Mr. Speaker, it is very disconcerting to hear that there was no process in place for following up on those complaints. We heard that from the generals in their statements that nobody was doing that work and that nobody had the mandate to do that work. The one person who has come forward to say that he was trying to do that work was ignored and, worse than that, is slagged by government members every time he tries to bring this to our attention. I think it is really inappropriate.
Beyond that, it is very important to listen to what other human rights workers, the people who do that kind of work, have said. One of them is Joanne Mariner from Human Rights Watch who puts into question the whole value of the paper agreements that are in place. She stated:
We have seen in other contexts, like Maher Arar's rendition to Syria, that these paper guarantees do nothing to protect prisoners against torture and ill-treatment. Too often they just serve as a fig leaf, to give the appearance of trying to prevent abuse.
There is somebody who follows this issue, who is well-respected, who is known around the world for this work and talks about the agreements only giving a fig leaf of respectability to the abuse and the torture that goes on in Afghan prisons.
I think we absolutely need a public inquiry.