Canadian Peace Alliance Convention 2011
Friday October 14 to Sunday October 16
The Canadian Peace Alliance Convention will take place this October in Toronto. The Convention is a great opportunity for activists to get together, share strategies and plan our work to build the broadest and most effective peace movement in Canada.
Since we last met in 2008, the war in Afghanistan has deteriorated, Canada has extended its troop deployment and anti-war sentiment has grown. We have organized multiple speaking tours with international activists, notably Malalai Joya to tell Canadians the real story about life for the Afghan people. We have also watched as the Harper government has systematically tried to silence voices for peace and social justice in Canada. We have marched to end the siege of Gaza and in solidarity with the Tamil people and the Egyptian Revolution. We have developed a campaign to redirect military spending to human needs rather than war.
Each of these efforts requires more work to shape the political debates in Canada. Join us at the CPA convention to discuss next steps and to share your experiences building the peace movement.
2011-19. MOTION FOR THE ONGOING SITUATION IN SRI LANKA
Whereas the UN Secretary General appointed three member Panel of Experts on Accountability
in Sri Lanka produced a report indicating war crimes and crimes against humanity were
committed during the final stages of the war; and
Whereas the Report of the Secretary-Generals Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka
found credible allegations of indiscriminate killing of civilians, extrajudicial killings of political
prisoners, and the systematic bombings of hospitals were committed by the Sri Lankan
Government and Armed Forces during the final stages of the war; and
Whereas the Report of the Secretary-Generals Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka
concludes that although both sides committed violations, the Sri Lankan Armed Forces
committed the majority of war crimes and crimes against humanity; and
Whereas the United Kingdom based Channel 4 News broadcast a groundbreaking documentary
entitled “Sri Lanka's Killing Fields” which features devastating new video evidence of war
crimes during Sri Lanka's civil war; and
Whereas certain footage from the documentary has been authenticated by the UN and has been
declared as evidence of definitive war crimes by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial
killings; and
Whereas while the war has been over for more than two years there continues to be a lack of
accountability and fundamental rights in Sri Lanka, as noted by various NGOs, which includes
abductions and disappearances, media restrictions, the militarization in the North-East, forced
detention and slow progress in resettlement of IDPs, a pervasiveness of unaccountable rapes and
murders in the North-East, and the continuation of oppressive and exclusionary policies based on
ethnicity; and
Whereas despite compelling evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Sri Lankan
government outright dismisses the analysis of the UN Special Rapporteur and the the Report of
the Secretary-Generals Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lankan
Government further remains unwilling to engage in a proper accountability process; and
Whereas the Canadian Peace Alliance has stood in solidarity and consistently supported the
Tamil community’s call for justice, fairness, and human rights while being a strong voice for
peace on the global stage.
Be It Resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance shall endorse the international call to
immediately establish an independent, international, and impartial mechanism to ensure truth,
accountability and justice in Sri Lanka; and
Be It Further Resolved that the Canadian Peace Alliance encourages its members to pressure the
Federal Government to unequivocally call for an international war crimes inquiry to establish
accountability and true reconciliation.
Submitted by NCCT Information about Resolutions
Update: Click here to see the resolutions for the CPA convention 2011
Full Story>>>
