Public Engagement
UN-IDPAD: "United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent"
Session I: Welcoming Remarks and Opening Statements
Mr. R. Stacey Laforme, Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation
Mr. Adam Abdelmoula, Director of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr. Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor, York University
Mr. Lorne Sossin, Dean, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
Mr. Yasir Naqvi, Attorney-General for the Province of Ontario, Canada
Chaired by: Mr. Francois Tanguay-Renaud, Director, Nathanson Centre on Transnational
Human Rights, Crime and Security
Session II: Introduction to the United Nations Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024)
Ms. Mireille Fanon-Mendes-France, Member, United Nations Working Group of Experts on People African Descent
Ms. Gloria Nwabuogu, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Chaired by: Mr. Francois Tanguay-Renaud, Director, Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security
Session III: Access to Justice – An Overview of International and National Norms and Standards
Ms. Verene Sheppard, Member, United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Mr. Trevor Farrow, Professor of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School
Mr. Yasir Naqvi, Attorney-General for the Province of Ontario, Canada
Chaired by: Mr. Adam Abdelmoula, Director of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Session VIII: The Canadian Context
Mr. Isaac Saney, Professor of African Nova Scotian Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
Mr. George Sefa-Dei, Professor and Director, Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Mr. Grace-Edward Galabuzi, Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson University, Toronto
Chaired by: Ms. Gloria Nwabuogu, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Session IX – The Canadian Experience (I)
Ms. Marian Jacko, The Children’s Lawyer, Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario, Canada
Mr. Shaheen Azmi, Director of Policy, Education, Monitoring and Outreach, Ontario Human Rights Commission
Ms. Margaret Parsons, Executive Director, African Canadian Legal Clinic
Mr. Selwyn Romilly, Justice of the British Columbia Provincial Court (Retired)
Chaired by: Mr. Ziyad Motala, Professor of Law, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Session X – The Canadian Experience (II)
Mr. Brian Smith, Sergeant, Divisional Policing Support Unit, Toronto Police Service
Mr. Knia Singh, Lawyer and Anti-Racial Profiling Activist
Mr. Anthony Morgan, Lawyer, Falconers LLP, Toronto
Mr. Shedrack Agbakwa, Lawyer, Agbakwas LLP, African-Canadian Youth Counsel
Chaired by: Ms. Mireille Fanon-Mendes-France
Member, United Nations Working Group of Experts on People African Descent
Session XI –Comparative African/Canadian/American Experiences
Mr. Ziyad Motala, Professor of Law, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Mr.Dennis Parker, Head, Racial Justice Program, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Mr. Jamil Jivani, Activist and Visiting Scholar, Osgoode Hall Law School
Chaired by: Mr. Obiora Okafor, Project Director of E-CASSARE; York Research Chair in International and Transnational Legal Studies of Osgoode Hall Law School and Member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee
Next steps: Further Study
A larger study will involve four more West African countries, and an appropriate number of additional partner institutions sourced in the main from those countries. It will also continue to be led by York University’s Nathanson Centre for Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security (the Nathanson Centre), and involve the existing partners. What is envisaged in this case is a broadened partnership and larger research and knowledge mobilization project.
An application is being made to the SSHRC Partnership Grant Program to fund this expanded project.