Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, ladies, for your presentations which have helped shed a little more light on these matters of concern to me.
As you know, I have been very interested in the Omar Khadr case. He is a child soldier. As Mr. Kuebler mentioned during his testimony, children are never soldiers. They are merely children who have been illegally exploited by persons who lead them into danger.
After listening to various experts, I am even more concerned about the Canadian government's inaction. To date, it has not asked that Omar Khadr be repatriated. Furthermore, I would point out that Canada was the first country to ratify, in 2000, the Optional Protocol to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. I also have to wonder why Canada is currently the only Western country that has not insisted that a national being held in Guantanamo be returned for trial to Canada. I think Omar Khadr can be assured of a fair trial under Canadian law.
Furthermore, according to a report submitted in 2007 to the United Nations under the Protocol, the United States is committed to using effective reintegration measures to address the problem of child combatants and espouses the principle that family reunification and community reintegration are both goals and processes of recovery for former child combatants. This commitment by the United States is contained in a report presented in 2007 to the United Nations.
I have to wonder what is stopping the US government from taking steps to improve the treatment of this child. In my mind, he is still a child. He has been held since the age of 15 at Guantanamo Bay. Just how long has he been held there? I think it's been several years now, and he needs some support. It is difficult for us to know how he has been treated. Why are things not progressing? Is it because the government wants to make an example of Khadr and show in the process how the sins of humanity can be purged? I really don't know. I've leave it up to you to form your own opinion.