Rights And Democracy? Gone

Time enough, too.  It, like the various human rights commissions that have outlived their natural shelf life, simply went too far afield from the original purpose-led organization, to instead fulfill personal, subjectively-chosen rather than objective and irrefutable human rights perspectives. 

"For some time, the many challenges of the International Centre for Human rights and Democratic Development, also known as Rights & Democracy, have been well publicized.  It is time to put these past challenges behind us and move forward."  Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird

Bit of an understatement, but understood, regardless.  And it is time.  And we should move forward.  And, it seems, we shall.

The controversy surrounding the human rights agency for the past several years reflected its practical functional illiteracy and the arrogant private and personal idealogies of its principals, forsaking the cardinal principle of neutrality, of the focus on human rights per se, and not political-ideological conflicts.  It had become too ambitious to become involved in issues that were rather lop-sided.

In its last fiscal year it had projects in no fewer than 17 countries around the world, and was funded by government to the tune of $11-million annually.  It's been on the government back-burner for a little while, and fit in right handily in the current budget's zeal for cutting back unneeded, redundant and non-useful expenditures.

The 40 headquarters staff in Montreal evidently had no hint of the coming bombshell.  They are no doubt surprised, dismayed and rather upset at the loss of their employment.  Those familiar with the organization, its work and the scandals that have plagued it universally agree that its abandonment is justified.  David Matas, himself heavily engaged in human rights work and a current board member supports the decision.

Rights and Democracy, he explained, is simply "organizationally dysfunctional".  Over the years the staff had become entirely too comfortable promoting "their own human rights agenda", on their own recognizance, side-stepping the board of directors.  While predictably, former NDP leader Ed Broadbent views the event with great personal regret, having acted as its original president.

"For close to two years it was nothing more than an empty shell, without a vision, objectives or solid projects.  It's too bad, but under these circumstances [shutting it down] was no doubt the best thing to do", said a former deputy director of programs for Rights and Democracy.

Now, Rights and Democracy will close down its 7-person mission in Haiti, and its 18-person staff in Afghanistan.  "The problems run so deep, and the history of a lack of transparency, conflicts and ineffectiveness go back so far, that it seems to me that something about the organization's structure and its spirit just fundamentally does not work", said a former employee.

Rest in pieces.