Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Corporate body

Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association

• UCCLA

n.d.

The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association is a non-partisan, voluntary, non-profit research and educational organization committed to the articulation and promotion of the Ukrainian Canadian community's interests and to the defence of the civil liberties and human rights of Ukrainians in Canada and elsewhere.
UCCLA's roots trace back to 1984, when the Civil Liberties Commission (CLC) of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress(UCC) was constituted to deal with allegations about "Nazi war criminals" in Canada. UCC CLC worked to persuade the Government of Canada to accept the principle that "all war criminals found in Canada, regardless of their ethnic, religious or racial origin, political beliefs, .... should be brought to justice in Canada under Canadian criminal law."

UCCLA grew out of the UCC CLC, it became a seperate entity in order to have greater atonomy with regard to actively advocating for issues that were important to members of the Canadian Ukrainian community. One of the more contentious issues that UCCLA looked to resolve was to acquire a timely and honourable Ukrainian Canadian Redress Settlement Agreement for the unjust internment of Ukrainian Canadians as "enemy aliens," during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920. UCCLA has been instrumental in increasing awareness of these internment operations as well as in promoting legislative initiatives, like Bill C 331 - The Ukrainian Canadian Restitution Act.

Members of the Association continue to express the Ukrainian Canadian community's views on issues such as "affirmative action," the future of multiculturalism, and media treatment of Ukrainian issues. UCCLA is also working to ensure that the proposed Canadian Museum of Human Rights is inclusive and fair in its treatment of all episodes of genocide in human history. UCCLA continues to work to ensure that Ukrainian Canadians and Ukraine are represented in a fair and objective manner by media and in the public domain.

Draft

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