"Dancing with fire in limbo": The consequences of Myanmar migrants' ambiguous legal status in Thailand
May 20, 2024
Dr. Sai Kyi Zin Soe
The Department of Anthropology and the Centre for Human Rights Research hosted a lecture with Dr. Sai Kyi Zin Soe on May 30, 2024. Dr. Soe’s presentation “”Dancing with fire in limbo”: The consequences of Myanmar migrants’ ambiguous legal status in Thailand” explores the challenges faced by Burmese refugees in Thailand, who navigate the precarious circumstances of displacement and legal ambiguity. Drawing on social science research, it examines the drivers of forced migration from Myanmar, including the intensified civil war, persecution of ethnic minorities, and economic hardship. In Thailand, these refugees are officially classified as “illegal migrants,” leaving them in a state of limbo without access to essential services and vulnerable to arrest and deportation. Simultaneously, Burmese nationals face pressure to conform to their communities’ expectations regarding political activism and in-country revolution. The presentation emphasizes the importance of understanding these complex realities through a social science lens to inform holistic, rights -based approaches to development policy and practice. By advocating for legal recognition, refugee empowerment, and research-informed strategies, this presentation highlights the transformative potential of social science in shaping policies that bridge the gap between displacement and belonging, positioning refugees as agents of change.
Dr. Sai Kyi Zin Soe is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Disability Research and Policy, Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. Currently, he serves as a Senior Consultant at the Foundation for Education and Development (FED), dedicated to assisting Myanmar migrants in Thailand. Additionally, he provides support to the Karenni State Interim Parliament (KSIP) in the capacity of a Technical Advisor.
“No One is Disposable” with Mostafa Henaway
"No One is Disposable" with Mostafa Henaway
March 2024
Mostafa Henaway
The Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Manitoba, hosted Mostafa Henaway (Immigrant Workers Centre – Montreal) for a lecture titled “No One is Disposable: On Migration, Capitalism, and Class in Canada” on March 12, 2024 at the University of Manitoba.
Henaway, a Canadian-born Egyptian, is a long-time community organizer at the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal, where he has been organizing for justice for immigrant/migrant workers for over two decades. He is also a researcher and PhD candidate at Concordia University. In his new book, Essential Work, Disposable Workers: Migration, Capitalism and Class, he examines “the massive expansion of precarious work under neoliberalism and how migrant workers are challenging the conditions of their hyper-exploitation through struggles for worker rights and justice.”
Related Resources
Support Us
Whether you are passionate about interdisciplinary human rights research, social justice programming, or student training and mentorship, the University of Manitoba offers opportunities to support the opportunities most important to you.
An Event in Honour of Red Dress Day with Cambria Harris
An Event in Honour of Red Dress Day with Cambria Harris
May 2, 2024
Cambria Harris
The content in this video may be difficult and/or triggering. If you or someone you know needs emotional assistance related to this topic or the information in this article, help is available 24/7 through the MMIWG Support Line, 1-866-413-6649.
On Thursday, May 2nd, 2024, Indigenous Engagement and Communications, the Department of Indigenous Studies, the Margaret Laurence Endowment Fund (Women’s and Gender Studies) and the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba were honoured to host Cambria Harris for an event in honour of the National MMIWG2S+ Awareness Day, or Red Dress Day.
The name ‘Red Dress Day’ is inspired by the work of Métis artist Jamie Black who began The REDress Project in 2010 to raises awareness about the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ Peoples. It began as an art installation that hung hundreds of empty red dresses in public spaces to remind people of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women and girls lost because of gender-based violence.
Read more about the Calls to Justice.
Migrant Reproductive Justice: Perinatal and abortion care with precarious immigration status with Dr. Lindsay Larios
Migrant Reproductive Justice: Perinatal and abortion care with precarious immigration status with Dr. Lindsay Larios
April 2, 2024
Dr. Lindsay Larios
On April 2, 2024, the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) hosted Dr. Lindsay Larios (UManitoba) for a seminar titled “Migrant Reproductive Justice: Perinatal and abortion care with precarious immigration status.”
Dr. Lindsay Larios is an interdisciplinary critical policy researcher and assistant professor of social work at the University of Manitoba. She studies citizenship and immigration in the Canadian context, in particular, as it intersects with family and reproductive politics and policies. Her most recent work focuses on the politics of pregnancy and childbirth and precarious migration as an issue of reproductive justice.
This seminar is a part of our annual Critical Conversations seminar series. This year, the seminar series focused on the CHRR’s research theme Reproductive and Bodily Justice and explored histories of the body, reproduction, and care in Canada and beyond.
Care Activism in Canada: Migrant Domestic Workers, Dissident Friendships and Decolonial Care
Care Activism in Canada: Migrant Domestic Workers, Dissident Friendships and Decolonial Care
March 19, 2024
Dr. Ethel Tungohan and Diwa Marcelino
Dr. Ethel Tungohan in conversation with Diwa Marcelino, Migrante Manitoba
In collaboration with the Global College – University of Winnipeg, the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) at the University of Manitoba hosted Dr. Ethel Tungohan (York University) for a seminar titled Care Activism in Canada: Migrant Domestic Workers, Dissident Friendships and Decolonial Care. Dr. Tungohan was in conversation with Migrante Manitoba representative and community organizer Diwa Marcelino.
Ethel Tungohan is a Canada Research Chair in Canadian Migration Policy, Impacts and Activism and an Associate Professor of Politics at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her book, “Care Activism: Migrant Domestic Workers, Communities of Care, and Movement Building,”, won the National Women’s Studies Association First Book Prize. Her research looks at social movements, immigration policy, social and public policy, and Canadian and comparative politics.
Diwa Marcelino is a community organizer with Migrante Manitoba, a grassroots organization advancing the rights and welfare of overseas Filipinos within the framework of peoples’ struggle for democracy, justice & peace in the Philippines. Migrante Manitoba is a founding member of Health Care for All Manitoba, an alliance advocating for expanded public health care coverage to include all residents of Manitoba regardless of status. During the Freedom Convoy occupations in 2022, he became the national project manager for the Community Solidarity Project, a civil society response to rise of the politics of division and hate. He is also a founding member of Community Solidarity Manitoba. He is also the vice-chairperson of the Council of Canadians, a grassroots organization challenging corporate power and advocating for people, the planet and our democracy. He is also a steering committee member of KAIROS, an ecumenical organization promoting ecological justice and human rights.
This seminar is a part of our annual Critical Conversations seminar series. This year, the seminar series focused on the CHRR’s research theme Reproductive and Bodily Justice and explored histories of the body, reproduction, and care in Canada and beyond.
“The Crying Need For Indian Foster Homes”: Indigenous Women Challenge State Child Welfare Practices With Sarah Nickel, PhD.
"The Crying Need For Indian Foster Homes": Indigenous Women Challenge State Child Welfare Practices With Sarah Nickel, PhD.
March 12, 2024
Dr. Sarah Nickel
The Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) hosted a seminar titled “The crying need for Indian foster homes”: Indigenous Women Challenge State Child Welfare Practices with Dr. Sarah Nickel (UAlberta) on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 2:30 pm in 543-544 UMSU University Centre.
Sarah Nickel is Tk’emlúpsemc, French Canadian, and Ukrainian, and an associate professor of History at the University of Alberta. Her work focuses on twentieth century Indigenous politics and the gendered nature of political work drawing on community- engaged methodologies. Her first book, Assembling Unity: Indigenous Politics, Gender, and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs was published in 2019 with UBC Press and won the Canadian Historical Association’s prize for Best Book in Indigenous History in 2020. Sarah’s second monograph, Active Women: Indigenous Women’s Social and Political Work in Kanata’s West will be published with the University of Toronto Press in late 2024.
This seminar is a part of our annual Critical Conversations seminar series. This year, the seminar series focused on the CHRR’s research theme Reproductive and Bodily Justice and explored histories of the body, reproduction, and care in Canada and beyond.
Innocents Behind Bars: Systemic Racism and Wrongful Convictions
Innocents Behind Bars: Systemic Racism and Wrongful Convictions
November 28, 2023
Amanda Carling, James Lockyer, Alice Kim, Gregory Banks, Niigaan Sinclair, Elder Robert Greene
On November 28, 2023, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Centre for Human Rights Research (University of Manitoba), and the Faculty of Law (University of Manitoba) co-organized and sponsored a public event “Innocents Behind Bars: Systemic Racism and Wrongful Convictions.”
We were honoured to welcome:
- Amanda Carling, CEO, BC First Nations Justice Council
- James Lockyer, Founding Director, Innocence Canada
- Alice Kim, Director of Human Rights Practice, Centre for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture
- Gregory Banks, Torture Survivor and Learning Fellow, Chicago Torture Justice Center (joining virtually)
- Facilitated by Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, Indigenous Studies, University of Manitoba
- Opening remarks from Elder Robert Greene, Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Messy Ethics in Human Rights Work Book Launch
Messy Ethics in Human Rights Work Book Launch
October 26, 2023
Dr. Neil Bilotta, Dr. Christina Clark-Kazak, Dr. Maritza Felices-Luna, Dr.Shayna Plaut, Dr. Lara Rosenoff Gauvin.
Every day, those doing human rights work are confronted with irresolvable ethical dilemmas that extend beyond institutional ethical processes. Messy Ethics in Human Rights Work invites readers into a series of overlapping conversations, as activists, researchers, artists, and others reflect on the complex disorderliness of ethics in practice, and the implications for human rights work. Contributors share situations when they were ethically stuck between a rock and hard place. What happened? What would they do differently next time? This work proposes that personal reflection and collective, sometimes uncomfortable discussion, are essential components of critical human rights practice.
On Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 7pm, in collaboration with McNally Robinson Grant Park and UBC Press, the Centre for Human Rights Research hosted a launch of the book with a conversation with the co-editors exploring what ethics means in the human rights work they do.
Related Resources
Support Us
Whether you are passionate about interdisciplinary human rights research, social justice programming, or student training and mentorship, the University of Manitoba offers opportunities to support the opportunities most important to you.
Islamophobia and Colonial Violence: Solidarity and Civil Resistance in Post-9/11 Manitoba
Islamophobia and Colonial Violence: Solidarity and Civil Resistance in Post-9/11 Manitoba
October 25, 2023
Dr. Youcef Soufi
On October 25, 2023, the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) hosted a seminar on the topic of islamophobia and colonial violence with Dr. Youcef Soufi from the Institute of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto. The event focused on the experiences of solidarity and civil resistance of Muslim Canadians in the aftermath of 9/11 and during the US’s global war on terror.
Related Resources
Support Us
Whether you are passionate about interdisciplinary human rights research, social justice programming, or student training and mentorship, the University of Manitoba offers opportunities to support the opportunities most important to you.
She is Sacred: Reflections on the National Inquiry into MMIWG2S+
She is Sacred: Reflections on the National Inquiry into MMIWG2S+
October 6, 2023
Dr. Karine Duhamel, Dawn Chartrand
The content in this video may be difficult and/or triggering. If you or someone you know needs emotional assistance related to this topic or the information in this article, help is available 24/7 through the MMIWG Support Line, 1-866-413-6649.
On October 6, 2023, Indigenous Engagement and Communications and the Centre for Human Rights Research hosted “An Event in Honour of the National Day of Action on MMIWG2S+” with Dr. Karine Duhamel and Dawn Chartrand.
Dr. Karine Duhamel’s talk was entitled “She is Sacred: Reflections on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.”
Karine Duhamel is Anishinaabe-Métis and a member of Red Rock First Nation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University, a Bachelor of Education from Lakehead University and a Master’s degree and PhD in History from the University of Manitoba. From 2018 to 2019, she was Director of Research for the historic National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, drafting the Final Report, directing the Legacy Archive, and managing the Forensic Document Review Project. She is now Director of Indigenous Strategy for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, working to implement the strategic plan focused on supporting Indigenous research and researchers.
Following Dr. Duhamel’s talk, we participated in a Laughing Yoga workshop with Dawn Chartrand.
Related Resources
Support Us
Whether you are passionate about interdisciplinary human rights research, social justice programming, or student training and mentorship, the University of Manitoba offers opportunities to support the opportunities most important to you.
Contact Us
We’d love to hear from you.
442 Robson Hall
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3T 2N2 Canada
204-474-6453
Quick Links
Subscribe to our mailing list for periodic updates from the Centre for Human Rights Research, including human rights events listings and employment opportunities (Manitoba based and virtual).
Traditional Territories Acknowledgement
The University of Manitoba campuses are located on the original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anisininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Dene and Inuit, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.
Centre for Human Rights Research 2023© · Privacy Policy