Evidence of meeting #63 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was icc.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Sameer Zuberi Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
I'd like to put two questions to you. One is picking up on what my colleague Ms. McPherson mentioned around your intent to go to the Middle East region in order to promote peace and justice. By having justice, then that leads to peace.
Secondly, on Tajikistan, there was a case I believe that was put forth to your court around Tajikistan and the Uyghurs. We know about the UN report saying that crimes against humanity might be occurring to its Uyghurs.
Would you like to comment on those two briefly?
Prosecutor, International Criminal Court, As an Individual
Yes, in relation to the second, I'm afraid it's the same answer—that I don't comment on communications in real time. There's a process in terms of communication, and I have to cut my suit according to the cloth we have, based upon a number of different situations but also jurisdiction. Evidence, of course, is not a small thing. The single biggest thing is to look at the quality of evidence.
In relation to peace and justice, I think that's a very broad question. Absolutely, there's a nexus between the two. They're different sides of the same coin, and we have seen in so many scenarios that, if one thinks there can be a sustainable peace without justice, it tends to be a cessation of hostilities as opposed to a peace. What we need to do is to make sure there's more justice. It can be done in a way that doesn't compromise peace, but certainly it can't be airbrushed away because it's inconvenient.
We need to realize, as a species, that what we're talking about is not politics. It's genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and for goodness' sake, we need to speak with one voice. As we are sending telescopes to see distant galaxies, different universes, in fact, we need to do better here on planet Earth and make these types of crimes extinct. We fail to do that, and that's why I feel we should feel ashamed. We should really feel ashamed when you look at Holocaust survivors, at survivors of Cambodia—and I've represented those victims as well—and at the Balkans.
Nadia Murad's last book was called The Last Girl, and she's not the last girl. We talk as if it's light. We talk as if it's some kind of show we're watching and that next time we'll do better: We didn't win this game, so let's try to win the next game.
I think we need to feel offended and ashamed and decide what we need to do collectively, as every state, as every individual and as international institutions, so that we can actually make these types of obscenities finally extinct. If we do not do it now, we shouldn't have this illusion or this assumption that there will be generations in the future who will be able to cure our own mistakes of today.
We have the means of destruction that we've never had in human history. I think that's yet another reason why you have great responsibilities as members of Parliament to make sure we don't just pass the buck, because maybe there will be nobody to pass it to.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Thank you very much. That concludes this session.
Allow me to say on behalf of all the members, Prosecutor Khan, that we're very grateful you made the time to be here with us. We are obviously very impressed by your commitment and your energy. Thank you for pointing out the challenges and reminding us of what we're supposed to do as well. We are also grateful that you were supported by two eminent Canadian jurists, and we're very grateful that you made time for us.
Members, before we adjourn, is it the will of the committee to submit witness lists for the study of Canada's sanction regime by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 12, 2023?