Topics: Civil and political rights
Events
Beyond the Rainbow Storytime 2025
Sunday, May 25, 2025
Cost: Free event; registration appreciated
Location: Stuart Clark Garden of Contemplation, Level 3
Stories
Freedom from want
By Leslie Vryenhoek
When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was being negotiated, one forward‐thinking Canadian included economic, social and cultural rights in the draft. Decades later, everyone’s right to a standard of living adequate for their health and well‐being still requires attention and action in Canada and around the world.
What Is Two‐Spirit? Part One: Origins
By Scott de Groot
Discover the history and meaning of Two‐Spirit. The term speaks to community self‐determination, rejects colonial gender norms and celebrates Indigenous sexual and gender diversity.
Manitoba’s Mincome experiment
By Travis Tomchuk
A landmark study performed in Manitoba in the 1970s showed that guaranteed annual income could improve the lives of people in poverty.
Star Trek and human rights
By Alana Conway and Murray Leeder
Star Trek has offered an intelligent, socially conscious approach to science fiction since it debuted in 1966. Current Star Trek series feature complex, nuanced perspectives on important human rights matters such as genocide, migrancy and refugees.
The chaotic story of the right to vote in Canada
By Matthew McRae
When you vote in an election, you’re never voting alone. The moment you step into a polling station, you are walking in the footsteps of thousands of people who fought for their right to vote.
Face the music: Canadian musicians and human rights
By Julia Peristerakis
Music is a universal language that transcends geographic and cultural barriers. Music moves us in a way that words alone cannot. But it can do much more than evoke emotion.
The Sharpeville Massacre
By Matthew McRae
Discover how the South African government’s murderous response to peaceful protest inspired local and international action against apartheid.
Fighting for a vision of a free and democratic Russia
Explore the motivation, inspiration and hope that sustain Kara-Murza’s courageous fight for human rights and democracy in Russia.
The story of Nelson Mandela
By Matthew McRae
Mandela spent 27 years in prison for opposing South Africa’s apartheid system. He refused to give up his efforts to achieve equality for all people.
Four fundamental freedoms
By Jeremy Maron
In his January 1941 State of the Union address, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt articulated four fundamental freedoms that everyone in the world ought to be able to enjoy – freedom of speech, freedom of belief, freedom from fear and freedom from want.
Resource guides
Talking to Kids about the Israeli‐Palestinian Conflict
In this guide you will find links to resources that can help when talking with children and youth about the current and ongoing Israeli‐Palestinian conflict.
Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation
By Priscila Alves Werton and Stephen Carney
We invite you to explore this guide as a starting point to learning more about misinformation, disinformation and malinformation – the inadvertent or purposeful spread of false information – and their impact on human rights causes.
Wrongful convictions and systemic racism
In this guide, you will find links to resources related to wrongful convictions and the impact of systemic racism and discrimination on the justice systems in settler colonial contexts such as Canada, the United States and other countries around the world.
Technology and surveillance
Learn more about technology and human rights in our resource guide. Discover journalist Megha Rajagopalan’s coverage of state surveillance in China and explore resources about privacy, security and human rights.
