I do, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Our amendment is this:
That Bill C-353, in Clause 21, be amended by deleting lines 26 to 30 on page 11.
The rationale for that is that we think it is important that the section authorizing monetary rewards for information leading to the release or repatriation of hostages or detained individuals be removed.
We spoke to experts from organizations like Amnesty International and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, and they identified some serious concerns that this approach, despite its goals, could inadvertently incentivize hostage-taking. Bad actors may orchestrate hostage situations to extract payments.
In our last meeting, witness Lara Symons from Hostage International also raised concerns about individuals taking advantage of monetary rewards while being complicit in the hostage-taking itself. This unintended consequence has been observed in other contexts in which reward systems have been implemented, ultimately undermining international human rights obligations and the rule of law.
UN experts have raised similar alarms about the U.S. rewards for justice program, which this section was modelled after. The U.S. program has been criticized for violating human rights by undermining due process and encouraging actions that can lead to abuses.
UN special rapporteur Alena Douhan explained that offering monetary rewards can lead to forced co-operation, denial of due process and even violations of fundamental rights, such as freedom of movement and the right to work.
It's for that rationale that we would like to bring forward this amendment.
