Walter Seymour Allward (d. April 24, 1955) contributed to peace through his design of the famous Vimy Monument in France. #Canada150

Known as “Allward of Vimy,” Walter Allward gained his reputation largely on the basis of the mammoth Canadian Battlefields Memorial in Vimy, France (1922-36), that commemorated the important Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 1917) and the over 11,000 Canadians listed as missing in action during the First World War.

Allward’s early work included the figure of “Peace” on the North-West Rebellion Monument in Queen’s Park, Toronto (1895). His reputation well established, Allward’s real talent lay in his heroic monuments.  He won the Vimy commission in 1921 and moved to London, England, the following year, where he set up a studio. He made regular trips to Vimy over the next several years. The Vimy Memorial was unveiled 26 July 1936 by King Edward VIII in the presence of 6,000 Canadians who had travelled to witness the event.

Viola Irene Desmond contributed to peace by fighting racial discrimination in Nova Scotia.#Canada150

Desmond was a Black Nova Scotian hairdresser who challenged racial segregation at a film theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1946. She refused to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre and was unjustly convicted of a minor tax violation used to enforce segregation. Her lawyer’s decision to opt for a judicial review rather than an appeal and to focus on her being wrongly accused of tax evasion was disastrous. The Justice hearing the case indicated that if it had been wrought by other methods the wrong she suffered might have been righted.

In 1954, segregation was legally ended in Nova Scotia. This case helped start the modern civil rights movement in Desmond’s case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history and helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada. Desmond acted nine years before the famed incident by civil-rights activist Rosa Parks, with whom Desmond is often compared.   Desmond was granted a posthumous pardon, the first to be granted in Canada.  The government of Nova Scotia also apologized for convicting her for tax evasion and acknowledged she was rightfully resisting racial discrimination.

Idle No More contributes to peace by asserting Indigenous rights, Nation to Nation treaties, and protecting the land and water.#Canada150

The movement was initiated by activists Nina Wilson, Sheelah Mclean, Sylvia McAdam, and Jessica Gordon in November 2012, during a teach-in at Station 20 West in Saskatoon called “Idle No More”, held in response to the Harper Government’s introduction of Bill C-45 amending the navigable waterways act.

As a grass roots protest it has grown to focus on native sovereignty, the environment and the education and revitalization of indigenous peoples through awareness and empowerment. They specifically bring the viewpoint of aboriginal women to these issues.

UN Peacekeeping Operations contribute to peace through efforts to bring about an end to international conflicts around the world.#Canada150

United Nations Peacekeeping began in 1948 when the Security Council authorized the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East.  Since then, 69 peacekeeping operations have been deployed by the UN, 56 of them since 1988.  Over the years, hundreds of thousands of military personnel, as well as tens of thousands of UN police and other civilians from more than 120 countries have participated in UN peacekeeping operations.  More than 3,326 UN peacekeepers from some 120 countries have died while serving under the United Nations’ flag.

UN Peacekeepers provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace. UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

• Consent of the parties;
• Impartiality;
• Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

There are currently 16 UN peacekeeping operations deployed on four continents.

Humphrey was a principal drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After consulting with the executive group of the Commission, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, Professor Humphrey prepared the first preliminary draft of what was to become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt Referred to it as “the international Magna Carta of all humankind.”

During his career at The United Nations, Humphrey oversaw the implementation of 67 international conventions and the constitutions of dozens of countries. He worked in areas including freedom of the press, status of women, and racial discrimination. In 1988, on the 40th anniversary of the Declaration, the UN Human Rights Award was bestowed on Professor Humphrey.

In 1963, he put forth the idea of a United Nations High Commission for Human Rights. While the idea was initially received quite positively, it was only after more than thirty years, that the office became a reality.