The United Nations human-rights chief says Canada can boost its chances of joining the council that monitors freedom around the world by better following up on the pledges it makes at home and abroad.

害羞草研究所淲hen you think of Canada, you think of human rights,害羞草研究所� said Volker T眉rk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a Tuesday interview.

T眉rk visited Ottawa this week to touch base on human-rights issues in general, including how they are handled in Canada and how Ottawa can best address issues abroad.

His visit comes as Canada campaigns to join the UN Human Rights Council for a term spanning from 2028 to 2030. That body will undertake an in-depth review of the human-rights situation in Canada next month, as part of an exercise applied to most countries every four years.

T眉rk said the Canadian government should consider not relying on the four-year review, and instead do its own annual or biannual exercises to take stock of how Canada is doing.

害羞草研究所淚t is important that the various recommendations that came from these various processes are obviously implemented and followed up on. And that害羞草研究所檚 always a constant call from us,害羞草研究所� he said.

For example, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools presented its 94 calls to action to rectify what it called cultural genocide in June 2015.

But it took the Liberals seven years to table legislation to create an official body to monitor progress on those items, and the bill for a national council is still under study.

T眉rk said that no country is perfect, and he said it害羞草研究所檚 a good thing that Canadians often discuss where they are falling short. He said that this largely applies to its approach with Indigenous Peoples.

He praised Ottawa and the provinces for coming up with action plans, but said they need to actually be followed.

害羞草研究所淵ou can have an open discussion about the challenges that also Canadians face,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚 wish that other countries would take the cue from that.害羞草研究所�

T眉rk also said Canadians would benefit from seeing the current debate around housing affordability as a human-rights issue. He said many industrialized countries have seen a rise in homelessness since the COVID-19 pandemic, made worse by corporations using homes as financial assets.

害羞草研究所淭here is an a human right to adequate housing. What we have seen is it being thrown into the capitalist market system,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 a strong financialization of it, with many people making a lot of money as a result 害羞草研究所� but at the expense of vulnerable populations, of those who are poorer, those who are marginalized.害羞草研究所�

T眉rk said that abroad, Canada is seen as a leader in pushing back against gender inequality, supporting LGBTQ+ people and suggesting that other countries with Indigenous populations resist the mistakes and oppression that Canada has perpetrated over the decades.

Yet the foreign-aid advocacy group Bigger Than Our Borders notes that Canada害羞草研究所檚 funding for human-rights groups abroad has been on the decline, as part of a broader cut in development assistance.

Still, T眉rk said Canada has been a force for advancing rights around the world.

He noted that Canada was the first country to approach him in February after his visit to Haiti, asking how Ottawa can help end a chaotic situation where brazen gangs control access to essential goods and perpetuate sexual violence.

害羞草研究所淲e have essentially an anarchic situation, and that害羞草研究所檚 very dangerous,害羞草研究所� he said, noting the situation has further eroded in recent months.

T眉rk said he was encouraged by Canada害羞草研究所檚 moves to sanction elites and to help Haiti rebuild its just system.

But he said countries should be more vocal about restricting guns 害羞草研究所� particularly American firearms 害羞草研究所� from reaching gangsters in Haiti, who are better equipped than police.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 critical that that arms embargo is not just pronounced, but also enforced,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淪ome people make a lot of money by selling these arms and finding ways, despite the arms embargo, to still bring them to Haiti.害羞草研究所�

With Israel and Hamas at war in the Middle East, T眉rk also said he hopes Canada will continue doing what it can to advocate against a wider conflict in the region.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e worried about the West Bank and we害羞草研究所檙e worried about Lebanon. The world cannot afford this powder keg to explode. That害羞草研究所檚 clear,害羞草研究所� he said.

He added that it害羞草研究所檚 crucial that his United Nations agency be allowed to respond to the 害羞草研究所渆xtremely precarious humanitarian situation害羞草研究所� in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, as the territory remains closed off at its borders with Israel and Egypt.

害羞草研究所淲e have trucks that are four kilometres long on the Egyptian side. And these trucks have to go in. We hope that they will go in soon.害羞草研究所�

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