Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, committee members.
Amnesty International very much appreciates the opportunity to be here today to share our concerns and recommendations regarding the policy and practice of the Canadian government with respect to the treatment of battlefield detainees in Afghanistan.
I want to begin by highlighting that Amnesty International has been raising these concerns with the Canadian government for close to five years. This is not a recent phenomenon. We first raised these issues in January 2002 in a letter to then Minister of National Defence Art Eggleton. We urged Canadian Forces at that time to refrain from turning over any captured fighters to U.S. forces--that was the issue at that time--unless and until U.S. authorities agreed to accept application of the Geneva conventions and establish competent tribunals to determine whether detainees were eligible for prisoner of war status.
In response, seven months later, the minister's successor, Minister McCallum, indicated that Canada would continue to transfer detainees in Afghanistan to U.S. military authorities. The U.S. had stated it would treat detainees humanely and in a manner consistent with the Geneva conventions, while not formally recognizing the applicability of those conventions.
We wrote again to Minister McCallum in October 2002. We repeated our concern that U.S. authorities were continuing to fail to comply with the Geneva conventions. We raised the further concern that some prisoners might be sentenced to the death penalty. At that time, we first suggested that Canadian Forces should begin to consider the possible need to develop Canada's own detention capacity in Afghanistan.
In February 2005, Amnesty International wrote to both Minister Pettigrew and Minister Graham. We asked for clarification of reports that some prisoners who had been transferred to U.S. custody had subsequently been sent to the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. We asked what steps Canada had taken to ensure that transferred prisoners would not be sent there. We also asked whether Canada had sought and received assurances that transferred prisoners would not be subject to the death penalty.
We wrote again to Minister Graham in October 2005. We pointed to the widespread and well-documented human rights concerns associated with U.S. detention in both Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. We stressed that U.S. assurances of a willingness to act in ways that were consistent with international legal obligations had clearly proven to be inadequate. We called for an end to prisoner transfers, and we again suggested that Canadian troops needed to consider taking responsibility for the detention of individuals apprehended in the course of operations in Afghanistan.
We next wrote to Minister Graham in November 2005, following a meeting with the minister, at which time we had been informed that Canada would be abandoning the practice of transferring to U.S. custody. Instead, a new policy would be adopted of transferring prisoners into Afghan custody. We stressed that there were serious concerns about treatment of prisoners in Afghan-operated detention centres. We raised questions about monitoring, about substantial resource and capacity problems in Afghan prisons, and the need for reliable assurances that there would be no subsequent transfers of prisoners into U.S. custody. We stated again that unless the serious human rights shortcomings we had identified could be addressed, Canada must be prepared to establish and operate its own detention facilities in Afghanistan, perhaps in concert with other nations that have contributed to ISAF.
Our next exchange was with the current government. On April 3 of this year, we wrote to Minister O'Connor. We had reviewed the written arrangement entered into between Canada and Afghanistan governing prisoner transfers. We were concerned it would not ensure the protection of the rights of prisoners transferred into Afghan custody by Canadian Forces. We asked again why Canada continued to choose not to develop its own detention capacity.
We wrote to Minister O'Connor again on May 12, following what was called the biggest ever capture of suspected Taliban insurgents by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. We drew attention to the important penal reform work that was being funded by CIDA and the concern that transfers of battlefield detainees into Afghanistan's rapidly worsening prisons would inevitably lead to human rights violations and serve only to exacerbate squalid, deteriorating prison conditions.
We had a detailed response from Minister O'Connor on July 26. The minister made it clear that Canada intends to continue the practice of transferring prisoners into Afghan custody and considers that to be consistent with the objective of strengthening the institutional capacities of the Afghan government. The minister indicates he is relying on the guarantee in the arrangement that detainees will be treated humanely and that concerns about transferred detainees experiencing torture or ill treatment were hypothetical scenarios about which he would not speculate.
He indicates he believes the monitoring role of the ICRC and the Afghan human rights commission are sufficient to ensure the humane treatment of detainees. He indicates it would be open to Afghan authorities to further transfer prisoners to another state as long as the “requirements of international law are met”. Finally, he indicates that Canada would not be developing its own detention capacity in Afghanistan because that would undermine the objective of strengthening the institutional capacity of the Afghan government.
We wrote, finally, to Minister O'Connor on November 14 of this year. We stressed that the core international obligation at the heart of Amnesty International's ongoing concern is the requirement that one state not transfer a prisoner to another state if there are substantial grounds for believing there is a risk of torture. We shared our findings, stemming from Amnesty International's ongoing, on-the-ground research, that torture and ill treatment in Afghan prisons continues to be routine and commonplace and that prison conditions continue to be abysmal. We highlighted in particular--and this is something I really want to stress--our concerns about torture at the hands of the national security directorate. We have asked for clarification as to whether Canada is transferring prisoners to the national security directorate. That information has not been provided, and Mr. Rigby today has again indicated this information will not be disclosed. I must say we have had some recent indication from a UN official that some, perhaps many, Canadian transfers have been to the national security directorate, and that is indeed worrying, as that is where the gravest concerns about torture and ill treatment and lack of accountability arise.
In our most recent letter to Minister O'Connor we have again raised concerns about transfers of detainees to third parties, and we've repeated our recommendation that Canada work with the Afghan government and NATO allies to develop detention facilities in Afghanistan in line with international standards and practice, and to do so in a manner that assists in developing the capacity of Afghan officials working in the penal and justice sectors.
Let me end by highlighting four key points.
First, Amnesty International is deeply concerned that given the prevalence and severity of torture and ill treatment in the Afghan prison system, particularly at the hands of the national security directorate, there are substantial grounds to believe that when Canadian Forces transfer a prisoner into Afghan custody, torture or ill treatment will occur. In doing so, Canada is in violation of its international human rights obligations.
Second, we do, of course, appreciate the monitoring role played by the International Committee of the Red Cross, as we do around the world, and also by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. But the abuses continue despite the monitoring. The fact that monitoring exists cannot justify or excuse turning over a prisoner to a substantial risk of torture or ill treatment. It's important to highlight, as Mr. Byers has, that the ICRC does not publicly share details of any concerns it may document. That, coupled with the secrecy surrounding the details of the numbers of prisoners we're talking about, where they're being held, who they're being turned over to, what the basis for their detention is, etc., lead us to be deeply concerned that oversight is wholly inadequate. Absolutely, the monitoring and oversight provisions must be strengthened, and at the very least must be consistent with the provisions in the Dutch memorandum.
Third, we wholly support Canada's stated objective of penal reform in Afghanistan, including with respect to prison conditions and prison operations. That is something Amnesty International has called for, for many, many years. Transferring battlefield detainees to a crumbling, overstretched prison system undermines that objective. We continue to urge that Canada work with Afghan officials and other NATO allies to develop new detention capacity in the country, which should be operated in tandem with Afghan officials and could serve as an important institution and capacity-building initiative.
Finally, I want to stress that Amnesty International's stated concerns do not imply that we believe that detainees apprehended by Canadian Forces should not be imprisoned. We do not have information about the specific allegations made against any of these detainees. Clearly, those who may have committed crimes or violated international human rights or humanitarian law provisions should face justice. It is vitally important, however, that justice be delivered in a manner wholly consistent with international legal standards. Any other course of action fails to advance the long-term sustainable reforms that are so sorely necessary in Afghanistan.
Thank you.