Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Colleagues, I'm pleased to be here with you, along with my cabinet colleagues, Ministers Cannon and O'Connor, to address the very important dimension of our country's mission in Afghanistan.
I began my tenure as Minister of National Defence in August of 2007. I succeeded Minister O'Connor. Prior to that, I served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. I have been to Afghanistan nine times, most recently over the Remembrance Day weekend, and was proud to be there with family members of our fallen soldiers.
To begin, I want to set the record straight on two important issues.
Torture is abhorrent and can never be tolerated. It is not only contrary to international law but to our own Canadian values in a free and democratic society. Let me be clear: the Government of Canada has never been complicit in torture or any violation of international law by wilfully allowing detainees—Taliban prisoners—taken by the Canadian Forces to be exposed to abuse. No one ever turned a blind eye. The disclosure of information is done in accordance with Canadian law and is free from political interference.
Mr. Chair, I can clearly and firmly state, and in good conscience, that our military, our diplomats, our development officers, our police officers, and our corrections agents have acted and continue to act in accordance with the highest ethical and professional standards in the most challenging of circumstances. As was described by Minister O'Connor, this was a difficult, dangerous mission, and it continues to be so.
Having said that, I'm extremely proud, not only in my career as a member of the political class, but proud as a Canadian, to have associated myself with the men and women in uniform and those diplomats who continue to perform brilliantly in this mission, as they do in other missions around the world.
Mr. Chair, I'm proud as well that in the two capacities I've had the opportunity to see first-hand the extraordinary efforts that are being made by these exceptional Canadians. In Afghanistan we have a unified whole-of-government effort towards an overarching goal that was defined by the UN Security Council mandate establishing this mission: to build security, stability, and prosperity, and the hope that will come with them, for the Afghan people.
We are in that country at the invitation of the Afghanistan government, with over 60 nations, 40 of whom contribute militarily. Since late 2005, Canada has been operating in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous regions, namely Kandahar province. We have been there facing constant violence, attacks, and a ruthless insurgency intent on killing Afghans, killing Canadians, our allies, and partners participating in this international mission.
Mr. Chair, this mission is complex and difficult. We are engaged in an armed conflict. And we are working with others to create the conditions that will help Afghans rebuild their country and exercise fully their sovereignty.
This requires the Canadian Forces to go out in the countryside; the mountains; the villages; the streets of Kandahar city and the villages of Kandahar province. We do this in support of our development and governance work—to provide security for Canadians engaged in the task of rebuilding Afghanistan.
In the course of our mission, the Canadian Forces—like other coalition partners—take detainees. It is one of the realities of armed conflict.
The policies and practices around this issue have been—and remain—a major focus of the whole-of-government effort and a subject of constant attention and scrutiny because of the seriousness of this issue.
Mr. Chair, let me begin with the fundamentals.
Canada's military operations and practices are grounded in our commitment to international law, including the law of armed conflict, or as it is also called, international humanitarian law. This includes, of course, the Geneva Convention. There is not a Canadian Forces member deployed to Afghanistan who is not fully familiar with the fundamental legal framework and the obligations for conducting operations. This is part of their basic training.
Let me state clearly, Mr. Chair and colleagues, that when our personnel in theatre—military, diplomatic, or others—have raised concerns, as a government we have acted. This is part of what we do; this is part of what we expect; this is part of the chain that comes from the people in theatre. It is part of the values and ethics, commitment, and professionalism that permeate the Canadian mission and the actions of Canadians serving on this mission.
Mr. Chair, you've heard from others on the complexity of issues we were dealing with at the time when we first deployed into Kandahar province. Notwithstanding the dangers and challenges of these early days, Canadians on the ground carried out their many responsibilities in partnership with the fledgling Afghan institutions and their players. This included meeting our obligations and our expectations regarding Taliban prisoners.
Canadian soldiers and civilians worked within the framework of the initial 2005 agreement put in place by the previous administration and with the Afghan government on the issue of Taliban prisoners. They acted within our legal obligations. Canada obtained assurances from the highest levels of the Afghanistan government in the course of our regular and constant engagement with them, from the level of president to local officers, that Canadian-transferred detainees or prisoners would be treated humanely.
Even so, clearly the situation on the ground evolved, as it continues to evolve. Our military and civilians on the ground and their teams in Ottawa received information from a wide variety of sources: from Canadian officials, our allies, embedded media, international organizations, and others. We carefully considered this information and used it to think about how we could improve the arrangement with the Afghan government. That's why we acted decisively.
In May 2007, a supplementary arrangement with the Government of Afghanistan was concluded and signed by our ambassador at the time, Arif Lalani. We negotiated this supplementary arrangement because we had, like our international partners, shared concerns regarding the conditions in Afghan detention facilities. The supplementary arrangement drew on the lessons we had learned from 2006 to 2007 and reflected the evolution of the facts on the ground and the information received from various sources. It was designed to enhance Canada's ability to meet its obligations and to assist the Afghan government to meet their responsibilities. It is a sovereign country.
The arrangement introduced a number of new provisions, Mr. Chair, including full and unrestricted access by Canadian officials to Canadian-transferred detainees, provisions for facilities for monitoring detention conditions as well as the well-being of Canadian-transferred Taliban prisoners within those Afghan detention facilities. It also included a specific provision that Canadian-transferred detainees would be held in a limited number of facilities; a reinforced role for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, which includes full and unrestricted access to Canadian-transferred detainees; and the reaffirmation of the International Committee of the Red Cross's unrestricted right under international law to visit detainees in the context of armed conflict.
Canada put real resources to work within the Afghan prison facilities and the Afghan system to build the capacity they needed to exercise their responsibilities. We have made it a core objective to help Afghans rebuild and strengthen their justice system, and we have remained vigilant. We have taken allegations of abuse seriously, Mr. Chair, and we have acted when required: on the battlefield, in Kandahar, and in Kabul with the Government of Afghanistan. That includes directly communicating with Government of Afghanistan officials, up to and including the President, when issues arose. We have worked assiduously to ensure that the Afghan authorities were fully aware of Canada's expectations regarding their responsibilities and the treatment of Canadian-transferred Taliban prisoners.
We must remember again that we are in a sovereign country at their invitation. We are there to support, train, monitor, mentor, build, but not replace the sovereign authority of the Afghan government. In accelerating their capacity, we also accelerate our return home.
It's important to note that Canada is not alone in this approach. ISAF allies and partners work in support of the Afghan government's sovereignty, and I believe that is within the spirit of the UN mandate and the Afghan Compact, which lays out with the international community the Afghan government's objectives and priorities for international assistance. That does not mean we are uncritical or undemanding. We are not. We are, in fact, critical and demanding. But we are also respectful of Afghanistan and its sovereignty. And this means we must rely on the Afghan government to fulfill its commitments and work with the Afghans to give them the capacity to do so where that capacity is lacking. It's our responsibility and obligation to ensure ourselves that we are not transferring detainees into a substantial risk of abuse. And that is what we did, Mr. Chair.