The Foreign Policy Of The New Democratic Party, 1 961- 1 988 By Lloyd Penner A thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Part¡al Fulfillment of the requ¡rements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Depaftment of History University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba (c) copyr¡ght Lloyd Penner, 1994 TEE FOREIGN POLICY OF TEE NEf¿ DEHOCRATIC PÁRTY, 196I-1988 BY LLOYD PENNER A Thesis subqritted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PSILOSOPE]T @ 1994 Pernission has been granted to the LIBR.{RY OF TIIE UMVF:R SITY OF M.A.NTIOBA to lend or sell copies of this thesis, to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF C.ANADA to mic¡ofilm this thesis and to lend or sell copies of the film, a¡d UNTVtrSITY MIG.OFILMS to publish en abshact of this thesis. The author ¡ese¡ves other publications rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extrâcts from it may be printed or othe¡wise reproduced witlt.out the åuthols permission. CHAPTER ELEVEN THE NDP AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A MIXED RECORD (1975-80) Human rights is the ultimate internationalist issue. lf one accepts the notion that people everywhere have certain basic rights, all barriers, including nat¡onal ones, are transcended. Each person must be viewed as possessing a common world citizenship with rights guaranteed by the international commun¡ty. Not surprisingly, therefore, the internationalists who founded the un¡ted Nations adopted a universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.704 This was followed over the years by convent¡ons, protocols and a permanent commission to promote respect for human rights.Tos Despite Canada's support for these UN actions, for several reasons human rights did not beg¡n to play a s¡gnificant role in Canadian foreign policy unt¡l the mid- Seventies. F¡rst, in voting for the Universal Declaration, Lester pearson, Canada,s UN representative in 1948, had made it clear that since primary jurisdiction over human rights lay with the provinces, their approval must be obta¡ned before Canada could sign too John Holmes, The Shaoino of Peace: Canada and the Search for World Order. 1943-1957, Vol.l (Toronto: University of Toronto press, 1979), pp.29O-S. 705 John W. Foster, "The UN Commission on Human Rights,,'in Human Riohts in canadian Foreion Policv, ed. by Robert o. Matthews and cranford pratt (K¡ngston and Montreal: McGill-Oueen"s University Press, I 988), pp.79-100. 291 292 international human rights agreements,T.' The result was that canada did not officially rat¡fy the international covenants until the late seventies. The second factor was that Canada, like most nat¡ons, had long adhered to the principle that non- interference in the internal affairs of other countries (national sovereignty) must outweigh the internat¡onal community's rightto intervene on human f¡ghts grounds (as Canada's Biafran policy had exemplified). As a result of some major internal and external developments, a shift began to occur in the m¡d to late seventies that has had a significant effect on canadian foreign policy ever since.to7 Among these developments, five were most important. First, by 1975, there was a growing consensus that the trad¡t¡onal western definition of human rights needed to be broadened to ¡nclude not iust individual civil and political rights but also collect¡ve, social and economic rights.Tos Second, the new pres¡dent of the United States, J¡mmy Carter, helped raise the profile of human rights considerably by making it a leading consideration in determining American foreign policy to the extent that on occasion washington cut off aid to countries gu¡lty of massive human rights abuses. Third, the signing of the Helsink¡ Accords in 197s, supposedly guaranteeing respect for certain basic human rights in the s¡gnatory 706 Robert O. Matthews and Cranford pratt, "Conclusions and prospects,', in Human Riohts and Canadian Foreion Policv, p.295. 1o7 For a fuller discussion of these reasons, see Kim Richard Nossal, "Cabin',d, Cribb"d, Confined?: Canada"s lnterest in Human Rights,', and Victoria Berry and Allan McChesney, "Human Rights and Foreign policy-Making," in Human Riohts and Canadian Foreion Policv, pp.46-76. 7oB See Francisco E. Thoumi, "Human Rights policy: Basic Human Needs and Economic lmplications for Lesser Developed countr¡es," Journal of lnteramerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol.23 (May, lgBt), p.1BO. Also see, Rhoda e. Howaid, "civil-Political Rights and canadian Development Assistance," in Human Riohts. Develooment and Fo¡eiqn Policv, ed. by lrving Brecher (Halifax: The lnsititute for Research on Public Policy, 1989), pp.355-76. 293 countr¡es and the free movements of people between East and West, was very influential in drawing world-wide attention to the issue. This attention was magnified when the failure of the communist countries to fully implement the agreement led to the formation of human rights groups beh¡nd the lron curtain and to international condemnation at the first follow-up conference on the Helsinki Accords held in Belgrade in 1978. Fourth, increased media coverage of widespread atrocit¡es in such nations as ldi Amin's Uganda and Pol pot's Kampuchea and of the escalating repression in South Africa made human rights an issue of general concern in the West. This ensured greater interest by polit¡cians especially in countries like canada where human rights lobby groups helped keep the issue in the forefront.Tos Fifth, in Canada, domestic pressure from churches and other non-governmental organizations on human rights was growing.Tlo All of these factors working together eventually brought a response from the government. ln 1978, Don Jam¡eson, Canada's secretary of state for external affairs, publicly modified the long-standing canadian policy of non-interference by stat¡ng that no member of the UN could insist any longer that its human rights performance was a purely domestic matter in which the ¡nternat¡onal community had no interest.7l1 70s Kim Richard Nossal, "Cabin"d, Crib"b, Confined?: Canada"s lnterest in Human Rights," and Victoria Berra Berry and Allan McChesney, ',Human rights and Foreign Policy-making," in Human Riohts and Canadian Foreion policv, pp.46-76. 710 Robert O. Matthews and Cranford pratt, "Conclusion: Ouestions and Prospects," in Human Riohts in Canadian Foreion policv, ed. by Robert O. Matthews and Cranford Pratt (Kingston-Montreal: McGill-Oueen,s, t 988), p.29S. 711 Kim Nossal, "Cabin"d, Cribb"d, Confin"d?: Canada,'s lnterest in Human Rights," in Human Riohts and Canadian Foreion policv, p.S1. 294 As a party ostensibly committed to bu¡lding a world built on the ¡deals of equality and unity of all mankind and humanitarian internationalism, human r¡ghts ought to have formed an integral part of the New Democratic party,s foreign policy. This chapter will assess the human rights policy statements of the NDp and its public ,l980 performance concentrating on the '1975 to period. The term "human rights" did not appear in any NDP foreign policy resolut¡on unt¡l 1 973, although respect for human rights underlay many of the resolut¡ons passed in earlier years such as those advocating increased foreign aid, strong support for polit¡cal and civil rights and others designed to enhance economic and social cond¡tions. For example, its 1961 convention international affairs and defence platform stated that an NDP government would review "canada's domestic pol¡cies, particularly with regard to imm¡gration and racial discrimination, to ensure that they conf orm to the sp¡rit of equality among peoples and nations set out in this program."7r2 Similarly, the 1 963 convention extended enthusiastic greet¡ngs to social democratic and labour forces in Latin America who were struggling against tyranny and for political and economic rights.713 Then in 1967, NDp delegates passed a resolution demanding the restoration of constitutional rights for the Greek people,Tla while two years later they condemned the Portuguese dictatorship, although without drawing specific attention to human rights abuses, someth¡ng the socialist lnternational had already done in 1g6g.7rs 712 Anne Scotton, ed., "lnternational Affairs/Defence,,' New Democratic policies 1961-1976 (Ottawa: New Democratic party, 1976), p.gs. ttt Lþ.id., "World Peace," p.96. t'o !þj-d., "Greece," p.98. 715 scotton, "lnternationar Affairs and Defence," pp.1o2-3; sociarist rnternationar lnformation, Vol.18 (February 26, 1968), NAC, Mc 28, tVt, Vol.4B5, r¡le Sl C¡rculars 295 ln the preamble to ¡ts pivotal 1969 foreign policy statement, the party reaffirmed its comm¡tment to a world without oppression, discrimination, poverty or war and in which all could choose their own way to democratic and equalitarian societies.716 The next year saw Brewin pressuring Prime M¡nister Trudeau in Parl¡ament to find a way for Canada to offic¡ally ratify the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights despite provincial misgivings.TlT By the early Seventies then, the language of human rights had begun to ¡nfiltrate NDP foreign policy thinking. Why and how had the shift occurred? F¡rst, while it is not possible to document this precisely, the influence of the Social¡st lnternational must have played a part as on other international issues. Second, specific world events and the personal involvement of party members began to affect the way Canadian social democrats viewed the question. As noted ¡n Chapter Ten, Andrew Brewin became so personally involved with the Biafran crisis that he took a dangerous tr¡p to the area to learn first-hand about conditions. On his return, he stated explic¡tly that human rights must play a much greater role ¡n foreign policy decision-making,718 Moreover, young NDP activists l¡ke Stephen Lewis, Gerald Caplan, John Brewin and Steven Langdon had spent some time in Africa in the late Sixties and had come back w¡th a keen and enduring interest ¡n developments there.Trs Other events in the early Seventies also raised the prof¡le of human rights in NDP c¡rcles (and beyond).