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In the face of ongoing & serious human rights violations there is only one solution for a Canadian detained abroad: repatriation
On August 12th, Omar Khadr’s military commission trial came to a halt just hours after it started when his lawyer suddenly collapsed. It is now set to resume on October 18th. This gives the government of Canada one last opportunity to finally do the right thing: request the repatriation of Omar Khadr.
On January 29, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously declared that Omar Khadr’s human rights had been violated. The Court found that Canada “actively participated in a process contrary to Canada’s international human rights obligations and contributed to Mr. Khadr’s ongoing detention” in violation of section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Though the Court opted not to suggest a specific remedy – such as seeking Omar Khadr’s repatriation to Canada from Guantánamo Bay – it is nonetheless clear that the Court expects the government to respond in some way. Continued inaction was not an option. Canada subsequently sent a dilpomatic note requesting that evidence collected by Canadian officials not be used during the military commission trial — a request the US turned down.
On July 5, 2010, a Federal Court judge found that the diplomatic note did not represent adequate action on the case, and gave the Canadian government seven days to propose alternate remedies for the human rights violations in Omar Khadr’s case. A stay of this order was granted by the Federal Court of Appeal on 22 July, though a hearing on the main appeal has yet to be scheduled.
A child soldier in illegal detention
Only 15-years-old at the time of his capture by US forces in Afghanistan in the summer of 2002, Omar Khadr was transferred to Guantánamo Bay shortly afterwards. Following President Obama’s annoucement that he would close the Guantánamo facility, Omar Khadr was one of the detainees initially designated for transfer to military detention on the US mainland. Hopes that he might face a civilian trial in Federal Court were short-lived, and he continues to face an unfair trial by military commission. Despite reforms announced by the Obama administration in 2009, these military trials still fall far short of international human rights standards.
Amnesty International believes that no one under 18 years old should ever have been transferred to Guantánamo, and that no Guantánamo detainee, let alone one who was a child at the time of his alleged crime, should be subject to a military commission trial. The United Nations Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, has expressed concern that the trial will set a dangerous precendent for child soldiers worldwide: “juvenile justice standards are clear — children should not be tried before military tribunals.” These feelings have been echoed for years by NGOs, academics and other international experts inclduing the International Committee of the Red Cross.
A request for repatriation continues to be the most effective remedy on the table. The Canadian government has never identified any other equally effective action which would address the past and current human violations in this case.
It is time for Prime Minister Harper to ask President Obama for Omar Khadr’s repatriation to Canada.
