Since its inception in 1948, Human Rights Day is observed every year on Dec. 10 – the day the adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This year’s Human Rights Day theme is “EQUALITY— Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.”
On Dec. 10 at 12:30 p.m., James C. Simeon, head of McLaughlin College and associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration, will lead the panel discussion, “International Human Rights Day Commemoration,” alongside a team of expert panelists, including:
Simone Bohn
Simone Bohn is an associate professor with York's Department of Politics. Bohn’s research focuses on political parties in South America, gender and politics in Brazil, and the study of political tolerance and attitudes towards corruption in Latin America. She is the co-editor of Mothers in Public and Political Life and Twenty-First-Century Feminismos: Women's Movements in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Kathryn Wyatt-Cottingham
Kathryn Wyatt-Cottingham is a member of the executive committee for Human Rights Watch (HRW) Canada, co-chair for international justice, and former co-chair of advocacy. Wyatt-Cottingham holds a BA in international relations and has completed several executive management courses at McGill University and American Express’ International Senior Management Training Program. Through her work at HRW, she has visited the Criminal Court in The Hague, as well as Hungary and Serbia, to meet refugees trying to get into the European Union.
Russel W. Zinn
Justice Russel Zinn was appointed to the Federal Court on Feb. 20, 2008, and to the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada on Nov. 20, 2008. He received a master of arts in philosophy from Carleton University in 1976 and a bachelor of laws from the University of Ottawa in 1980. He is the author of The Law of Human Rights in Canada: Practice and Procedure published by Thomson Reuters. In 2014, Zinn was elected to serve on the Governing Council of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ) and is chair of its Americas Chapter.
The United Nations (UN) recognizes the “principles of equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights. Equality is aligned with the 2030 Agenda and with the UN approach set out in the document Shared Framework on Leaving No One Behind: Equality and Non-Discrimination at the Heart of Sustainable Development. This includes addressing and finding solutions for deep-rooted forms of discrimination that have affected the most vulnerable people in societies, including women and girls, Indigenous peoples, people of African descent, LGBTI people, migrants and people with disabilities, among others.”
To register for the panel discussion, click here.