Podcast appearances and mentions of alex neve

Hassan Diab has been entangled in a 15-year legal battle against claims he is a terrorist. Last week, the Assize Court in Paris found Dr. Diab guilty of perpetrating a 1980 bomb attack outside a synagogue in Paris. In a new trial, the French court sentenced the Ottawa academic to life in prison, despite the fact that both the Canadian and French justice systems have already found a lack of credible evidence. We speak with Alex Neve, senior fellow in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we look up. We look northeast-ward to Ottawa to see if there might finally be a new healthcare deal between levels of government, and then we look to the sky for more Chinese spy balloons because that's a thing now. After that, we go back to Ottawa to revisit the fallout from the "Freedom Convoy" exactly one year ago, and specifically the effect on the people living there, which has now been documented in a convenient new report. This Thursday, February 9, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: Premier Leagues. Canada's premiers finally got their chance to have a sit down with the Federal government to talk about healthcare spending and getting more money to deal with the crisis. It's long been a point of contention because the premiers want a blank cheque, and the Feds want a plan, including the Federal NDP and Greens who want to be sure that the increased funds will not go to further privatization. So were they able to overcome the impasse, and what do these talks mean for people caught in healthcare limbo? 99 Problems But a Red Balloon Ain't One. It was a situation so dumb it's actually surprising that there was no Simpsons precedent. Last week, a Chinese spy balloon slowly travelled over Alaska, Alberta and then entered mainland U.S. airspace passing near sensitive military installations in what's become the greatest national security failure since the Rosenbergs were caught. Right? We'll peel back the layers of right-wing hyperbole to talk about the implications for China at a time where both they and the U.S. were trying to cool tensions. The People's Court. The report by the official inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act was delayed a couple of weeks, but the report by the Ottawa People's Commission was delivered right on time. Organized by Centretown Community Health Centre, the OPC aimed to document the human toll of the "Freedom Convoy", and this week, we'll talk to Alex Neve, an adjunct professor in international human rights law at the University of Ottawa, who served as one of the commissioners and will tell us about their findings and why the convoy was a human rights issue. Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

Alex Neve was Secretary General of Amnesty International of Canada until a couple of years ago. We discuss the effectiveness of letter-writing campaigns; the question of cultural relativism as a way of evading the duty to defend human rights; and the "enforcement gap" -- the lack of mechanisms for enforcing international laws in general and human rights laws in particular. Do we need a United Nations police force to apprehend war criminals when they are they are doing the atrocities instead of waiting to put them on trial afterward? For the video, audio podcast, transcript, and comments, https://tosavetheworld.ca/episode-478-amnesty-international. Then add your comments.

Ottawa academic Hassan Diab was extradited to France 8 years ago to face terrorism charges. He spent 3 years in solitary confinement before French magistrates ruled that there wasn't enough evidence for a trial and released him. Last year, France's court of appeal overturned that decision. Now the French court has set a trial date for next year. We hear reaction from Tim McSorley of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group; Jo Wood of the Hassan Diab Support Committee; Alex Neve, formerly of Amnesty Canada, and Rob Currie of Dalhousie University.

Alex Neve, senior fellow with the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

This spring, Amnesty International issued an updated report on Chinese harassment of Chinese human rights critics in Canada. This report and accompanying issues were featured last week in the Globe and Mail. Joining Stephanie and Craig to discuss the report and the issue of Chinese-sponsored harassment are Alex Neve, Secretary-General of Amnesty Canada, and Chemi Lhamo, 2019 student president at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus. Chemi describes harassment and threats of violence she experienced, as a Canadian of Tibetan origin, during her period in student government — conduct she believes was orchestrated by China. Alex describes the more general pattern of suspected Chinese government harassment activities within Canada, directed at those who oppose the Chinese government's human rights record and other authoritarian policies. Both guests call for closer attention to this issue by Canadian authorities, and end by describing the recommendations made in the Amnesty report. Thank you to Chemi and Alex for joining us on the podcast.

Jonathan, an asylum-seeker from Haiti, has a collection of bus tickets from his trip last fall from Florida to the US-Canada border. The last bus dropped him off in Plattsburgh, New York, a little over 20 miles from Canada. Then, he took a taxi to the border. But he didn't go to an official border crossing. Instead, he followed instructions from other asylum-seekers. “My friend sent me every [piece of] information,” said Jonathan, who asked to use only his first name because his asylum case is pending.That information included videos posted online of an informal crossing point north of Plattsburgh. The spot, a country road that reaches a dead end in a gravel patch at the border, has become so popular with asylum-seekers that police now wait, 24/7, on the Canadian side to detain new arrivals.But like tens of thousands of other asylum-seekers trying to reach Canada from the US in the past four years, Jonathan took this route to avoid a bilateral deal between the two countries known as the Safe Third Country Agreement. Signed in the wake of 9/11, the deal allows both the US and Canada to turn back asylum-seekers who present themselves at official border crossings if they first passed through the other country. In practice, it has more frequently impacted asylum-seekers arriving in Canada after having lived in or transited through the United States. But last week, a Canadian judge ruled the agreement violates asylum-seekers' rights because of what happens after people are turned back to the US if they arrive at official border crossings. Detention conditions to which returned asylum-seekers may be subject in the US violates asylum-seekers' protections under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the judge found.Related: Canadian court weighs whether the US is safe for asylum-seekersAlex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, which was a party to the legal challenge, explained that those who do arrive at the US border at official crossing points and are turned back are returned to US border agents. “You may very well end up in detention for an extended period of time. In immigration detention centers, sometimes commingled with criminal convicts. That's very commonplace.”Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada“You may very well end up in detention for an extended period of time. In immigration detention centers, sometimes commingled with criminal convicts. That's very commonplace,” Neve said. In her ruling Wednesday, Canadian Federal Court Justice Ann Marie McDonald focused on the experience of plaintiff Nedira Mustefa, an asylum-seeker who is originally from Ethiopia.After being turned back from Canada, Mustefa spent a month in a New York county jail, which included time in solitary confinement until she was released on bond. Unable to get halal food in jail, Mustefa lost 15 pounds. McDonald wrote: “Although the US system has been subject to much debate and criticism, a comparison of the two systems is not the role of this Court, nor is it the role of this Court to pass judgment on the US asylum system.”However, she continued: “Canada cannot turn a blind eye to the consequences that befell Ms. Mustefa in its efforts to adhere to the [Safe Third Country Agreement].” The ruling leaves the agreement in place for the next six months to allow the government to respond. Amnesty International Canada and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers have urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government not to appeal. Related: As asylum-seekers trek north, Canada examines border loopholeMayor of Plattsburgh, Colin Read, says that despite the notoriety of the back road where Jonathan crossed, some families still approach official border crossings because they either do not know of the agreement or think they fall under exempted categories. The first family of asylum-seekers he encountered back in 2017 had tried to apply for asylum at the Champlain–St. Bernard de Lacolle border crossing, a half-hour drive north of Plattsburgh, New York.According to Read, the father of the family had $2,000 in his pocket to begin what the family hoped was a new life in Canada. Turned back from Canada as ineligible to enter and apply for asylum, he was detained by US border officers who found the sum suspicious. Eventually, Read said, “He's … transported to Buffalo, which is the main [immigration] detention center in our region, and there's a wife and a bunch of kids in hand with no place to go.”Their situation became the catalyst for locals to form a group called Plattsburgh Cares, which has provided support to immigrants attempting to reach Canada in increasing numbers since the start of the Trump administration. Those, like Jonathan, who cross between official ports of entry — having reached Canadian soil — have the right to apply for asylum. Jonathan is now living in Montreal while awaiting his asylum decision.These irregular border crossers became politically contentious in Canada, with some politicians characterizing them as rule breakers. If the Safe Third Country Agreement lapses, they will be allowed to apply for asylum at normal border crossings. A spokesperson for Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Wednesday that the government is “currently reviewing” the decision.Craig Damien Smith, associate director of the Global Migration Lab at the University of Toronto, noted the six-month suspension expires just days after the US presidential inauguration in January. “The big question is whether or not more people will decide to come as a result of this decision. We don't know that,” he said. “It's very difficult to say. And I think that much of this will depend on what happens in the November election.”

This week Bob speak with Alex Neve about his role as Secretary-General Amnesty International Canada. A position that he's held since January 2000. They discuss how Alex got his interest in the work of Amnesty International, the work they do, and his upcoming retirement from the role. This is a great conversation to gain a deeper understanding of the Amnesty International organization and its work.Alex has been a member of Amnesty International since the mid-1980s and has worked for the organization nationally and internationally in a number of different roles, including missions to Tanzania, Guinea, Mexico, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, South Sudan, Bangladesh, and Ghana. In Toronto, he has been affiliated with the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University and has taught international human rights and refugee law at Osgoode Hall Law School. He regularly lectures, participates in conferences and speaks and writes in the national media on a range of human rights topics. Before taking on the role of secretary-general in January 2000, he served as a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Enjoying the show? Consider becoming a sponsor. More details can be found here:https://amazingagency.ca/c/raeThis episode is brought to you by Amazing Agency! A full-service digital marketing agency and podcast studio. https://www.amazingagency.ca/

How should we prioritize human rights in the midst of a pandemic? In episode three, Nathaniel speaks with Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. They discuss why human rights should be at the heart of the response to COVID-19, how Canada's approach meets that call in many ways but falls short in others (notably for refugees), and what the future holds for a human rights agenda post-pandemic.

Alex Neve says 20 years ago missing and murdered Indigenous women wasn’t on the radar of politicians. Negotiations over the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) was still in deadlock. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a few years away. Now as Neve plans to step-down in June as the secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada he’s seen all these things happen. But something is still missing.

This week, a number of groups are taking the federal government to court over the Safe Third Country Agreement, an agreement that prohibits people from entering Canada from the U.S. — and vice versa — at official border crossings and asking for asylum. Those challenging the deal are arguing that it should be totally scrapped. And they’re asking the courts to decide: Is the U.S. a safe country for refugees?  Host Tamara Khandaker speaks to Alex Neve, the secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, one of the organizations involved in the court challenge. He recently went to the U.S.-Mexico border, and takes us through what he saw.

Alex Neve says Canada and other countries together must take action against China’s detention of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities.

Trump ni siquiera pretende ofrecer un lugar seguro para los refugiados. Es hora de que Canadá reconozca esta realidad. Una vez más se está llevando adelante una impugnación judicial. Sin embargo, el Primer Ministro Justin Trudeau no necesita esperar a que un juez le ordene a su gobierno que haga lo correcto. Es hora de suspender el Acuerdo de Tercer País Seguro. Y hay que hacerlo ahora, dice el artículo escrito por Alex Neve, el Secretario General de Amnistía Canadá.

Lawsuit Filed in Canada over Treatment of Afghan Detainees Human rights organizations in Canada have filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government over allegations that prisoners captured by Canadian forces were facing torture in Afghan prisons. Stefan Cristoff reports from Montreal. Canada's Federal Court this week ruled the lawsuit has grounds on which to move forward, despite major legal maneuvers from the government to have the challenge dismissed. Earlier this year, Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper published a series of interviews with former Afghan detainees who gave gripping testimonies of torture after their capture by Canadian forces. Alex Neve is the Secretary General of Amnesty Canada: (audio) “It's very likely that a good number of those who are transferred from Canadian custody into the Afghan prison system end up being tortured. If the risk of torture is a real one, and we believe it is, it's incumbent upon Canada and we would say actually is a matter of international legal obligation not to hand the prisoners over.” Canada currently maintains over 2500 troops in Afghanistan, mostly in the southern province of Kandahar. Recent opinion polls indicate that a majority of Canadians do not support the military mission. For Free Speech Radio news, I am Stefan Christoff in Montreal. /// listen to reports produced for Free Speech Radio News between 2002 - 2012, the flagship Pacifica radio daily news program, these reports were produced in Montreal, but also in Beirut, Lebanon. putting these reports up for archiving purposes, they address numerous grassroots struggles for justice and against oppression, particularly looking at struggles surrounding migrant justice, also indigenous movements for land and rights, while also struggles against colonialist wars today & the persisting impacts of wars past. thank you for listening ! stefan @spirodon

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou and Nicole Roussell (sitting in for Brian Becker) are joined by Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek, who is on the ground in Quebec City at the G7 summit, and Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.President Trump showed no signs of compromise on trade issues as he left for the G7 Summit in Canada this morning. In fact, he got into a Twitter war over tariffs with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even before he left Washington. The President also will skip the climate portion of the summit to travel to Singapore for his meeting with Kim Jong Un. On today’s regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, Nicole and John talk about all the primaries that happened this week and how the presidential race is shaping up. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and the host of the Facebook livestream “Coffee, Current Events & Politics” Thursdays at 9 p.m., joins the show. Google has been reeling from an employee protest over the use of artificial intelligence for military purposes. So CEO Sundar Pichai told employees yesterday that the company will not use AI for weapons or for surveillance that violates human rights. Google will continue to work with governments and the military, though. Nicole and John speak with Paul Wallis, a technology reporter and Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Op-Eds who is also the author of many books including “Wanderlaugh.” The FBI yesterday arrested James Wolfe, the recently-retired director of security for the Senate Intelligence Committee. He was charged with a felony count of making a false statement. Wolfe is under further investigation for revealing classified information with a reporter with whom he had a personal relationship, Ali Watkins. More troubling is the revelation that the FBI seized several years’ worth of Watkins’ and Wolfe’s electronic communications. Jim Jatras, a political analyst, a former US diplomat, and a former senior foreign policy advisor to the US Senate Republican leadership, joins the show. The trials of J20 protesters continued this week in Washington, but with repeated setbacks for the prosecution. Yesterday, four defendants were either acquitted on all charges or acquitted on some and the jury deadlocked on others. The US Attorney for the District of Columbia will have to decide whether to retry on those counts. But so far, this has been nothing but a black eye for the government. Chip Gibbons, policy and legislative counsel for Defending Rights & Dissent, a journalist, and a contributor to the Nation, Jacobin, and the book The Henry Kissinger Files, joins Nicole and John. Brazil took another step into privatization yesterday, when they auctioned off some of their nation’s oil fields. This is just days after truckers in Brazil have ended their 10-day strike over fuel prices, increasing the chaos under Temer’s rule since the parliamentary coup two years ago. Pepe Escobar, a writer and political analyst, joins the show.The hosts continue the regular segment of the worst and most misleading headlines. Nicole and John, speak with Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his blog Left I on the News.

Alex Neve calls ‘the long-standing crisis of disappearances’ in Mexico one of the most alarming and devastating of the country’s very serious human rights challenges.

Alex Neve says denying an alcoholic a liver transplant violates rules against discrimination.

The federal government is getting set to pay Omar Khadr $10 Million and make a public apology for doing nothing to help defend the former child soldier. But the settlement isn

Amnesty’s Alex Neve says a decrease in capital punishment worldwide is cause for hope but the world’s biggest executioner remains China.

Amnesty’s Alex Neve says the UN must investigate the chemical attack in Syria and hold the perpetrators to account.

Amnesty International’s Alex Neve says blame, hate and fear are threatening human rights worldwide.

En Canadá, Alex Neve, secretario general de Amnistía Internacional Canadá, por la sección en inglés, y Beatrice Vaugrante, directora general de esta entidad por la sección en francés, publicaron un artículo de opinión en la prensa canadiense en el cual la organización presentó a la ciudadanía una serie de medidas que el nuevo gobierno liberal en Ottawa debería implementar en este 2016 para defender mejor los derechos humanos.

Amnesty International Canada’s Alex Neve says the Canadian government should have acted at the highest levels on behalf of imprisoned Salim Alaradi.

Amnesty’s Alex Neve calls on Canada’s new government to reverse “slippage” on human rights.

Amnesty’s Alex Neve decries “an absolutely irresponsible, out-of-control process of arming” Iraq and the region.

Amnesty’s Alex Neve says Canada and other countries must act to stop the escalating executions and unfair trials in Saudi Arabia.

Amnesty’s Alex Neve says 2014 was a terrible year for human rights around the world.

Amnesty’s Alex Neve says Canada is losing ground in the preservation of human rights.

: Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada says governments must take concrete action against torture.

Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada calls government policy ‘repugnant.’

Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada says Canada’s reputation on human rights is slipping.

Alex Neve of Amnesty International discusses the Harper government’s human rights record. Economist Sheila Block discusses a new study about Canada’s colour coded labour market. Derrick O’Keefe of the Canadian Peace Alliance discusses the controversy over the real purpose of the Libyan intervention.