Reem Bahdi
University of Windsor, Faculty of Law, Faculty Member
- I am interested in how legal norms, processes and institutions silence some and privilege others. My main research s... moreI am interested in how legal norms, processes and institutions silence some and privilege others. My main research sites are post-9/11 Canada as well as contemporary Palestine. My research themes center around human dignity and access to justice as discrete and intersecting areas of inquiry. I value interdisciplinary collaborations.edit
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 calls for a more active role for women in the prevention and reconciliation of conflicts. Focusing on the Palestinian Right of Return and the work of a feminist organization called the... more
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 calls for
a more active role for women in the prevention and reconciliation of conflicts. Focusing on the Palestinian Right of Return and the work of a feminist organization called the Jerusalem Link, this paper examines Resolution 1325’s premise that women can make a unique contribution to peace building. As “transfer” or the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza looms on the horizon, scholars, advocates, and policy-makers must pay more attention to the work of women peace-builders because they might be able to help chart a path towards a real and just solution on seemingly intractable issues such as the Right of Return.
a more active role for women in the prevention and reconciliation of conflicts. Focusing on the Palestinian Right of Return and the work of a feminist organization called the Jerusalem Link, this paper examines Resolution 1325’s premise that women can make a unique contribution to peace building. As “transfer” or the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza looms on the horizon, scholars, advocates, and policy-makers must pay more attention to the work of women peace-builders because they might be able to help chart a path towards a real and just solution on seemingly intractable issues such as the Right of Return.
Research Interests:
This is the introduction I wrote as guest editor of Refuge, Canada's Journal on Refugees, about Palestinian Refugees. It includes 10 articles and can be found here: https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/issue/view/1261
Research Interests:
Popularized in 1985 by Edward Said, the term Islamophobia has become part of Canada’s political, legal, and popular lexicons. The “I” word, though controversial, appears frequently in public spaces and debates. Increased references to... more
Popularized in 1985 by Edward Said, the term Islamophobia has become part of Canada’s political, legal, and popular lexicons. The “I” word, though controversial, appears frequently in public spaces and debates. Increased references to Islamophobia in popular and official sources create the impression that Canadian anti-terrorism laws, policies, and practices both recognize and respect human rights.
But, Khaled Beydoun’s analysis of Islamophobia suggests a different reality. Inspired by his groundbreaking work, we build on Beydoun’s analysis to propose a definition of Islamophobia for the Canadian context. We begin with a brief overview of the prevailing approaches to defining this form of racialization. We then propose seven criteria to guide the development of a definition in Canada. Islamophobia: is perpetuated by private actors; is motivated; is historically rooted in Orientalism; draws on and perpetuates stereotypes about a Muslim propensity for violence; draws on and perpetuates gendered stereotypes about roles and the nature of Muslim women; is state-driven; and, persists through a dialectical process of private and state action. Canada’s variant of state-driven Islamophobia, unlike its American counterpart, particularly during the Trump era, operates subtly and can be difficult to identify. Nonetheless, its impacts prove profound. We thus end our analysis by proposing a framework for analyzing subtle forms of state-driven Islamophobia. The framework includes 5 facets: i) coding or the targeting of Muslims without explicitly naming them; ii) permission or the tacit license to engage in harmful race-based practices; iii) denial or the failure to name Islamophobic tropes that underlie an impugned act or decision; iv) individualization or the presentation of Islamophobia as a manifestation of extreme and aberrant private conduct, rather than broader social practices; and, v) minimization or the diminishment of Islamophobia, partially by creating confusion or controversy about its meaning or ignoring its impacts. Ultimately, we argue that government institutions have helped obscure our understanding of Islamophobia through various silencing techniques which combine to sustain the powerful narrative of Canada as a country that balances human rights and national security. A comprehensive definition of Islamophobia that takes this context into account can assist advocates, policy-makers, and educators to develop fulsome and more effective, strategic responses to Islamophobia in all its manifestations.
But, Khaled Beydoun’s analysis of Islamophobia suggests a different reality. Inspired by his groundbreaking work, we build on Beydoun’s analysis to propose a definition of Islamophobia for the Canadian context. We begin with a brief overview of the prevailing approaches to defining this form of racialization. We then propose seven criteria to guide the development of a definition in Canada. Islamophobia: is perpetuated by private actors; is motivated; is historically rooted in Orientalism; draws on and perpetuates stereotypes about a Muslim propensity for violence; draws on and perpetuates gendered stereotypes about roles and the nature of Muslim women; is state-driven; and, persists through a dialectical process of private and state action. Canada’s variant of state-driven Islamophobia, unlike its American counterpart, particularly during the Trump era, operates subtly and can be difficult to identify. Nonetheless, its impacts prove profound. We thus end our analysis by proposing a framework for analyzing subtle forms of state-driven Islamophobia. The framework includes 5 facets: i) coding or the targeting of Muslims without explicitly naming them; ii) permission or the tacit license to engage in harmful race-based practices; iii) denial or the failure to name Islamophobic tropes that underlie an impugned act or decision; iv) individualization or the presentation of Islamophobia as a manifestation of extreme and aberrant private conduct, rather than broader social practices; and, v) minimization or the diminishment of Islamophobia, partially by creating confusion or controversy about its meaning or ignoring its impacts. Ultimately, we argue that government institutions have helped obscure our understanding of Islamophobia through various silencing techniques which combine to sustain the powerful narrative of Canada as a country that balances human rights and national security. A comprehensive definition of Islamophobia that takes this context into account can assist advocates, policy-makers, and educators to develop fulsome and more effective, strategic responses to Islamophobia in all its manifestations.
Research Interests:
Captain Javed Latif, a Muslim Canadian pilot from Pakistan, was denied pilot refresher training by Bombardier Aerospace Training Center in Canada based on information received from US national security officials. Almost 12 years after... more
Captain Javed Latif, a Muslim Canadian pilot from Pakistan, was denied pilot refresher training by Bombardier Aerospace Training Center in Canada based on information received from US national security officials. Almost 12 years after Captain Javed Latif ’s ordeal began, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed a decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal overturning a finding by a Quebec Human Rights Tribunal that Latif had been racially profiled. The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision ultimately exposes and perpetuates a deep unwillingness to challenge the stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists in Canada. In response, this commentary seeks to excavate Captain Latif ’s fuller story largely through a reading of silences. It critically analyzes the Court’s claim that the Tribunal had little or no evidence before it to ground its finding of discrimination.
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Canada's human rights regime may be failing Arab and Muslim communities just when they need it the most. This qualitative study analyzes select barriers to justice faced by 13 Arab or Muslim individuals who turned to human rights law for... more
Canada's human rights regime may be failing Arab and Muslim communities just when they need it the most. This qualitative study analyzes select barriers to justice faced by 13 Arab or Muslim individuals who turned to human rights law for remedy following a perceived discriminatory event after 9/11. Part I proposes a methodology for studying access to justice based on case law. Part II turns to the experiences of select Arab and Muslim human rights claimants. As critical theorists have long argued, human rights " law on the books " differs from " law in action ". The majority of the 13 claimants spent between two and 15 years pursuing a human rights claim, most did not secure the remedies they requested and many found their experiences minimized or misunderstood by adjudicators. Le régime canadien des droits de la personne pourrait bien ne pas répondre aux attentes des communautés arabe et musulmane alors qu' elles en ont le plus besoin. Cet article analyse les obstacles à l' accès à la justice auxquels ont été confrontées 13 personnes appartenant à la communauté arabe ou musulmane qui ont tenté d' avoir recours aux droits de la personne pour remédier à une situation perçue comme discriminatoire après les événements du 11 septembre. Comme le soutiennent les théoriciens depuis longtemps, la « théorie » et la « pratique » en matière de droits de la personne sont deux choses bien différentes. La majorité des 13 demandeurs ont consacré entre deux et 15 ans à la poursuite du règlement de leurs plaintes au titre des droits de la personne. La plupart d' entre eux n' ont pas obtenu la réparation demandée et un grand nombre ont constaté que les personnes chargées de trancher leurs affaires minimisaient leur vécu ou les comprenaient mal.
Research Interests:
This work contains papers by six authors who participated in a 2007 conference about racial profiling convened by The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. The authors who wrote the papers represent various disciplines,... more
This work contains papers by six authors who participated in a 2007 conference about racial profiling convened by The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. The authors who wrote the papers represent
various disciplines, perspectives and experiences.
They all agree that racial profiling cannot be tolerated
in a multi-cultural society and accept that
racial profiling is not an effective law enforcement
strategy. However, they take different positions
about whether profiling is, in fact, practiced in
Canada and have different reasons for rejecting
profiling.
various disciplines, perspectives and experiences.
They all agree that racial profiling cannot be tolerated
in a multi-cultural society and accept that
racial profiling is not an effective law enforcement
strategy. However, they take different positions
about whether profiling is, in fact, practiced in
Canada and have different reasons for rejecting
profiling.
Research Interests:
Canadian law prohibits the contracting out of torture. This paper argues that Canadian law imposes a duty on Canadian officials to take positive steps to prevent the overseas torture of Canadian nationals. Drawing on tort law, this... more
Canadian law prohibits the contracting out of torture. This paper argues that Canadian law imposes a duty on Canadian officials to take positive steps to prevent the overseas torture of Canadian nationals. Drawing on tort law, this paper sets out the doctrinal basis for concluding that a duty exists and emphasizes the importance of recognizing such a duty for equal citizenship guarantees.
The paper is divided into several parts. Part I links the torture of several Canadian-Arab-Muslim men to the information sharing practices and other counter-terrorism strategies of Canadian national security agencies. Part II reviews the absolute prohibition on torture and argues that torture cannot be justified as a counter-terrorism strategy. Part III explains why Canadian officials owe a positive, non-delegable duty to prevent torture while Part IV reflects on the access to justice implications of the non-delegable duty to prevent torture.
The paper is divided into several parts. Part I links the torture of several Canadian-Arab-Muslim men to the information sharing practices and other counter-terrorism strategies of Canadian national security agencies. Part II reviews the absolute prohibition on torture and argues that torture cannot be justified as a counter-terrorism strategy. Part III explains why Canadian officials owe a positive, non-delegable duty to prevent torture while Part IV reflects on the access to justice implications of the non-delegable duty to prevent torture.
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This paper presents a particular reading of Truth and Method, Hans-Georg Gadamer's landmark text, as a lens through which to consider the meaning of international texts in domestic contexts. Gadamer's thoughts have been the subject of... more
This paper presents a particular reading of Truth and Method, Hans-Georg Gadamer's landmark text, as a lens through which to consider the meaning of international texts in domestic contexts. Gadamer's thoughts have been the subject of inquiry and controversy across legal lines; yet, they remain virtually unknown within international human rights law. His absence within this circle is unfortunate because Gadamer takes up questions concerning culture, perspective, difference, and authority - issues that no international human rights scholar can hope to ignore. More importantly, however, Gadamer addresses these issues within a theory of language that proves relevant to the very structure of international human rights law itself, given that it lacks a third party arbitrator authorized to pronounce on meaning. The judicial use of international law within domestic courts brings this feature of the international regime into stark relief because the rising judicial reliance on international law has the potential to generate as many meanings of international texts as there are courts willing to engage those texts. Truth and Method expounds a theory of language that recognizes the authority of international texts and international law's governance ambitions while still accommodating variations in interpretation between national jurisdictions.
Research Interests:
This Article identifies and explores the justifications or rationales offered by national court judges in support of their references to international human rights law. It does not analyze the extent to which judges invoke international... more
This Article identifies and explores the justifications or rationales offered by national court judges in support of their references to international human rights law. It does not analyze the extent to which judges invoke international law; rather, it examines the reasons offered by judges to explain their references to international law. The focus is on leading decisions rendered by higher courts in the United States and Commonwealth jurisdictions where the international norms do not bind decision-makers because they have not been made part of domestic law through an act of incorporation, the relevant treaty has not been ratified, or the ratifying state has filed a reservation limiting a treaty's domestic effect.
Analysis of these cases reveals that judges invoke international law for five interdependent yet discrete reasons: (1) concern for the rule of law; (2) desire to promote universal values; (3) reliance on [*557] international law to help uncover values inherent within the domestic regime; (4) willingness to invoke the logic of judges in other jurisdictions; and (5) concern to avoid negative assessments from the international community. These rationales are not universal in that they are not cited by all judges all of the time; however, they also are not unique to a particular jurisdiction and can be found in the case law across jurisdictions.
Analysis of these cases reveals that judges invoke international law for five interdependent yet discrete reasons: (1) concern for the rule of law; (2) desire to promote universal values; (3) reliance on [*557] international law to help uncover values inherent within the domestic regime; (4) willingness to invoke the logic of judges in other jurisdictions; and (5) concern to avoid negative assessments from the international community. These rationales are not universal in that they are not cited by all judges all of the time; however, they also are not unique to a particular jurisdiction and can be found in the case law across jurisdictions.
Research Interests:
Taking Palestine as the focus of inquiry, and drawing on our experiences as co-directors of Karamah, a judicial education initiative focused on dignity, we reflect on the attributes of colonisation and the possibilities of decolonisation... more
Taking Palestine as the focus of inquiry, and drawing on our experiences as co-directors of Karamah, a judicial education initiative focused on dignity, we reflect on the attributes of colonisation and the possibilities of decolonisation in Palestine through development aid. We conclude that decolonisation is possible even within development aid frameworks. We envision the current colonial condition in Palestine as a multi-faceted, complex and dynamic mesh that tightens and expands its control over the coveted colonial subject but that also contains holes that offer opportunities for resistance or refusal. We turn to Karamah to illustrate how some judges have insisted on a professional identity that merges the concepts of human dignity and self-determination and ultimately rejects the colonial condition inherent in both occupation and development aid. We conclude that in this process of professional identity (re)formation, members of the Palestinian judiciary have helped reveal the demands of decolonisation by demonstrating their commitment to realising human dignity through institutional power, and bringing occupation back into international development discourse.
Research Interests:
Contrary to Cicero’s famous edict, Canadian law does not fall altogether silent in times of war. Rather, it serves as the site through which Canada expresses its commitment to the global war effort, showing its willingness to suspend the... more
Contrary to Cicero’s famous edict, Canadian law does not fall altogether
silent in times of war. Rather, it serves as the site through which Canada
expresses its commitment to the global war effort, showing its willingness to suspend the rights of citizens and non-citizens alike in the name of national and international security. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, for example, Canada legislated for the internment of individuals with Japanese ancestry, confiscated their property, stripped them of citizenship and deported them to Japan, even if they did not have concrete ties to that country. Canadian history has demonstrated that one cannot understand the demarcation between those who are imagined to belong to the community and those who are constructed as ‘foreigners’ simply on the basis of citizenship. Rather, the demarcation has also historically been constructed along racial lines. In times of war the law speaks loudly and clearly against those who are regarded as undesirable, untrustworthy and foreign. Since 11 September 2001, the trope of war has once again been invoked to justify the revocation of rights to certain segments of Canadian society. As a result of the ‘war against terrorism’, as it is popularly called, Arabs and Muslims in Canada have been disenfranchised and regarded as the foreigner within. The overtly racist instruments of the past have been put away. Arabs and Muslims are not being rounded up in internment camps nor are they being collectively stripped of their citizenship and required to leave Canada. Nonetheless, the war against terrorism has effectively constructed Arabs and Muslims in Canada as non-citizens because this war denies Arabs and Muslims rights that are otherwise guaranteed to other citizens.
silent in times of war. Rather, it serves as the site through which Canada
expresses its commitment to the global war effort, showing its willingness to suspend the rights of citizens and non-citizens alike in the name of national and international security. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, for example, Canada legislated for the internment of individuals with Japanese ancestry, confiscated their property, stripped them of citizenship and deported them to Japan, even if they did not have concrete ties to that country. Canadian history has demonstrated that one cannot understand the demarcation between those who are imagined to belong to the community and those who are constructed as ‘foreigners’ simply on the basis of citizenship. Rather, the demarcation has also historically been constructed along racial lines. In times of war the law speaks loudly and clearly against those who are regarded as undesirable, untrustworthy and foreign. Since 11 September 2001, the trope of war has once again been invoked to justify the revocation of rights to certain segments of Canadian society. As a result of the ‘war against terrorism’, as it is popularly called, Arabs and Muslims in Canada have been disenfranchised and regarded as the foreigner within. The overtly racist instruments of the past have been put away. Arabs and Muslims are not being rounded up in internment camps nor are they being collectively stripped of their citizenship and required to leave Canada. Nonetheless, the war against terrorism has effectively constructed Arabs and Muslims in Canada as non-citizens because this war denies Arabs and Muslims rights that are otherwise guaranteed to other citizens.
Research Interests:
Law can be the site through which women's dignity and equality can be expressed and pursued. Speaking the language of rights translates one's needs from private interests to public claims through words and concepts that the community –... more
Law can be the site through which women's dignity and equality can be expressed and pursued. Speaking the language of rights translates one's needs from private interests to public claims through words and concepts that the community – local, national and/or international – have already validated. Law can therefore offer a medium to confront the injustices and unfairness built into other systems of political, social and economic ordering. Women's rights advocates have won significant victories through law and have generated gains for women's dignity and equality. However, law can also be a place where women's rights are not only silenced but where social, economic and political power structures are replicated and work against women's rights.
This paper argues that effective rule of law programming focused on women's rights and democratic governance must begin with a clear definition of the rule of law, a careful analysis of the causes of women's inequality and the context in which it is perpetuated and sustained, coupled with an ability and desire to harness law as an instrument of social change that is tempered by a sober understanding that law is unpredictable and complex in its results.
This paper proceeds in several parts. First, it identifies the key issues relating to women's democratic governance, women's rights and the rule of law. The second part identifies the importance of normativity and power relations for feminist theorizing around the rule of law. Feminist conceptions of the rule of law recognize that law is shot throughout with social and economic power and that harnessing women's emancipation to law is fraught with uncertainties and complications. At the same time, feminist theorizing around the rule of law also recognizes the importance of using law to speak truth to power and to gain access to the sites in which social relations are defined, evaluated and consolidated. The final sections of this paper discuss the different barriers to access to justice that face elite and marginalized women, the possible roles that NGOs can play in the realization of women's rights, and the possible mutually interdependent and reinforcing roles that women in various positions of power can play in promoting women's rights more generally. The very last section sets out areas for further research and analysis. While scholars and advocates have significantly advanced the thinking about and harnessing of law in support of women's needs and interests, much conceptualization, implementation and assessment or evaluation work remains to be done.
This paper argues that effective rule of law programming focused on women's rights and democratic governance must begin with a clear definition of the rule of law, a careful analysis of the causes of women's inequality and the context in which it is perpetuated and sustained, coupled with an ability and desire to harness law as an instrument of social change that is tempered by a sober understanding that law is unpredictable and complex in its results.
This paper proceeds in several parts. First, it identifies the key issues relating to women's democratic governance, women's rights and the rule of law. The second part identifies the importance of normativity and power relations for feminist theorizing around the rule of law. Feminist conceptions of the rule of law recognize that law is shot throughout with social and economic power and that harnessing women's emancipation to law is fraught with uncertainties and complications. At the same time, feminist theorizing around the rule of law also recognizes the importance of using law to speak truth to power and to gain access to the sites in which social relations are defined, evaluated and consolidated. The final sections of this paper discuss the different barriers to access to justice that face elite and marginalized women, the possible roles that NGOs can play in the realization of women's rights, and the possible mutually interdependent and reinforcing roles that women in various positions of power can play in promoting women's rights more generally. The very last section sets out areas for further research and analysis. While scholars and advocates have significantly advanced the thinking about and harnessing of law in support of women's needs and interests, much conceptualization, implementation and assessment or evaluation work remains to be done.
Research Interests:
Women’s pain and death blurs the distinction between war and peace. Women are disproportionately starved, attacked physically, emotionally and psychologically, and killed during both war and peace. This paper focuses on the sanctions... more
Women’s pain and death blurs the distinction between war and peace. Women are disproportionately starved, attacked physically, emotionally and psychologically, and killed during both war and peace. This paper focuses on the sanctions imposed against Iraq by the United Nations Security Council (“Se- curity Council”) in response to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the on-going purported threat posed to international peace and security by the Iraqi regime. Intended as a humane alternative to war, the sanctions have nonetheless lead to such high levels of death and suffering, particularly among women and children, that commentators have labeled them “genocide,” a “medieval military siege,” and “a humanitarian disaster comparable to the worst catastrophes of the past decades.”
Not surprisingly, critics of the Security Council have turned a plethora of human rights and humanitarian instruments against the sanctions regime. Feminist legal scholarship as well as scholarship from criminology, political science, sociology, peace studies and other disciplines help reveal that the definition of security that informs the Security Council and Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter makes certain policy options in relation to Iraq appear natural and necessary, while rendering others more obscure.
This paper argues that a re-definition of “security” under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter is needed. Feminists have already spearheaded a redefinition of seemingly unassailable and steadfast legal terms such as “genocide” and “torture” so that they better reflect the experiences generated by the interactions of race, gender and other constituents of identity with international law. The term “security” must be unpacked and redefined in the same way. This re-interpretive task remains a crucial but unfinished part of thinking about women’s relationship to war.
Not surprisingly, critics of the Security Council have turned a plethora of human rights and humanitarian instruments against the sanctions regime. Feminist legal scholarship as well as scholarship from criminology, political science, sociology, peace studies and other disciplines help reveal that the definition of security that informs the Security Council and Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter makes certain policy options in relation to Iraq appear natural and necessary, while rendering others more obscure.
This paper argues that a re-definition of “security” under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter is needed. Feminists have already spearheaded a redefinition of seemingly unassailable and steadfast legal terms such as “genocide” and “torture” so that they better reflect the experiences generated by the interactions of race, gender and other constituents of identity with international law. The term “security” must be unpacked and redefined in the same way. This re-interpretive task remains a crucial but unfinished part of thinking about women’s relationship to war.
Research Interests:
Almost seventy years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the birth of Israel, and the beginning of the Palestinian naqba (all in 1948) it is now clear that international law has fallen short of its promise to alleviate... more
Almost seventy years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the birth of Israel, and the beginning of the Palestinian naqba (all in 1948) it is now clear that international law has fallen short of its promise to alleviate suffering, hold transgressors to account, and to encourage peace in the Middle East. Even John Humphrey, a drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, came to despair the efficacy of international law in Israel and Palestine. “He went there thinking that the proper application of the rule of law and respect for human rights could resolve the situation and came back thinking nothing could (since the debate was not a rational one)” (Hobbins 2006). Taking Humphrey’s despair over international law’s ability to guide behaviour in Israel and Palestine as its starting point and drawing on Stanley Cohen’s landmark book, States of Denial: Knowing about Atrocities and Suffering, this chapter argues that international law has fed into a process of denial maintenance in Israel, creating the backdrop against which Israeli leaders deny Palestinian suffering.
Between December 2008 and January 2009, international law and the Israeli military came face to face in two sites: Israel launched a sophisticated military attack against the Gaza Strip known as “Operation Cast Lead,” while simultaneously rounding up, trying, and sentencing Palestinian children for throwing stones against the wall — a structure built by Israel to contain the Palestinians and separate them from their land (ICJ 2004). Israel’s response to these events reveals a selective stance towards international law that is driven by denial of Palestinian suffering. The international system, with its emphasis on domestic implementation and state sovereignty, has largely tolerated this selectivity.
Between December 2008 and January 2009, international law and the Israeli military came face to face in two sites: Israel launched a sophisticated military attack against the Gaza Strip known as “Operation Cast Lead,” while simultaneously rounding up, trying, and sentencing Palestinian children for throwing stones against the wall — a structure built by Israel to contain the Palestinians and separate them from their land (ICJ 2004). Israel’s response to these events reveals a selective stance towards international law that is driven by denial of Palestinian suffering. The international system, with its emphasis on domestic implementation and state sovereignty, has largely tolerated this selectivity.
Research Interests:
After September 11, 2001, some scholars and policymakers promoted the racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims as a means towards greater national security. While racial profiling has not been officially sanctioned in Canada, it attracts... more
After September 11, 2001, some scholars and policymakers
promoted the racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims
as a means towards greater national security. While racial
profiling has not been officially sanctioned in Canada, it
attracts popular support and undeniably takes place. The first
part of this article identifies three different categories of
racial profiling in the context of Canada's War against
Terrorism. The second part identifies the problems
associated with racial profiling. It argues that racial profiling
undermines national security while also heightening the
vulnerability and exclusion of Arabs, Muslims, and other
racialized groups in Canada.
promoted the racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims
as a means towards greater national security. While racial
profiling has not been officially sanctioned in Canada, it
attracts popular support and undeniably takes place. The first
part of this article identifies three different categories of
racial profiling in the context of Canada's War against
Terrorism. The second part identifies the problems
associated with racial profiling. It argues that racial profiling
undermines national security while also heightening the
vulnerability and exclusion of Arabs, Muslims, and other
racialized groups in Canada.
Research Interests:
This paper analyzes the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse) v. Bombardier Inc. (Bombardier Aerospace Training Center). Almost 12 years after Captain Javed... more
This paper analyzes the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse) v. Bombardier Inc. (Bombardier Aerospace Training Center). Almost 12 years after Captain Javed Latif’s ordeal began, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed a decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal overturning a
finding by a Quebec Human Rights Tribunal that Bombardier had discriminated against him. While there is much to celebrate in the Court’s reasons, the decision ultimately exposes and perpetuates a deep unwillingness to challenge the stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists in Canada. In response, this paper seeks to excavate Latif’s fuller story largely
through a reading of silences. The Tribunal advanced two discrete but intersecting theories in its finding of discrimination. The Court focused, artificially, on one and found “no evidence” of discrimination. The Supreme Court not only ended Captain Latif’s quest for a remedy, it re-wrote his narrative by moving attention away from key facts involving his
interactions with Bombardier. The Court’s chosen narrative also regulated the collective fears and aspirations of Muslim communities in Canada to the realm of the unsaid. At a time when Muslims are struggling to counter popular and official stereotypes that construct them as incorrigible barbarians and outsiders who are prone to terrorism and violence, it is
important to create spaces for counter-narratives to be heard and lived experiences to be validated. Moreover, litigants who dedicate years of their lives to advancing social justice causes deserve the dignity of recognizing their own stories when relayed back to them by the legal process. The comparison of the Court’s reasons with that of the Tribunal thus
represents a political act of hearing counter-narratives while also critically analyzing the Supreme Court’s claim that the Tribunal had little or no evidence before it to ground its finding of discrimination.
Keywords:
racial profiling, national security, stereotyping, Muslims, Arabs
finding by a Quebec Human Rights Tribunal that Bombardier had discriminated against him. While there is much to celebrate in the Court’s reasons, the decision ultimately exposes and perpetuates a deep unwillingness to challenge the stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists in Canada. In response, this paper seeks to excavate Latif’s fuller story largely
through a reading of silences. The Tribunal advanced two discrete but intersecting theories in its finding of discrimination. The Court focused, artificially, on one and found “no evidence” of discrimination. The Supreme Court not only ended Captain Latif’s quest for a remedy, it re-wrote his narrative by moving attention away from key facts involving his
interactions with Bombardier. The Court’s chosen narrative also regulated the collective fears and aspirations of Muslim communities in Canada to the realm of the unsaid. At a time when Muslims are struggling to counter popular and official stereotypes that construct them as incorrigible barbarians and outsiders who are prone to terrorism and violence, it is
important to create spaces for counter-narratives to be heard and lived experiences to be validated. Moreover, litigants who dedicate years of their lives to advancing social justice causes deserve the dignity of recognizing their own stories when relayed back to them by the legal process. The comparison of the Court’s reasons with that of the Tribunal thus
represents a political act of hearing counter-narratives while also critically analyzing the Supreme Court’s claim that the Tribunal had little or no evidence before it to ground its finding of discrimination.
Keywords:
racial profiling, national security, stereotyping, Muslims, Arabs
Research Interests:
This book addresses the themes of praxis and the role of international lawyers as intellectuals and political actors engaging with questions of justice for Third World peoples. The book brings together 12 contributions from a total of 15... more
This book addresses the themes of praxis and the role of international lawyers as intellectuals and political actors engaging with questions of justice for Third World peoples. The book brings together 12 contributions from a total of 15 scholars working in the TWAIL (Third World Approaches to International Law) network or tradition. It includes chapters from some of the pioneering Third World jurists who have led this field since the time of decolonization, as well as prominent emerging scholars in the field. Broadly, the TWAIL orientation understands praxis as the relationship between what we say as scholars and what we do – as the inextricability of theory from lived experience. Understood in this way, praxis is central to TWAIL, as TWAIL scholars strive to reconcile international law's promise of justice with the proliferation of injustice in the world it purports to govern. Reconciliation occurs in the realm of praxis and TWAIL scholars engage in a variety of struggles, including those for greater self-awareness, disciplinary upheaval, and institutional resistance and transformation. The rich diversity of contributions in the book engage these themes and questions through the various prisms of international institutional engagement, world trade and investment law, critical comparative law, Palestine solidarity and decolonization, judicial education, revolutionary struggle against imperial sovereignty, Muslim Marxism, Third World intellectual traditions, Global South constitutionalism, and migration. The book was originally published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly.
Contents
1. Foreword: Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL)
Richard Falk
2. Introduction: TWAIL - on praxis and the intellectual
Usha Natarajan, John Reynolds, Amar Bhatia and Sujith Xavier
3. The Third World intellectual in praxis: confrontation, participation, or operation behind enemy lines?
Georges Abi-Saab
4. On fighting for global justice: the role of a Third World international lawyer
M. Sornarajah
5. Regulation of armed conflict: critical comparativism
Nesrine Badawi
6. Decolonisation, dignity and development aid: a judicial education experience in Palestine
Reem Bahdi and Mudar Kassis
7. The conjunctural in international law: the revolutionary struggle against semi-peripheral sovereignty in Iraq
Ali Hammoudi
8. Mir-Said Sultan-Galiev and the idea of Muslim Marxism: empire, Third World(s) and praxis
Vanja Hamzic
9. International lawyers in the aftermath of disasters: inheriting from Radhabinod Pal and Upendra Baxi
Adil Hasan Khan
10. The South of Western constitutionalism: a map ahead of a journey
Zoran Oklopcic
11. Disrupting civility: amateur intellectuals, international lawyers and TWAIL as praxis
John Reynolds
12. Migration, development and security within racialised global capitalism: refusing the balance game
Adrian A. Smith
Contents
1. Foreword: Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL)
Richard Falk
2. Introduction: TWAIL - on praxis and the intellectual
Usha Natarajan, John Reynolds, Amar Bhatia and Sujith Xavier
3. The Third World intellectual in praxis: confrontation, participation, or operation behind enemy lines?
Georges Abi-Saab
4. On fighting for global justice: the role of a Third World international lawyer
M. Sornarajah
5. Regulation of armed conflict: critical comparativism
Nesrine Badawi
6. Decolonisation, dignity and development aid: a judicial education experience in Palestine
Reem Bahdi and Mudar Kassis
7. The conjunctural in international law: the revolutionary struggle against semi-peripheral sovereignty in Iraq
Ali Hammoudi
8. Mir-Said Sultan-Galiev and the idea of Muslim Marxism: empire, Third World(s) and praxis
Vanja Hamzic
9. International lawyers in the aftermath of disasters: inheriting from Radhabinod Pal and Upendra Baxi
Adil Hasan Khan
10. The South of Western constitutionalism: a map ahead of a journey
Zoran Oklopcic
11. Disrupting civility: amateur intellectuals, international lawyers and TWAIL as praxis
John Reynolds
12. Migration, development and security within racialised global capitalism: refusing the balance game
Adrian A. Smith