Canada/Afghanistan: Call for Public Inquiry into Detainee Transfers
Updated: 24 November 2009
Kandahar, AFGHANISTAN: A member of 1st Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry stands guard over a local man during a village search in northern Kandahar, 24 April 2006,
JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP/Getty Images
Behind Canada’s high profile military role in Afghanistan lies years of secrecy and denial around the handling of detainees. The subsequent obstruction of efforts to bring the truth to light has ultimately raised questions about the commitment to uphold the very human rights norms that the international community is working to restore.
Prior to 2005, any detainees picked up by international forces in Afghanistan were handed over to US jurisdiction. As reports mounted of torture, ill-treatment and illegal detention at Bagram, Guantánamo and elsewhere, Canada and several NATO allies struck agreements to transfer detainees to Afghan custody.
While hailed in some quarters as recognition of the re-emerging Afghan state institutions, in reality this meant placing detainees in an already overburdened penal system still struggling to be rebuilt after decades of neglect, corruption and systematic human rights violations. The risk of torture was, and continues to be, an ongoing concern particularly within the primary destination for transferred detainees: the National Directorate of Security.
In the face of mounting pressure to account for the handling of detainees, the Canadian government has chosen to attack the credibility of organizations and officials raising human rights concerns and side step the issue of investigating reports and allegations. The government maintains that it has never received a “credible allegation of torture”.
TAKE ACTION:
Step 1: Send an email to Prime Minister Stephen Harper:
Dear Prime Minister Harper:
Canada has pledged to be part of the effort to restore and uphold human rights in Afghanistan. Yet Canadian forces continue to transfer detainees to Afghan custody despite the risk of torture and ill-treatment.
I am shocked that the Canadian government has chosen to dismiss the reports of human rights organizations and even some of its own trusted officials. I am further disappointed by the obstruction of efforts – whether through the courts, tribunals or even the parliamentary system – to clarify the handling of prisoners in Afghanistan.
Accountability and transparency are essential to the promotion of human rights both at home and abroad. It’s time for Canada to live up to the same responsibilities we demand of others.
I urge you to convene, without delay, a full, public Commission of Inquiry into all aspects of the laws, policy and practice that has governed Canada’s approach to handling prisoners in Afghanistan.
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Step 2: Invite your friends to join you in this appeal for justice