Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  What will happen if the Canadian government doesn't intercede? Well, as part of my testimony I argued that Canada faces a choice here. A do-nothing choice, according to the scenario I paint, undermines not only what we have developed in terms of the protection of children but als

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I feel we've covered it.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I might just say that if there are further details as you deliberate about this, based on the experience of dealing with child soldiers elsewhere, we'd be happy to try to either help you find that expertise or bring it forward. Certainly there is a lot of experience elsewhere in

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  If it's helpful, some of the human rights organizations were part of the strategy to deal with some of the young persons in Guantanamo. I just want to add again in terms of highlighting that there are alternatives, and the human rights organizations are interested in pursuing tho

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I appreciate that question, and I think that gets us toward where we need to begin to focus our discussion, around what is a reintegration plan. I would agree with you that there is not an exact parallel between this case and the case in Sierra Leone, but many of the other case

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Hilary spoke to the Supreme Court decision, so I'll let her answer that question.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  We'd need a lot more time and a closer examination of the details of the case to go into that. When I said that he was not exceptional, I was highlighting that there are child soldiers in many different situations. Yes, Beah is one. You can look at northern Uganda and you can loo

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would agree. There is time to do something about it.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  What I would like to draw your attention to is that if that is going to happen, then according to all the conventions we have signed, it would happen in the context of the youth justice system that Canada has in place. There has to be that legal assessment. I would also ask you

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Okay, I will just add another bit of detail. I was part of the group that helped to take some of those young children from Guantanamo to other countries, and the model was we did need to find a way they could move back to their location. That is a bit of a challenge, and dealing

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for that question. That was one of my points, and I would really urge the committee to think about that very hard. This is not an exceptional case. It is being cited internationally as undermining the progress that's being made. I would just repeat the point I made:

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you. Certainly we have submitted letters and we are trying to dialogue with the government about it. I think more dialogue would be helpful. We find there's a hesitancy to talk about this; I recognize there's a security dimension. What talking about it can also do--and I

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for this opportunity. I'm speaking to you today as chair of the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children, but it's relevant for my testimony that I have been a board member of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. I was also coordinator of the children