Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I hesitate about this idea of simply being a dutiful son and obeying his father. I wouldn't try to whitewash what Khadr did and I don't mean to judge him either, but one cannot step in just on the basis that he did nothing wrong. I think we have to step in on the basis that it do

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Maybe the second question should be answered by the Canadian Bar Association, because it was actually they who were talking about this issue, not I. In terms of the first question, about the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, I can

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I should point out that Human Rights Watch has written a letter to Prime Minister Harper about the Khadr case. It refers to Canada's leadership in this field historically and in human rights generally and urges Canada to respect the rights of Omar Khadr. As a Canadian, it's an e

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Generally, human rights standards apply to everybody, and not just to the people who respect them. That's the point I was trying to make initially. You don't have to go as far as al-Qaeda; you can look at Omar Khadr's own family. They did not respect his rights as a child; they v

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  There may have been some view that somehow it was good diplomatic relations with the United States to not ask for repatriation, that it might create a confrontation with the United States. But I would say the contrary. The Americans want to close down Guantanamo and empty the pla

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I haven't actually looked at the age restrictions, if any, on the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, but that act, if it's age appropriate, would give us jurisdiction as well as the Criminal Code, because it's a universal-jurisdiction offence if Mr. Khadr is guilty of wa

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, his statement is evidence. If he's testifying about something that he heard, it's an allegation. If he's testifying to something that happened to him, it's evidence.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I was just repeating something Mr. Cotler said. That's what this litigation about habeas corpus is all about. The only way they can keep him in detention is if there's no ability of the courts to supervise that detention. He can get out only if the courts can say they have to l

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  As I understand it, Canada exercised leadership in negotiating the optional protocol on child soldiers. If I remember what I read correctly, Canada was the first state to sign the optional protocol. So historically Canada has been up front in dealing with the problem of child sol

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I guess I could make this comment. Obviously, in some respects, the government has been very good on human rights. They have been good in the Middle East; they have been good on China. There are areas where they deserve commendation. But this is an area that I would call an unfor

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That may well have been the cause, but I'm not sure that is a sufficient justification for the delays. Those cases were cases to determine whether habeas corpus was available. It was the position of the government that habeas corpus was not available. Of course, in any piece of l

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  If I may add one comment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child says: “Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age.” Yet this is the sentence he faces in the U.S

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would add to that list. With Guantanamo there are problems of torture. There is evidence, indeed, in the case of Mr. Khadr that he's been tortured. The military tribunals can and will accept evidence elicited through torture, and that is a violation of the torture convention, w

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  If I may add one thing here, as I understand it, this is one of three cases going to court. Somebody pleaded guilty, a fellow named Hicks, and there's one other case going to trial. In these procedures, Guantanamo has been used for arbitrary prolonged detention without trial. The

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much for inviting me. I want to begin by saying, as Mr. Amyot has said, that human rights belong to everybody. They belong to terrorists; they belong to serial killers; they belong to people simply because of their common humanity. I want to read you something, ac