Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thought you were going to suggest you would be taking a selfie of us or something.
It's a pleasure to be here with you as you look at this important legislation.
Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights almost 75 years ago, states have developed an extensive range of standards, bodies and processes for protecting human rights internationally.
There are 18 core UN human rights treaties and option protocols. Ten expert committees oversee state compliance with those treaties. The UN Human Rights Council meets three times per year as well as has frequent special sessions. The council's universal periodic review process reviews the human rights record of every UN member state once every four and a half years. The council's special procedures system of 45 thematic- and 14 country-focused independent experts rigorously scrutinizes human rights challenges around the world. Independent commissions of inquiry established by the council conduct in-depth investigations of situations of widespread human rights violations around the world.
There is all of that, yet our world continues to face massive human rights challenges. Governments on every continent show contempt for the binding obligations they have assumed. Accountability and enforcement are weak, relying primarily on notions of good faith and self-interest.
Canada has played a key role in advancing much of that progress and is widely respected as an international human rights champion, but there is so much more we can and must do.
One side of that—not the focus of today's session—is that we absolutely must set a stronger example of effectively implementing our own international human rights obligations domestically. The other dimension is that, while Canadian governments speak about the importance of human rights in our foreign policy, we do not back that up with transparent and accountable commitments, plans and reporting to demonstrate concretely that human rights come first for Canada on the world stage.
Bill C-281 takes a step in that direction on two fronts: an annual report outlining measures the government takes to advance international human rights and a list of prisoners of conscience for whose release Canada is advocating. I believe these two proposals can and should go further.
With respect to the first, an annual report that is not grounded in a strong foundational framework will, I fear, come up short. That is why advocates have called on Canada for many years to adopt a whole-of-government international human rights action plan developed on the basis of consultations with civil society and indigenous peoples' organizations, updated on a regular basis and subject to annual progress reports, which are reviewed by Parliament and released publicly.
I would suggest an amendment to Bill C-281 to require the development of just such an action plan and reporting processes of that nature.
With respect to the second provision, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind. Let me highlight just two.
First, “prisoners of conscience”—a powerful term that comes out of decades of campaigning by Amnesty International—is, nevertheless, not defined in law. There are many unjustly detained prisoners whose situations may well fall outside of that term, such as individuals facing torture, disappearances or the death penalty. I would suggest instead that the focus be on individuals who are detained or facing other treatment that contravenes international human rights obligations.
Second, there are several strategic considerations related to publicizing prisoner lists. While we do absolutely need more transparency and accountability, there are also legitimate reasons for caution and confidentiality. Some prisoners' situations may benefit from publicity and others may not. I worry about the message that may be conveyed if a case doesn't appear on the list, whatever the reason for that may be.
Having been involved over many decades in efforts to encourage Canadian diplomacy with respect to prisoner cases, including of Canadian citizens who are unjustly imprisoned abroad, a more pressing concern for me has been the failure and even refusal to provide meaningful information to family members, lawyers and civil society groups actively engaged on particular cases.
Instead of focusing only on a public list of prisoners' names, I would urge that Bill C-281 be amended to mandate the development of a clear strategy for Canadian government diplomacy on prisoner cases, perhaps to be included in the international human rights action plan, that incorporates the following standards. One would be to ensure consistency, including with respect to public advocacy. Two would be for stronger engagement with families, lawyers and civil society working on prisoner cases. Three would be to guide public reporting of the government's efforts, including the numbers of cases taken up, activities undertaken and the human rights concerns involved.
Thank you. Those are my comments.