocacy and Projects
Justice for Girls has played a key role in advancing Indigenous rights and environmental justice (IREJ) through various partnerships, submissions, and projects. Below are some key initiatives JFG’s IREJ team has worked on:
Justice for Girls has played a key role in advancing Indigenous rights and environmental justice (IREJ) through various partnerships, submissions, and projects. Below are some key initiatives JFG’s IREJ team has worked on:
Wet’suwet’en - UN Committee on Racial Discrimination
background
The Wet’suwet’en have fought valiantly to protect their rights, land, waters, culture, and women against a pipeline that threatens their traditional territory. Wet’suwet’en traditional territory covers 22,000 square km in northwestern BC, where the Wet’suwet’en peoples have been living in and protecting these territories for thousands of years.
Led by fearless matriarchs Freda Huson and Molly Wickham (sleydo), the Wet’suwet’en have stood strong, resisting invasions into their traditional territory by the pipeline company, Coastal Gaslink, their security forces, and the RCMP. Wet’suwet’en point to violations of their traditional laws, governance systems, and sovereignty, all of which must be respected under Canadian and international human rights law.
The Wet’suwet’en land defenders were concerned not only about the environmental impacts of the pipeline, but also the adverse impacts on Indigenous sovereignty, culture, and on the genocide of Indigenous women and girls. Wet’suwet’en matriarchs know that Indigenous women and girls face harsher impacts of environmental harms and are also vulnerable to increased violence as a result of those harms.
Oil and gas projects like the Coastal GasLink pipeline bring an influx of male workers in the area. These workers live in what are known as “man camps” for extended periods of time.
Most oil and gas projects are located in remote areas in Canada, which have limited safe transportation and are often connected to communities and nearby areas by remote highways. It is along these remote highways, such as the Highway of Tears, that Indigenous women and girls are experiencing violence, going missing, or being murdered at alarming rates. It is crucial to understand this link between remote extractive projects, man camps, and the rural areas where Indigenous women and girls are missing and murdered.
JFG’s advocacy to support the Wet’suwet’en resistance began in 2019 in opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline. We learned that the proposed pipeline would run directly beneath the Morice River, which is the water source for one of the Wet’suwet’en villages. The pipeline would be 670-kilometres long and would deliver fracked natural gas from the eastern part of B.C., near Dawson Creek, to a facility in Kitimat, B.C.
In violation of Canadian, international and Wet’suwet’en law, construction on this pipeline started without the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, threatening to permanently damage the land rights of Wet’suwet’en people. In 2019, peaceful Wet’suwet’en land and water defenders were violently arrested and removed from their traditional territory by RCMP. The RCMP, dressed in military riot gear with assault rifles, forcibly removed the peaceful Wet’suwet’en land defenders--people who have lived there for thousands of years and who were armed only with eagle feathers, drums, their songs, and absolute resolve that they would not abandon their territory no matter the consequences.
After the RCMP invasion, Wet’suwet’en land defenders discovered that the RCMP had been prepared to use lethal force against them.This fact was documented and exposed in the Guardian Newspaper by our friend and colleague Dr. Jaskiran Dhillon.
After this police assault, the Wet’suwet’en were more determined than ever to protect their lands and waters and so they re-built their camps, constructed a healing centre, and reclaimed their territory. But they continued to live under the threat of RCMP invasion and forcible removal from their territories.
In 2019, there was a third armed invasion In November 2021. RCMP were dressed in full military gear, armed with automatic assault rifles, and accompanied by snipers and dogs. Over the multi-day invasion, at least 29 individuals were arrested, including two accredited journalists.
advocacy
JFG has been actively supporting the rights of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and land defenders against RCMP invasion in both November 2019 and November 2021.
In 2019, fearing another RCMP invasion, Annabel Webb was contacted by a representative of Wet’suwet’en to ask for support and assistance. Annabel, who is Justice for Girls’ Co-Founder and David Suzuki environmental rights fellow, agreed to make a complaint to the United Nations and contacted JFG Director of Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice, Zoe Craig-Sparrow, to work with her to protect and prevent the Wet’suwet’en people from potentially lethal violence and further human rights violations.
Indigenous peoples rights are protected under various human rights treaties; our advocacy on this issue was specifically targeted towards the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The Convention, or CERD for short, is a legally-binding treaty that imposes obligations on Canada to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination and to promote understanding among all races. The UN Committee on Racial Discrimination regularly monitors countries compliance with the treaty.
CERD is a unique Convention in that it has a special tool the UN Committee on racial discrimination can use called the “Early Warnings and Urgent Action Procedure”. This procedure is used to prevent existing human rights threats from escalating into violent conflicts. It allows the UN to impose urgent procedures to respond to and prevent serious human rights violations. These measures were originally desiged to prevent impending genocide.
Through the grapevine, we knew that Coastal GasLink was seeking an injunction around December 2019 to forcibly remove the land and water defenders from their territory a second time. In light of the 2019 armed RCMP invasion and threat of lethal force, there was a very valid fear for the lives and safety of the Wet’suwet’en people.
Annabel and Zoe saw the threat unfolding, with Canada taking the position that Wet’suwet’en land defenders do not have rights and title to the land, instead framing them as criminals and violent extremists to be removed with force if necessary. They knew that JFG had to act urgently in the hopes that we could help to prevent the violence and re-affirm the rights of the Wet’suwet’en peoples.
It worked out that the UN Committee on Racial Discrimination---the group of experts who monitor violations of CERD-- was meeting in November 2019 so, with the collaboration and support of the Wet’suwet’en peoples, Annabel and Zoe began madly drafting an urgent submission (complaint). The submission, which was essentially a report detailing the situation, the human rights violations, and the need for urgent action, was ultimately drafted over a 2-week process amid much caffeine, research, and outright panic. We felt the urgency of this submission and the weight of its potential impact deeply.
Our submission to the UN Committee on Racial Discrimination was ultimately 14 pages, and included an overview of the background of the situation, the urgency of the current concerns, the threats and violence faced by Indigenous land defenders, and the specific rights that Canada was violating by granting permits for this project and forcibly removing Indigenous peoples from their territories. We wrote the submission with a clear, direct writing style and included photos of the 2019 RCMP invasion and other pertinent evidence and sources.
Since then, federal and provincial governments have continued to breach international human rights law, and Indigenous rights and title.
There was a third armed invasion in November 2021. In response, JFG led a coalition of Indigenous rights, human rights, and environmental experts in submitting an updated urgent submission to CERD. JFG also played a lead role in a coalition letter sent to the Prime Minister calling on Canada to comply with international human rights obligations. The Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and land defenders remain resolute that they do not give consent for pipeline construction on their unceded territory and continue to live under the threat of RCMP invasion and forcible removal.
In 2019, fearing another RCMP invasion, Annabel Webb was contacted by a representative of Wet’suwet’en to ask for support and assistance. Annabel, who is Justice for Girls’ Co-Founder and David Suzuki environmental rights fellow, agreed to make a complaint to the United Nations and contacted JFG Director of Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice, Zoe Craig-Sparrow, to work with her to protect and prevent the Wet’suwet’en people from potentially lethal violence and further human rights violations.
Indigenous peoples rights are protected under various human rights treaties; our advocacy on this issue was specifically targeted towards the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The Convention, or CERD for short, is a legally-binding treaty that imposes obligations on Canada to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination and to promote understanding among all races. The UN Committee on Racial Discrimination regularly monitors countries compliance with the treaty.
CERD is a unique Convention in that it has a special tool the UN Committee on racial discrimination can use called the “Early Warnings and Urgent Action Procedure”. This procedure is used to prevent existing human rights threats from escalating into violent conflicts. It allows the UN to impose urgent procedures to respond to and prevent serious human rights violations. These measures were originally desiged to prevent impending genocide.
Through the grapevine, we knew that Coastal GasLink was seeking an injunction around December 2019 to forcibly remove the land and water defenders from their territory a second time. In light of the 2019 armed RCMP invasion and threat of lethal force, there was a very valid fear for the lives and safety of the Wet’suwet’en people.
Annabel and Zoe saw the threat unfolding, with Canada taking the position that Wet’suwet’en land defenders do not have rights and title to the land, instead framing them as criminals and violent extremists to be removed with force if necessary. They knew that JFG had to act urgently in the hopes that we could help to prevent the violence and re-affirm the rights of the Wet’suwet’en peoples.
It worked out that the UN Committee on Racial Discrimination---the group of experts who monitor violations of CERD-- was meeting in November 2019 so, with the collaboration and support of the Wet’suwet’en peoples, Annabel and Zoe began madly drafting an urgent submission (complaint). The submission, which was essentially a report detailing the situation, the human rights violations, and the need for urgent action, was ultimately drafted over a 2-week process amid much caffeine, research, and outright panic. We felt the urgency of this submission and the weight of its potential impact deeply.
Our submission to the UN Committee on Racial Discrimination was ultimately 14 pages, and included an overview of the background of the situation, the urgency of the current concerns, the threats and violence faced by Indigenous land defenders, and the specific rights that Canada was violating by granting permits for this project and forcibly removing Indigenous peoples from their territories. We wrote the submission with a clear, direct writing style and included photos of the 2019 RCMP invasion and other pertinent evidence and sources.
Since then, federal and provincial governments have continued to breach international human rights law, and Indigenous rights and title.
There was a third armed invasion in November 2021. In response, JFG led a coalition of Indigenous rights, human rights, and environmental experts in submitting an updated urgent submission to CERD. JFG also played a lead role in a coalition letter sent to the Prime Minister calling on Canada to comply with international human rights obligations. The Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and land defenders remain resolute that they do not give consent for pipeline construction on their unceded territory and continue to live under the threat of RCMP invasion and forcible removal.
results
We submitted the document November 29, 2019, exhausted but hopeful that the UN would act. On December 13th, the UN Committee on Racial Discrimination issued a decision to Canada on our submission. We were shocked, this was one of the fastest turnaround and strongest responses we, and our human rights expert colleagues, have ever seen this UN Committee give.
In their decision, the Committee expressed concerns on three main issues:
- Firstly, they were concerned over Canada’s failure to secure the free prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples as a requirement for large-scale development projects that may cause irreparable harm to indigenous peoples rights, culture, lands, territories and way of life. The UN Committee on racial discrimination was specifically concerned with the continuation of construction of the Site C dam and the approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion and the Coastal GasLink pipeline without the free, prior and informed consent by all the indigenous peoples affected.
- Secondly, the UN Committee on racial discrimination was concerned about the treatment of Indigenous land defenders. They were “disturbed by forced removal, disproportionate use of force, harassment and intimidation by law enforcement officials against indigenous peoples who peacefully oppose large-scale development projects on their traditional territories” and were further “alarmed by the escalating threat of violence against indigenous peoples.”
- Lastly, the UN Committee on racial discrimination requested all work on these projects stop immediately. The Committee called on Canada to immediately cease construction of the Trans Mountain Pipeline project, the Site C dam, and the Coastal Gaslink pipeline and cancel all permits, until free, prior and informed consent is obtained from the respective Indigenous peoples. The Committee also urged Canada to immediately stop its forced eviction of Wet’suwet’en peoples and called for the RCMP to be immediately withdrawn from their traditional land.
CERD’s decision brought international attention to this issue, leading to protests in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en cropping up not only in BC but nationally and globally. The hashtag #AllEyesonWetsu’wet’en was trending, with the international media keenly observing how Canada would respond to CERD and would navigate Wet’suwet’en resistance. Ultimately, Canada chose to ignore CERD’s decision and proceed with the forced removal. The RCMP conducted their second armed invasion of Wet’suwet’en territory in February 2020 and removed and arrested land defenders despite our best efforts. However, the international attention helped create awareness and ensured that the public was monitoring the situation and, thankfully, nobody was seriously injured in the invasion and no lives were lost. Many Indigenous land defenders felt reinvigorated by CERD’s decision and were proud to have a United Nations document outlining that their rights were in fact being violated and that their concerns were valid under international law.
After our 2021 submission, CERD responded with a letter in April 2022 reiterating their concern that Canada and British Columbia had “escalated their use of force, surveillance, and criminalization of land defenders".
DOCUMENTS, MEDIA & ATTACHMENTS
Read CERD’s 2019 decision here.
Read our 2021 Submission to CERD.
Read CERD's 2022 letter here.
Read the Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau in English
Lire la lettre en francais
Read the Press release in English
Lire la Communiqué de presse en français
Read our 2021 Submission to CERD.
Read CERD's 2022 letter here.
Read the Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau in English
Lire la lettre en francais
Read the Press release in English
Lire la Communiqué de presse en français
Mi'kmaw - UN Committee on Racial Discrimination
background
The Mi’kmaw peoples have been fishing and harvesting lobster on the east coast of Canada since time immemorial and documented for over 12,000 years. Their traditional sea territory and fishery is one of deep cultural connection, sustenance and livelihood. Mi’kmaw peoples have successfully stewarded their land and sea territories for millennia.
In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R. v Marshall that a series of Treaties signed in 1760-61 by Mi’kmaq and the British Crown are still valid. Known as the Peace and Friendship Treaties, they provide that Mi’kmaq have the right to harvest and sell fish, wildlife, and wild fruit and berries to provide a moderate livelihood.
Pursuant to Marshall, Mi’kmaw rights to a moderate livelihood fishery may only be limited if there is an overriding public purpose for doing so – such as conservation or public safety. Any infringement must be the minimum needed to meet the public objective and the Indigenous group must be consulted before the limitation on the right is imposed.
Twenty-one years after this decision, successive provincial and federal governments have failed to fully respect or meaningfully implement the right of Mi'kmaw peoples to earn a livelihood from their own lands and waters. This failure is manifested in State actions that criminalize Mi’kmaw people for exercising their rights, seize catches and equipment, while simultaneously failing to prevent racially motivated harassment, violence and intimidation by non-Indigenous fishers.
In an effort to meaningfully exercise their constitutional rights, as affirmed in Marshall, Mi’kmaw people launched a moderate livelihood fishery in September 2020. This fishery provides for the Mi’kmaw people economically, culturally and nutritionally, while taking special measures to ensure conservation of the species. In response, non-Indigenous fishers attacked Mi’kmaw people, claiming the Mi’kmaw fishery was illegal, that Mi’kmaw should abide by the same rules, and alleged that Mi’kmaw fishery threatened conservation efforts.
Numerous experts and conservationists have determined that the size, scale and location of the Mi’kmaw lobster fishery poses no conservation concern, and thus, there is no credible challenge to the fishery asserting that it falls outside the scope of Mi’kmaw rights as articulated in Marshall. This conclusion was echoed by the Minister for Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Indigenous Services Canada.
Yet, since fall 2020, the Mi’kmaw people have been subjected to escalating racist hate speech, violence, intimidation, and burning/destruction of their property, including their means to livelihood and food security (lobster traps, lobster processing facilities, work vehicles). These acts have been carried out by non-Indigenous fishers who are trying to obstruct the Mi’kmaw fishery. On September 18, 2020 the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs declared a state of emergency due to the growing tensions, including harassment and intimidation of Mi’kmaw fishers by non-indigenous fishers. In that declaration they called on the DFO, RCMP and provincial government to protect Mi’kmaw fishers.
The slow RCMP response to the growing conflict following Mi'kmaw pleas for assistance throughout September contributed to and allowed the racialized tensions to culminate in the racist violence and intimidation perpetrated by non-Indigenous fishermen throughout October. This response is in stark contrast to the aggressive and violent policing, surveillance and intimidation of Indigenous land defenders in the past, including the Mi’kmaw in 2013, Wet’suwet’en and Secwepemc in 2019-2020.
In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R. v Marshall that a series of Treaties signed in 1760-61 by Mi’kmaq and the British Crown are still valid. Known as the Peace and Friendship Treaties, they provide that Mi’kmaq have the right to harvest and sell fish, wildlife, and wild fruit and berries to provide a moderate livelihood.
Pursuant to Marshall, Mi’kmaw rights to a moderate livelihood fishery may only be limited if there is an overriding public purpose for doing so – such as conservation or public safety. Any infringement must be the minimum needed to meet the public objective and the Indigenous group must be consulted before the limitation on the right is imposed.
Twenty-one years after this decision, successive provincial and federal governments have failed to fully respect or meaningfully implement the right of Mi'kmaw peoples to earn a livelihood from their own lands and waters. This failure is manifested in State actions that criminalize Mi’kmaw people for exercising their rights, seize catches and equipment, while simultaneously failing to prevent racially motivated harassment, violence and intimidation by non-Indigenous fishers.
In an effort to meaningfully exercise their constitutional rights, as affirmed in Marshall, Mi’kmaw people launched a moderate livelihood fishery in September 2020. This fishery provides for the Mi’kmaw people economically, culturally and nutritionally, while taking special measures to ensure conservation of the species. In response, non-Indigenous fishers attacked Mi’kmaw people, claiming the Mi’kmaw fishery was illegal, that Mi’kmaw should abide by the same rules, and alleged that Mi’kmaw fishery threatened conservation efforts.
Numerous experts and conservationists have determined that the size, scale and location of the Mi’kmaw lobster fishery poses no conservation concern, and thus, there is no credible challenge to the fishery asserting that it falls outside the scope of Mi’kmaw rights as articulated in Marshall. This conclusion was echoed by the Minister for Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Indigenous Services Canada.
Yet, since fall 2020, the Mi’kmaw people have been subjected to escalating racist hate speech, violence, intimidation, and burning/destruction of their property, including their means to livelihood and food security (lobster traps, lobster processing facilities, work vehicles). These acts have been carried out by non-Indigenous fishers who are trying to obstruct the Mi’kmaw fishery. On September 18, 2020 the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs declared a state of emergency due to the growing tensions, including harassment and intimidation of Mi’kmaw fishers by non-indigenous fishers. In that declaration they called on the DFO, RCMP and provincial government to protect Mi’kmaw fishers.
The slow RCMP response to the growing conflict following Mi'kmaw pleas for assistance throughout September contributed to and allowed the racialized tensions to culminate in the racist violence and intimidation perpetrated by non-Indigenous fishermen throughout October. This response is in stark contrast to the aggressive and violent policing, surveillance and intimidation of Indigenous land defenders in the past, including the Mi’kmaw in 2013, Wet’suwet’en and Secwepemc in 2019-2020.
advocacy
When it became clear that the federal and provincial governments and law enforcement would not respect Mi’kmaw fishing rights or protect Mi’kmaw fishers from racist acts of violence, a team of Mi’kmaw advocates reached out to Justice for Girls to make a formal submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)’s Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedures.
Mi’kmaw lawyers Rosalie Francis (Sipekne’katik), Pamela Palmater (Ugpi’ganjig) and Alisa Lombard, together with Justice for Girls human rights experts Zoe Craig-Sparrow (Musqueam) (Director IREJ), Sue Brown (Director Legal Advocacy & Policy) and Annabel Webb (president and David Suzuki Fellow) authored the submission on behalf of the Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaw fishers: Randy Sack, Jason Marr, Robert Syliboy, Terrance Augustine, Ron Augustine and Cheryl Maloney, as well as the Mi’kmaq at Sipekne’katik, supported by Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack and Council.
At JFG, we worked to tie our analysis to parallel fights for Indigenous rights and environmental justice in Canada. The submission laid out the evidence of Canada’s serious human rights violations against Mi’kmaw peoples who hold inherent, Aboriginal, and treaty rights and self-governing powers in relation to the fishery in Mi’kma’ki.
Mi’kmaw lawyers Rosalie Francis (Sipekne’katik), Pamela Palmater (Ugpi’ganjig) and Alisa Lombard, together with Justice for Girls human rights experts Zoe Craig-Sparrow (Musqueam) (Director IREJ), Sue Brown (Director Legal Advocacy & Policy) and Annabel Webb (president and David Suzuki Fellow) authored the submission on behalf of the Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaw fishers: Randy Sack, Jason Marr, Robert Syliboy, Terrance Augustine, Ron Augustine and Cheryl Maloney, as well as the Mi’kmaq at Sipekne’katik, supported by Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack and Council.
At JFG, we worked to tie our analysis to parallel fights for Indigenous rights and environmental justice in Canada. The submission laid out the evidence of Canada’s serious human rights violations against Mi’kmaw peoples who hold inherent, Aboriginal, and treaty rights and self-governing powers in relation to the fishery in Mi’kma’ki.
results
After considering the evidence presented by the team which detailed the escalating racist hate speech, violence, firearms, intimidation, the burning and destruction of Mi’kmaw property, including lobster traps, lobster processing facilities and work vehicles; CERD responded to our submission with a letter to Canada on April 30, 2021.
The Committee expressed concerns about allegations of lack of response by the State Party authorities to prevent and to investigate the allegations of racist hate speech and incitement of violence online as well as acts of violence and intimidation against Mi’kmaw peoples by private actors. In case the above allegations would be corroborated, the Committee also echoed the concerns of the Mi’kmaw that further acts of racist violence and intolerance could exacerbate the hostility and lead to the loss of human lives.
Ultimately, the Committee requested that Canada submit information on the issues raised by July 14, 2021, specifically calling on Canada to:
- Investigate the alleged racist acts of violence against Mi’kmaw peoples;
- Investigate the alleged lack of response by Canada to protect Mi’kmaw from violence;
- Prevent further acts of violence;
- Respect, protect and guarantee the fishing rights of Mi’kmaw peoples including repealing any laws that infringe those rights; and
- Provide details on the status of the treaties concluded between 1760 and 1761 and the implementation of Mi’kmaq fishing rights under such treaties.
The Committee followed up on this issue with another letter in August 2022.
Children's Rights - UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
2012
In 2012, Justice for Girls sent a written submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for their Review of Canada. This submission, co-authored by two teen girls, linked Canada’s failed record on climate change to girls’ rights. More specifically, the submission outlined the disproportionate impact of climate change and environmental degradation on girls, especially Indigenous girls.
Two teen girls, Zoe Craig-Sparrow and Rekha Dhillon-Richardson, traveled to Geneva with JFG Co-Director, Asia Czapska and Dr. Jaskiran Dhillon to the attend Canada's review and meet with UN CRC Committee members.
During Canada’s review, committee members from Norway and Chile picked up the girls’ message and pressed Canada about its lack of response to climate change, citing Canada as a major producer of greenhouse gas emissions. Some of their questions quoted directly from the girls’ submissions. Zoe, 15, of the Musqueam Indian Band in B.C., urged the Child Rights Committee to treat climate change as a critical threat to children and demanded that children have input into Canadian climate change policies. “My inherent right to life, and my right to culture as an Indigenous person, are being jeopardized not only by climate change but by my country's lack of environmental standards and policies,” she said. “Canada must give children a say in environmental policy.”
Rekha Dhillon-Richardson told the Children’s Rights Committee that she was stunned by the failure of her government: “Canada’s refusal to address the significance of environmental protection astonishes me because climate change is an urgent problem affecting children’s immediate and long-term future.”
The girls met during a joint internship with Justice for Girls and the David Suzuki Foundation, and were inspired by Severn Cullis-Suzuki’s famous speech at the 1992 Rio Summit. Zoe and Rehka were accompanied by Justice for Girls’ director at the time, Asia Czapska, who was thrilled to see the United Nations Child Rights Committee listening and responding to the girls. “These young women are more than capable of speaking to human rights issues,” she said. “They have pointed out a critical link between children’s human rights and climate change, and this committee is clearly taking them seriously.”
After the session the Committee released a list of recommendations to Canada to fully implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child and secure children’s rights. Among those recommendations were requests for Canada to:
Two teen girls, Zoe Craig-Sparrow and Rekha Dhillon-Richardson, traveled to Geneva with JFG Co-Director, Asia Czapska and Dr. Jaskiran Dhillon to the attend Canada's review and meet with UN CRC Committee members.
During Canada’s review, committee members from Norway and Chile picked up the girls’ message and pressed Canada about its lack of response to climate change, citing Canada as a major producer of greenhouse gas emissions. Some of their questions quoted directly from the girls’ submissions. Zoe, 15, of the Musqueam Indian Band in B.C., urged the Child Rights Committee to treat climate change as a critical threat to children and demanded that children have input into Canadian climate change policies. “My inherent right to life, and my right to culture as an Indigenous person, are being jeopardized not only by climate change but by my country's lack of environmental standards and policies,” she said. “Canada must give children a say in environmental policy.”
Rekha Dhillon-Richardson told the Children’s Rights Committee that she was stunned by the failure of her government: “Canada’s refusal to address the significance of environmental protection astonishes me because climate change is an urgent problem affecting children’s immediate and long-term future.”
The girls met during a joint internship with Justice for Girls and the David Suzuki Foundation, and were inspired by Severn Cullis-Suzuki’s famous speech at the 1992 Rio Summit. Zoe and Rehka were accompanied by Justice for Girls’ director at the time, Asia Czapska, who was thrilled to see the United Nations Child Rights Committee listening and responding to the girls. “These young women are more than capable of speaking to human rights issues,” she said. “They have pointed out a critical link between children’s human rights and climate change, and this committee is clearly taking them seriously.”
After the session the Committee released a list of recommendations to Canada to fully implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child and secure children’s rights. Among those recommendations were requests for Canada to:
- develop national action plan on addressing violence against indigenous girls;
- Recognize the gendered impacts of violence and the importance of analysing the specific impacts faced by girls, rather than the broader category of “children”;
- Do more to solve the disappearance and murder of Aboriginal girls; and
- Make sure that businesses follow international and national rules about their actions affecting the environment, workers, Aboriginal peoples and especially children’s rights.
2020-2022
Following JFG’s successful work with the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 2012, the IREJ team made another written submission to the Committee for their 2020 Pre-Sessional review of Canada. Zoe Craig-Sparrow, now a Director at Justice for Girls, and Annabel Webb (JFG President, David Suzuki Fellow) wrote an updated submission on the state of children’s rights in Canada in the context of climate change, Indigenous genocide, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The David Suzuki Foundation, Feminist Alliance for International Action, Greenpeace Canada and Just Planet signed on.
Following the written submission, Zoe Craig-Sparrow collaborated with well-known environmentalist Severn Cullis-Suzuki to support two teen girls, Zoe Grames-Webb and Haana Edenshaw, in voicing their concerns directly to the Committee.
Cullis-Suzuki, Craig-Sparrow, Edenshaw and Grames-Webb addressed the UN CRC via Zoom, explaining how Canada’s actions on climate change violate girls’ rights, especially Indigenous girls’ rights, and Canada’s binding human rights obligations under international law.
“I asked the children’s committee to renew my hope, so that I may dream of a future where the connection between my language, culture and land continues with certainty,” Edenshaw, an 18 year old Haida young woman, said.
Grames-Webb added, “Canada has failed to meet every GHG emission-reduction target it has ever set, even though the targets were totally inadequate to begin with.”
Craig-Sparrow said, “I’m both inspired and disappointed to be back at the UN with these two girls, voicing the same concerns that I brought as a child eight years ago. Canada is failing us on climate change. Canada is especially failing girls and Indigenous children, who are hit the hardest.” Craig-Sparrow, a human rights scholar and Musqueam Indian Band member, spoke to the CRC about the links between the genocide of Indigenous women and girls and environmental destruction through continued fossil fuel extraction and development.
As the CRC addressed issues facing children like equity and access, Severn Cullis-Suzuki raised the issue of intergenerational injustice, and the fact that climate change will amplify all violations of children’s rights raised at the forum, “Climate Change is the ultimate example of intergenerational injustice. We failed to stop it from happening. But today we still have a chance to mitigate its effects. Climate change will pour gasoline on all the fires that are the violation of children’s rights.”
In light of this advocacy, JFG is thrilled that the UN CRC has announced a Working Group on Children’s Rights and the Environment.
In April 2022, JFG submitted an additional parallel report to the Committee in advance of the sessional review of Canada.
The CRC completed their sessional review of Canada in June 2022, and issued their concluding observations. During the review and in their concluding observations, the Committee questioned Canada on its record on climate change and children's rights to a healthy climate. They expressed serious concerns about Canada’s climate policies, calling out the “disproportionately high carbon footprint of [Canada], in particular through investments made in fossil fuels.” They further called on Canada to “systematically” include children in climate policy decisions, to collect data on the impacts of climate on children and to ensure children’s access to climate justice. The committee also called on Canada to meet its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Other notable inclusions in their concluding observations were references to the impact of the business sector, notably fossil fuel production, on children's rights, a strong concern regarding the broad spectrum of rights violations Indigenous children face, and recommendations on improving children's access to justice while testifying in child abuse cases.
Following the written submission, Zoe Craig-Sparrow collaborated with well-known environmentalist Severn Cullis-Suzuki to support two teen girls, Zoe Grames-Webb and Haana Edenshaw, in voicing their concerns directly to the Committee.
Cullis-Suzuki, Craig-Sparrow, Edenshaw and Grames-Webb addressed the UN CRC via Zoom, explaining how Canada’s actions on climate change violate girls’ rights, especially Indigenous girls’ rights, and Canada’s binding human rights obligations under international law.
“I asked the children’s committee to renew my hope, so that I may dream of a future where the connection between my language, culture and land continues with certainty,” Edenshaw, an 18 year old Haida young woman, said.
Grames-Webb added, “Canada has failed to meet every GHG emission-reduction target it has ever set, even though the targets were totally inadequate to begin with.”
Craig-Sparrow said, “I’m both inspired and disappointed to be back at the UN with these two girls, voicing the same concerns that I brought as a child eight years ago. Canada is failing us on climate change. Canada is especially failing girls and Indigenous children, who are hit the hardest.” Craig-Sparrow, a human rights scholar and Musqueam Indian Band member, spoke to the CRC about the links between the genocide of Indigenous women and girls and environmental destruction through continued fossil fuel extraction and development.
As the CRC addressed issues facing children like equity and access, Severn Cullis-Suzuki raised the issue of intergenerational injustice, and the fact that climate change will amplify all violations of children’s rights raised at the forum, “Climate Change is the ultimate example of intergenerational injustice. We failed to stop it from happening. But today we still have a chance to mitigate its effects. Climate change will pour gasoline on all the fires that are the violation of children’s rights.”
In light of this advocacy, JFG is thrilled that the UN CRC has announced a Working Group on Children’s Rights and the Environment.
In April 2022, JFG submitted an additional parallel report to the Committee in advance of the sessional review of Canada.
The CRC completed their sessional review of Canada in June 2022, and issued their concluding observations. During the review and in their concluding observations, the Committee questioned Canada on its record on climate change and children's rights to a healthy climate. They expressed serious concerns about Canada’s climate policies, calling out the “disproportionately high carbon footprint of [Canada], in particular through investments made in fossil fuels.” They further called on Canada to “systematically” include children in climate policy decisions, to collect data on the impacts of climate on children and to ensure children’s access to climate justice. The committee also called on Canada to meet its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Other notable inclusions in their concluding observations were references to the impact of the business sector, notably fossil fuel production, on children's rights, a strong concern regarding the broad spectrum of rights violations Indigenous children face, and recommendations on improving children's access to justice while testifying in child abuse cases.
Indigenous Girls' Rights - UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
BACKGROUND
In June 2021, Justice for Girls participated in a Day of General Discussion on “the rights of Indigenous women and girls" put on by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The purpose of the day of general discussion was to stimulate debate and seek input by stakeholders (i.e. State parties, United Nations entities and specialized agencies, other human rights mechanisms, international and regional intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations, academics) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls.
The day of discussion will contribute to the development of a General Recommendation meant to provide guidance to governments on the measures they should adopt to ensure full compliance with their obligations under the Convention to respect and protect the rights of Indigenous women and girls.
Representing Justice for Girls and Just Planet, Zoe Craig-Sparrow and Annabel Webb co-authored a written submission to the Committee with the support of Kathleen Maloney (Just Planet). Zoe Craig-Sparrow also prepared an oral statement for the event emphasizing the key issues of the submission and her experiences as an Indigenous young woman.
The purpose of the day of general discussion was to stimulate debate and seek input by stakeholders (i.e. State parties, United Nations entities and specialized agencies, other human rights mechanisms, international and regional intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations, academics) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls.
The day of discussion will contribute to the development of a General Recommendation meant to provide guidance to governments on the measures they should adopt to ensure full compliance with their obligations under the Convention to respect and protect the rights of Indigenous women and girls.
Representing Justice for Girls and Just Planet, Zoe Craig-Sparrow and Annabel Webb co-authored a written submission to the Committee with the support of Kathleen Maloney (Just Planet). Zoe Craig-Sparrow also prepared an oral statement for the event emphasizing the key issues of the submission and her experiences as an Indigenous young woman.
ADVOCACY
SUBMISSION AND KEY ISSUES
The submission emphasized the importance of giving special consideration to the situation and fundamental rights Indigenous girls. As children, Indigenous girls face vulnerabilities associated with not only their indigeneity and gender, but also their age. The submission urged the CEDAW Committee to go beyond simply tacking “and girls” onto an adult women’s human rights framework, instead enunciating girls’ rights with the accuracy and specificity of their experiences and vulnerabilities.
Furthermore, the submission highlighted the disproportionate impacts of climate change and general environmental degradation on Indigenous girls. Indigenous women and girls face physical and social vulnerabilities that make them more vulnerable to the social, economic and health impacts of climate change. The submission also noted the impacts of extractive industries (especially oil and gas) on Indigenous women and girls, which are not only linked to increases in gender-based violence, human trafficking, sexual harassment, and sexual assault but also directly impact their rights to health, culture, language, water, and traditional territories.
Violence against Indigenous land defenders and forced removal from traditional territories were also key issues raised in the submission.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The submission concluded with the following recommendations:
For more information on the Day of General Discussion, click here.
The submission emphasized the importance of giving special consideration to the situation and fundamental rights Indigenous girls. As children, Indigenous girls face vulnerabilities associated with not only their indigeneity and gender, but also their age. The submission urged the CEDAW Committee to go beyond simply tacking “and girls” onto an adult women’s human rights framework, instead enunciating girls’ rights with the accuracy and specificity of their experiences and vulnerabilities.
Furthermore, the submission highlighted the disproportionate impacts of climate change and general environmental degradation on Indigenous girls. Indigenous women and girls face physical and social vulnerabilities that make them more vulnerable to the social, economic and health impacts of climate change. The submission also noted the impacts of extractive industries (especially oil and gas) on Indigenous women and girls, which are not only linked to increases in gender-based violence, human trafficking, sexual harassment, and sexual assault but also directly impact their rights to health, culture, language, water, and traditional territories.
Violence against Indigenous land defenders and forced removal from traditional territories were also key issues raised in the submission.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The submission concluded with the following recommendations:
- The Committee must address the specific rights of Indigenous girls who globally face some of the most extreme human rights violations, including widespread poverty, violence and colonial genocide. This specific consideration must apply to Committee reviews of State Parties’ reports and in the context of thematic discussions, inquiries and individual communications procedures. States Parties must provide detailed information in their periodic reports under the Convention on the special measures undertaken to guarantee that Indigenous girls can enjoy their rights.
- The Committee must consider the disproportionate impact of climate change and environmental degradation on Indigenous girls, with an emphasis on colonial extractivism legacies.
- The Committee must ask States Parties to produce comprehensive gender and age disaggregated data detailing the situation of Indigenous girls with the goal of identifying persisting colonial legacies, structural inequalities, systemic human rights violations and genocide.
For more information on the Day of General Discussion, click here.
Indigenous Rights & Environmental Justice - UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
BACKGROUND
The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) is a subsidiary body of the Human Rights Council, the UN’s main human rights body. The Expert Mechanism is comprised of seven independent experts, each from different regions, who are selected and appointed based on their competence and experience in the field, with consideration given to gender balance and indigeneity.
In collaboration with the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) and Just Planet, Justice for Girls made a joint submission to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) in response to a call for submissions on “The Militarization of Indigenous Lands: A Human Rights Focus.” This is in preparation for EMRIP's upcoming draft report (July 2022) on the topic, set to be finalised and presented to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-first session in September 2022.
In collaboration with the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) and Just Planet, Justice for Girls made a joint submission to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) in response to a call for submissions on “The Militarization of Indigenous Lands: A Human Rights Focus.” This is in preparation for EMRIP's upcoming draft report (July 2022) on the topic, set to be finalised and presented to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-first session in September 2022.
ADVOCACY
SUBMISSION AND KEY ISSUES
In this submission, we urge EMRIP to emphasize the specific, disproportionate, harmful impacts of militarization of Indigenous lands on Indigenous women and girls, highlighting the special and indivisible relationship between Indigenous land rights and the full realization of human rights. Further, we urge EMRIP to expose the connection between militarization of Indigenous lands and the violence and exploitation of extractive industries, ongoing colonialism, and the ecological disaster of climate change. We offer Canada as an illustrative example.
Zoe Craig-Sparrow, MA (Human Rights, London), JFG Director of Indigenous Rights & Environmental Justice, David Suzuki Fellow
Annabel Webb, MA (UBC) MSt (International Human Rights Law, Oxon), JFG Co-Founder, David Suzuki Fellow
Pamela Palmater, Mi’kmaq Lawyer and Chair in Indigenous Governance, Ryerson University
Shelagh Day, CM, Human Rights Committee Chair, FAFIA
Shivangi Misra, LLM, Senior Manager of Human Rights, FAFIA
Kathleen Maloney, MA (Stanford) MSt (International Human Rights Law, Oxon) JD (Arizona)
In this submission, we urge EMRIP to emphasize the specific, disproportionate, harmful impacts of militarization of Indigenous lands on Indigenous women and girls, highlighting the special and indivisible relationship between Indigenous land rights and the full realization of human rights. Further, we urge EMRIP to expose the connection between militarization of Indigenous lands and the violence and exploitation of extractive industries, ongoing colonialism, and the ecological disaster of climate change. We offer Canada as an illustrative example.
Zoe Craig-Sparrow, MA (Human Rights, London), JFG Director of Indigenous Rights & Environmental Justice, David Suzuki Fellow
Annabel Webb, MA (UBC) MSt (International Human Rights Law, Oxon), JFG Co-Founder, David Suzuki Fellow
Pamela Palmater, Mi’kmaq Lawyer and Chair in Indigenous Governance, Ryerson University
Shelagh Day, CM, Human Rights Committee Chair, FAFIA
Shivangi Misra, LLM, Senior Manager of Human Rights, FAFIA
Kathleen Maloney, MA (Stanford) MSt (International Human Rights Law, Oxon) JD (Arizona)
DOCUMENTS, MEDIA & ATTACHMENTS
Read our submission here.
