JCCA Human Rights Committee

The Greater Vancouver JCCA Human Rights Committee has been dealing with human rights, race relations, and discrimination related issues since 1990, when it was established as a standing committee of the JCCA.

The Greater Vancouver JCCA is a non-profit organization representing the Japanese Canadian community in Metro Vancouver.

The GVJCCA’s mandate includes [to] “protect and promote the past, present and future legal rights and democratic freedom of all persons in Canada regardless of race, religion, status or sex.” (JCCA Constitution 1985.)

We work with and support the Japanese Canadian community, other human rights groups, and ethno-cultural organizations to promote human rights and combat racism, locally and internationally.

Advocacy

The Committee provides human rights information, advice, referrals to public services, and support for those who have experienced a human rights violation.

Education

We organize community education workshops on human rights and related issues. Topics have included Japanese Canadian Intermarriage and family relations, addressing the trauma of the Japanese Canadian Internment, and racial profiling and Canada’s post 9/11 security measures.

Our work also includes participating in community interpretive social justice education projects such as the history of Japanese Canadians in Hastings Park.

We hosted a conference on sharing stories about the Japanese Canadian Internment; successfully steered the University of British Columbia in 2012 to issue baccalaureate degrees to Japanese Canadian students who were forced to abandon their university education in 1942; and worked successfully with the City of Vancouver on their 2013 Apology regarding 1942 city council motions to expulse Japanese Canadian residents.

Each year we operate an information and display booth at the Powell Street Festival.

Networking

We are members of the National Association of Japanese Canadians Human Rights Committee, the BC Human Rights Coalition, and Amnesty International. Our activities include:

• Strengthening links with the indigenous community including support for Reconciliation Canada and campaigns for Aboriginal Peoples’ rights;

• Advocating for a meaningful apology from the provincial government to the Chinese Canadian community for the head tax imposed on families;

• Supporting marginalized residents of the Strathcona Downtown Eastside Japan town community to address their need for safe and affordable housing;

• Outreaching to Muslim Canadian community and presenting community education about racial profiling, the Islamic faith and border security in Canada;

• Working with the Save Article 9 Group on various film and community education workshops supporting world peace and anti- militarism in Japan;

Publications

• Reports in the Bulletin/Geppo in English and Japanese;
• Articles in the Nikkei Voice;
• Produced a bilingual Japanese English Human Rights Guide;
• Contributed to the online National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) Human Rights Guide.

If you have a human rights concern, please contact our committee through the JCCA office. We strictly respect confidentiality. What you tell us will not be shared with anyone without your prior consent.

Join the GVJCCA Human Rights Committee.

Committee members have been enriched by gaining knowledge, understanding, and becoming activists for social justice and human rights issues.

Together we can continue supporting the legacy of social justice, exemplified by the Redress settlement for Japanese Canadians in 1988, a landmark victory in the history of human rights in Canada.

Our meetings are usually the second Saturday each month.