Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak today to the motion brought forward by the hon. member for Rosemont--Petite-Patrie, urging the government to take the necessary measures for Canada to ratify the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.
There are three crucial points all members should agree on in this debate. First, it must be made crystal clear that Canada unequivocally condemns torture and other cruel and degrading treatment carried out anywhere around the world, at any time. Nothing can ever justify torture.
Second, the decision by Canada not to join the inter-American convention should not be interpreted as an sign of weakness toward torture. Promoting and protecting human rights is an integral part of Canada's foreign policy. Canada is strongly committed to eliminating torture, examining the issue, prosecuting the guilty parties and supporting the victims.
After the deposit of its ratification instrument in 1987, Canada was one of the first state parties to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. As of today, 126 states have ratified the convention. The United States having yet to sign the convention, Canada urges it to do so.
In the various bodies of the United Nations, including the general assembly, Canada is working closely with like-minded delegations to negotiate and support resolutions against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and treatment. Last week, Canada co-sponsored a resolution at the UN commission on human rights, which starts by reaffirming the world's repugnance to torture, and I think it would be worthwhile to quote the beginning of the resolution in this debate:
Reaffirming that no one should be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, that such actions constitute a criminal attempt to destroy a fellow human being physically and mentally, which can never be justified under any circumstances, by any ideology or by any overriding interest, and convinced that a society that tolerates torture can never claim to respect human rights--
The resolution of the UN commission on human rights also notes with appreciation the work of the special rapporteur on torture. We closely follow his work and that of the UN committee against torture chaired by Mr. Peter Burns, a Canadian independent expert.
Canada is a strong proponent of measures to prevent and prohibit torture and it attaches great importance to effective action by the United Nations against torture. Canada supports mechanisms that examine extrajudicial executions or torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in specific countries. We believe that there should be a strong and effective international mechanism with the capacity to make on site visits to places of detentions, particularly when there have been allegations of torture. To this end, we have been actively participating in the working group to elaborate an optional protocol to the convention against torture.
We have also provided financial assistance to the cause against torture. Canada contributes $60,000 Canadian annually to the United Nations fund for victims of torture. The aim of the fund, which was established in 1981, is to support medical and psychological treatment and services for torture victims, through rehabilitation centres and programs worldwide. In fact, more than 115 humanitarian organizations in 53 countries have been assisted by the fund. In Canada the fund has supported centres in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
A key foreign policy priority is to ensure that there can be no impunity for acts of torture, wherever they occur. Canada took a leadership role in the negotiation and adoption of the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court. As hon. members will recall, the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced in the House on April 11 the welcome news of the deposit of the 60th ratification for the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court. With the Rome statute's entry into force on July 1, 2002, the International Criminal Court will be a reality. The court will have jurisdiction to try those accused of the most serious crimes known to humankind, including acts of torture that amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
As these initiatives attest, Canada has been an active supporter of international efforts to eliminate torture. Given Canada's level of engagement internationally, some may opine that it is hypocritical for Canada not to accede to the inter-American convention to prevent and punish torture. However, that assertion must be rejected and it must be rejected outright. Our commitment to the goal of the elimination of torture should not be measured by the number of international treaties to which we are a party, but rather by how effectively we implement our international obligations. As noted in the Ottawa Citizen in a recent editorial entitled “Wronging Rights”, progress on protecting rights should not be confused with negotiating new international human rights agreements. Our approach should be to ensure that governments actually respect human rights in practice.
No one questions the laudable aims of the inter-American convention. Similarly it is generally accepted that the UN convention against torture provides higher standards and stronger protections than the organization of the American states convention. Canadian practice has been to focus our efforts in the effective implementation of the stronger human rights instruments rather than in the ratification of a weaker convention that may ultimately compete with, and thereby dilute, the strength of the existing UN convention against torture.
The third essential point in this debate is that Canada remains active within our hemisphere and within the Organization of American States. Since it became a member of the OAS in 1990, Canada has been co-operating with the other 33 active members in order to define and implement an action plan for the benefit of all citizens of the Americas.
The OAS is the hub of our policy for the hemisphere and provides an excellent forum for promoting our policies on good governance, human rights and democracy. Therefore, it is not because we do not support regional instruments that we will not adhere to the inter-American convention. In fact, regional initiatives can play a crucial role in movements for international standards.
During the campaign for the anti-personnel mine ban, members of the OAS paved the way by adopting regional bans which were an important stepping stone on the way to the Ottawa convention. However, such is not the case here; there is already a very strong and effective international mechanism with broad support. We must simply seek further international support in order for that mechanism to become universally accepted.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the member for Rosemont--Petite-Patrie for his motion. It has given the House the opportunity to review Canada's policy on the elimination of torture. We must be practical and concentrate our efforts where they will be most useful, and that means promoting the ratification and the effective implementation of the UN convention against torture by stressing the significant protection it provides.