Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  No, thank you.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  If I understand your question, it's whether there would be a difference in terms of the legal obligation by a commission of inquiry, whether it be at the Human Rights Council or established by the secretary-general. There would be no difference in terms of a legal obligation that

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for the question. As I noted, and as Mr. Shantz has noted, we are in constant dialogue with the other key allies for whom North Korean human rights are of great concern. A first step prior to a country initiating a resolution that would call for a commission of inqui

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The report that I referred to, the special enhanced report, is due to be published in February 2013 in advance of the March session of the Human Rights Council, which I believe is in the first few weeks of March.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  It's true that one of the concerns is not being an impediment to the rapporteur's work, but the utility of a commission of inquiry, given that we already have a special rapporteur.... I think that report, as I said, will be very comprehensive, so we hope it will shed some light o

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Unfortunately, I'm not able to comment exactly. I'm not familiar with exactly what the situation was with respect to Burma at the time and what our positioning was. I'm just familiar with what we've talked about today with respect to North Korea.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you, Ms. Grewal. The way it actually would work is that a commission of inquiry could be established under one of four bodies. The secretary-general himself could, under his own auspices, appoint a commission of inquiry, but as we understand it, this has only happened when

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think our view with respect to establishment of a commission of inquiry under the Security Council is that it would be unlikely to be successful because of the strong likelihood that one of the permanent five, obviously Russia or China, would veto that. I think that's our posit

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Unfortunately, I'm not able to comment on that particular question today. I apologize.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for the question. In terms of where the talk first came from for a commission of inquiry, I can't be specific. I know that one source for sure was the International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea, that NGO network. I'm not familiar with any re

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you, Mr. Albrecht. Certainly a first step in any multilateral initiative is to consult one's like-minded cohorts and to ensure that there is support amongst the like-minded before proceeding. So that would certainly be a first step of any country that wanted to pursue a

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Sorry, I didn't hear the question.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  As we understand, this report will be different from other reports that the special rapporteur has issued to date in that it will involve consideration of all of those issues that I listed: the arbitrary detention; the forced and involuntary disappearances; torture and other crue

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. As Mr. Shantz has indicated, Canada strongly condemns the human rights situation in North Korea. With respect to the multilateral human rights front, Canada co-sponsors and is actively engaged, working for stronger language, in both the resolution at the U