On the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, hundreds of people gathered in Edmonton, Alberta to reflect on the accomplishments of the Declaration and current challenges to human rights. This volume offers their collective insights. Participants in this landmark conference included: Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town; Francine Fournier, Assistant Director General of UNESCO; Her Excellency Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; and The Right Honourable Antonio Lamer, Chief Justice of Canada. "From federal ministers, to Chinese and Vietnamese dissidents, to academics, the judiciary, advocates for the poor, the disabled, the disenfranchised and the minorities; the delegates engaged in vibrant and compassionate dialogue which was both enriching and worrisome." --Canadian Senate Debates

Gurcharan Bhatia and J.S. (Jack) O`Neill co-chaired the 1998 Universal Rights and Human Values Conference. Gerald Gall and Patrick Bendin are lawyers with an interest in civil liberties.

Gurcharan S. Bhatia's profile page

J.S. (Jack) O'Neill was co-chair of the Universal Rights and Human Values Conference. He is the former chief commissioner of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and deputy minister of Culture and Multiculturalism in the Alberta government. He holds degrees in education from the University of Manitoba and Fordham University in New York and was a member of the Jesuit Order of Canada from 1943 to 1973.

J.S. O'Neill's profile page

Gerald L. Gall is a professor of law at the University of Alberta where he teaches constitutional law and civil liberties. He is a barrister and solicitor in the province of Ontario and has served on several boards of directors including the Legal Education Society of Alberta and the Centre for Constitutional Studies. He is a former executive director of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and the author of the first, second, third and fourth editions of The Canadian Legal System.

Gerald L. Gall's profile page

Patrick D. Bendin is a lawyer with the Canadian Department of Justice where he currently practices in the area of civil litigation. He is a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta and a member of the Alberta Bar.

Patrick D. Bendin's profile page

"Hopeful, honest and wide-ranging.. A must-read for anyone who cares about rights issues, Peace, Justice and Freedom is a passionate example of who we are, where we're going, and what we must yet accomplish." (Human Rights Commission Alta.)

"Peace, Justice and Freedom is a rich compilation of poignant personal experiences, pious words from officials, closely reasoned academic contributions, and passionate appeals to governments, companies and individuals to do better.... [I]t provides plentiful material to those who seek eloquent illustrations and quotations on what the Universal Declaration has been capable of engendering, as well as what it has not delivered, in the last 50 years." Marlies Glasius, London School of Economics and Political Science, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 34, No. 2

"its importance can be measured by the quality of thought gathered into a single volume: there is more clear thinking about human rights in this particular book than in any other I have read." Satya Das, Edmonton Journal