The Fifty-Fourth Annual Shevchenko Lecture | Raynell Andreychuk | Canada’s Magnitsky Law: Justice for Victims of Human Rights Abuses

Thursday, 15 October 2020 | Noon – 1:15 p.m. (MDT)

The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, in partnership with the Ukrainian Professional Business Association of Edmonton are proud to present the Fifty-Fourth Annual Shevchenko Lecture with speaker The Honourable Raynell Andreychuk.
The pursuit of justice in international relations poses many complex challenges. In her presentation, Raynell Andreychuk will examine issues affecting International Human Rights law and discuss her role in drafting Canada’s Magnitsky Bill targeting individual violators.

Canada’s Magnitsky Law imposes travel bans and freezes the assets of those responsible for gross human rights abuses and systemic corruption. How does one evaluate if sanctions work, and what must civil society, the press and parliamentarians do to ensure their effective implementation? She will also explore ways of strengthening Canadian legislation and new methods that can be used to attack this global problem.

Born in Saskatoon, A. Raynell Andreychuk completed Arts and Law degrees at the University of Saskatchewan and was appointed a judge of the Saskatchewan Provincial Court in 1976. She also served as chancellor of the University of Regina (1977–83) and held several diplomatic posts in the Canadian government. In 1993 she was named to the Senate of Canada, retiring in 2019. In the Senate, Andreychuk sponsored the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law), which was passed and became law in 2017.