In Steven Devenney's winning video for a nationwide competition, he urges Canada to adopt laws preventing exports of arms to nations that violate human rights.
The graduating UAlberta Law student's film answered the question, "What is the biggest human rights challenge facing Canada today and how can it be addressed?" His video submission won him a trip to the nation's capital to engage with federal officials and academics about current and emerging human rights issues in Canada.
Devenney hopes the video, in which he discusses Canada acceding to the international Arms Trade Treaty, its existing export policies and possible solutions to the issue, will help the subject reach a larger public audience.
"It's the one policy that has the potential to impact the most people and violate the broadest range of human rights," he said, adding the subject isn't often clearly discussed in the mainstream media.
Devenney wrote a paper on the topic for a human rights class, which he adapted for the film. but he had never made a video. But he thought it was too important an opportunity to pass up.
"The video is calling for Canada to take a leadership role and implement legislation that prevents arms exports to countries that consistently violate human rights," he said.
While some people associate the arms trade with guns and weapons, said Devenney, even the sale of armoured vehicles to war-torn countries has the potential to affect individuals on the ground.
He witnessed first-hand the impact of the arms trade in volatile nations as an intelligence officer in the military for 24 years, before his return to fulltime studies.
"I was a peacekeeper in Bosnia and I've seen the effects on the ground," he said. "That area of law is important to me."
Every two to three years, Justice Canada organizes a Human Rights Learning Day in Ottawa. This year, to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday and the 35th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the department put out a call for video submissions to law students across Canada to contribute to human rights discussions.
The top three video submissions were shown to more than 200 government officials, law professionals, students and academics during the Learning Day festivities.