Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a large number of petitions signed by residents in my riding and beyond on the occasion of the one thousandth day of captivity of the kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.
The petitioners protest his abduction from Israel during a cease fire arrangement with Hamas-ruled Gaza, where he is being held in complete isolation. The petitioners note he has been denied any and all rights afforded to him under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention to which Canada is a state party and which rights Canadians have a commitment to respect.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to insist that the Red Cross, United Nations and other humanitarian agencies uphold the applicable standards of humanitarian law, including proof of life, to visit the kidnapped soldier and communication between him and his family as a bare minimum, to insist that the governing Palestinian authority commit itself to the repatriation of Mr. Gilad Shalit and to use Canada's good office, in bilateral and multilateral discussions, to put an end to these violations of international humanitarian law, secure Gilad Shalit's release and return him to his family as a matter of fundamental decency and justice.