UPEI SUN Jan. 13,1983
3
UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF CANADA AGAINST TORTURE
The honourable Charles Lapointe, Minister of State (External Relations), announces today that following the wish expressed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 32/64, the Government of Canada has decided to make a unilateral declaration of its continued compliance with the " Declarat— ion on the Protection of All PersOns from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrad— ing Treatment or Pun— ishmen ".
The unilateral declaration, conveyed in a note addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations, confirms solemnly the
intention of the Canadian authorities to continue to act in con- formity with the Dec- laration. This morral commitment entails no change in present Canadian law or prac— tice which continue
. to be consistent with
the principles contained in the Declaration of the United Nations.
The UN Declaration against torture, which
was adopted by th Gen- eral Assembly on, 9 Dec- ember 1975, does not in- clude legally binding ob— ligations for States. To date, over thirty govern— ments, including the Canadian Government, have declared unilaterally that the competent authorities within their respective territories intend to act in conformity with the provisions contained in the Declaration.
The Government of Canada intends, in add— ition, to continue to work within the UN Comm— ision on Human Rights for the early completion of the drafting of an
international conven- tion against torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishmen " that has been under consideration
in Geneva since 1978. Canad believes it is imp- ortant that the inter- national commmity pro— vide itself with the legal instruments necessary for the effective suppres— sion of the practice
of torture in the world.
HELP WANT ED
Sun lntemational. Inc. is currently seeking a limited ‘ number of area people to han- dle and process postage paid bulk mail. Experience not es—
sential. Serious inquiries onlv. Send name. address. phone and $2.00(refundable) for applica- tion informaiion processmg to: Sun lnlemau'onal. Inc.. 321 East Barnes. Bushnell. ll 61422.
—_—THE REA. ADVISORY-COUNCIL ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
During the past ten years,, i the federal and provincial” _'
(exept for Alberta and. " British Cdlumbia) govern— ments have established ad- visory councils on the status of, women. Most advisory councils have very similar mandates despite their varying , budgets. »
The P.E.I. Adviso Council on the Status of
Womeq was established by the
Ekecutive Council of the Provincial Government in January 1975 with the following terms of ref- erence: . Toiassisttheminis— ter Responsible in the developement of pub-
lic awareness of issues '
affecting the status of women. . To promote a changer“ in attitudes within the. community in order that women may enjoy an equality of. oppor- Umfity.’ . To encourage discus- sion and expression of opinion by Island residents on recomend— ations contained in the Federal Royal Coim- . ission RepOrt of the Provincial-Advisory " Committee on the Statu of Women. ' . advise the Minis- 77 In - ~153-;
!
matters relating to the status of as the Minister Responsible
may refer to the Advisory Council for its consid— eration or as the Advis- ory Council considers appropriate.
The Advisory Council cons-5-
ists of nine members who are appointed for three year terms by the Executive Council. The Chairperson is appointed for a term of one year. The members usually meet once a month for a full day. The Advisory Council reports to the
‘ Minister Responsible for
the Status of Women who is presently the Hon. Leone Bagnall.
Some of the past act- ivities of the Advisory Council include:
. lobbied fors‘change
in human rights legis—
lation to prohibit
discrimination with respect to sex and marital status and to establish a Human Rights
Commission to enforce the,
P.E.I. Human Rights Act, . Iobbied for three years ,for the Family Law Reform Act (1979) which recognizes marriage as A _'
an equal partnership-.9 3 5
. Sent over .700 letters to Island businesses ‘
r outlining the income g. .
between women and men.
. Prepared and submit— ted briefs to the provinc ial and federal govern- ments on issues of con— cern to women in the areas of employment, education, health, socialservices, pensions, law etc.
. lobbied for maternity leave legislation which was finally achieved in 1982.
. Sponsored'several prov— incial conferences and var ious panels and workshops on women's issues.
Due to limited resources and the sheer number of issues that affect women, the Advisory Coun cil must carefully choose three or four issues it will work on each year. These prior— ities are decide upon in res— ponse to concerns raised by women's groups and the Minis- ter Responsible for the Status of Women. One main purpose of, the provincial con- ference organized by the Coun- cil every two years is to seek
' direction from Island women.
Many reforms or programs needed by women in P.E.I. re- quire resources greater than any one group possesses. The council is committed to coop—
erating with women’s groups the situation
of this-province. Some
', of the groups the Council has
or is working with are:
. Transistion House Association which admin— isters Anderson House for battered women and their children.
. WanenFS Network Project which publishes the Island women's journal, Common Ground
. Women in Support of Fishing
. Island Women's Art Festival.
. Rape and Sexual Ass- ault Crisis Centre.
The Council has no en— forcement power; it is an advisory body. Its strenghth depends on the support and concern of Island women and men. The Council relies on you and your organizations to keep us informed of your concerns and interests, and of the reccomendations you want to make to the Provincial Government. The Chairperson is Margaret Ashford. The Council's Executive Assist- ant is Maureen Mallou.
Please contact us by writing: P.O. Box 2000 Charlottetown, P.E.I. ClA 7N8 or by visiting: 2nd floor, Rm. 2 180 Richmond Street - Charlottetown
or by telephoning: 894_8973