All right, I'll go first.
That's why we harp on political advocacy, political intervention; it's because there are no other effective mechanisms.
International law is a terrible area of the law when it comes to the individual. There are all sorts of human rights treaties that protect individuals in theory, but in reality the mechanisms for protecting them are abysmal. Even the UN mechanisms, which I have invoked many times on behalf of clients all around the world, are difficult to enforce even when I get a favourable ruling; so that is all the more reason why I'm so passionate about advocacy: Canadians are sitting there abandoned and forgotten over diplomatic protocol, and we're not advocating for them.