Action Alerts

Speak up for persecuted Rohingya

Speak up for persecuted Rohingya

Tensions between the Buddhist majority and Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar have existed for many years. The Rohingya are considered illegal Bengali immigrants and are constantly denied recognition from the government of Myanmar. The 1982 Citizenship Law denied the Rohingya’s citizenship despite the people living in the region for generations. The Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar because of the restrictions and policies placed by the government and more recently because of the violence committed by the state.

Yazidi Freedom Cruise

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 On September 5 One Free World International hosted the Yazidi Freedom Cruise with refugees and community supporters for a night to celebrate new hope and opportunity for the Yazidi community in Canada.

The refugees were rescued women who were enslaved by ISIS, Yazidis violently forced from their homes in Iraq, and their surviving family members who have resettled here in Canada. In addition to the refugees they were joined by community members and supporters taking part.

You can see photos from the cruise on OFWI's Facebook page (or below).

Watch the Zoomer News Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Fgl6x8UU0

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Fgl6x8UU0[/embed]

Canadian Government cherry picks when to stand up for Charter Rights

The Government of Canada owes Canadians an explanation

Omar Khadr came to a settlement with the Canadian government outside of court for $10.5 million, following the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court back in 2010 that Khadr’s Charter rights had been violated.

"The deprivation of [Khadr's] right to liberty and security of the person is not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice," the court ruled.

"The interrogation of a youth detained without access to counsel, to elicit statements about serious criminal charges while knowing that the youth had been subjected to sleep deprivation and while knowing that the fruits of the interrogations would be shared with the prosecutors, offends the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects."

Khadr, was seeking $20 million in a wrongful imprisonment civil suit. He accused the Feds of being complicit in what he claimed to be an arbitrary detention and cruel and inhuman treatment at the hands of the American authorities.

While his actions and guilt is not in question, it should still be noted that Khadr was a 15 year old who was working with Al Qaida; comparatively Skylar Prockner has been given an adult sentence by Canadian courts for a murder he committed at 16. It is fair to say that at 15, a person understands right and wrong, and they can appreciate consequences to their actions.

In lieu of this, let’s remember that Khadr had confessed to killing a US army medic when he was 15, and while the interrogation that drew the confession was decidedly oppressive, Khadr went on to apologise to the families of the victims at his first press conference in Canada. In other interviews he still recalls throwing a grenade at the American Sgt. Christopher Speer, and questions what happens only by comparing it to the testimony of other witnesses. This compensation disregards the suffering of those American families, and other soldiers that fight our wars. It demerits the years of alliance that the US and Canada have had in combating violent terrorist attacks on western values.

Since the amount of the settlement has been disclosed, there has been a major uproar from Canadians on the amount of public funds being directed to private hands. One comparably large settlement with the government was the $2 billion compensation package awarded for the Indian Residential School system. The TRC report echoed by our Chief Justice called it a "cultural genocide". Individual settlements amounted to $10,000 per person who attended the school. Compare this to Khadr’s settlement and it seems grossly unjust to reward a former member of Al Qaeda with multiple times that amount.

Upholding Charter rights is essential to Canada’s foundation as a just and free country; consequently, the amount awarded when damages are sought should be proportionate to the Charter breach. There needs to be consistency among different cases, but it appears that the government is not concerned with that. Many residential school children faced years of physical and emotional abuse, they were often raped and purposefully separated from their families, but the government has essentially decided that their suffering is worth less than Omar Khadr’s.

The court should have been given the opportunity to decide what a fair compensation would be for the breach of Khadr’s Charter rights. It would ask the right legal questions and look at precedent, rather than act according economic and political pressure. In the end, there is something to be said about what we want to accomplish with taxpayer dollars; paying private citizens damages like these redirect money that could be put towards greater protecting Charter rights.

Governments swing back and forth on their agendas, and make big decisions in the process; decisions like this should be made with more thought. Decisions like this affect us fiscally, but more importantly they send the message that our government is sporadic and that our rights are valued and defended only when the government wants them to be.

Religious Freedom Needs To Be a Tenet of Qatar Diplomacy

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Rev. Majed El Shafie wrote to the U.S. Congress Foreign Relations & Foreign Affairs committees about the need to make religious freedom a tenet of Qatar diplomacy.

June 12, 2017

Dear Chairman Corker, Senator Cardin, Chairman Royce and Representative Engel,

The recent accusations against Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism and severing of diplomatic ties by its neighbors reminded me that in just over 4 years Doha will host the World Cup. Since it was awarded this prize in 2012, FIFA’s decision has been mired in controversy.

The issues regarding the notoriously corrupt FIFA are well understood. I am writing about two other issues that the world must not lose sight of:

  • The brutal conditions the Qatari stadiums’ migrant builders are forced to work in, directed by a government that is exploiting this workforce in ways akin to slavery, with extraordinary death rates; and
  • The Qatari constitution establishes Islam as the state religion and relies on Sharia to serve as the foundation for the development of laws. Reports indicate Qatar TV has aired sermons containing anti-Semitic language, Qatari funded publishers produce anti-Semitic books and even a high-ranking Minister penned a forward of a poetry book containing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. According to Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List, Qatar ranks 20th of the most difficult nations to be a Christian. It remains a capital offense to convert from Islam and a conviction for blasphemy and proselytizing can garner a sentence of up to ten years in prison.

It may be too late to take the World Cup away from Qatar. But we should work together to pressure organizations such as FIFA – many of which have safely hidden behind Teflon-coated claims that global issues such as terrorism financing, labor rights and freedom of religion are none of their concerns – to make such issues front and center in any bid. After all, hosting the World Cup puts the global spotlight on the host country and its leaders.

As a victim or torture and persecution, I founded One Free World International to give a voice to those facing persecution and to work towards a world where all people can live free and worship as they believe. I respectfully request you make religious freedom a tenet of your approach as you deal with Qatar and, as importantly, with organizations such as FIFA.

Sincerely,

Rev. Majed El Shafie Founder and President One Free World International

CC: The Honorable Jim Risch, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism

The Honorable Tim Kaine, Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism The Honorable Christopher Smith, Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations

The Honorable Karen Bass, Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations

The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa

The Honorable Theodore Deutch, Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa

The Honorable Trent Franks, Co-Chair, International Religious Freedom Caucus The Honorable Juan Vargas, Co-Chair, International Religious Freedom Caucus The Honorable Gus Bilirakis, Vice-Chair, International Religious Freedom Caucus The Honorable Jeff Fortenberry, Co-Chair, Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus

The Honorable Anna Eshoo, Co-Chair, Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus

The Honorable Randy Hutlgren, Co-Chair, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

The Honorable James P. McGovern, Co-Chair, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission