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July 18, 2008
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K18 0A2
Dear Prime Minister:
Defence for Children International (DCI) is a non-governmental organisation that has been active in the field of children’s rights for over 25 years.
We are contacting you today to express our deep concern about the Canadian government’s inaction in the case of Omar Kadhr who has been detained in Guantanamo prison since the age of 15, suffering torture and remaining without trial for over five years.
As a result of its refusal to intervene and repatriate a citizen that it knows to be facing abuse, Canada has been complicit in serious violations of international human rights law.
It has become clear in recent months that Canada was aware of the torture endured by Kadhr in prison and willingly allowed it to continue. In so doing, Canada has become a party to grave breaches of the UN Convention against Torture.
Moreover, Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires that criminal procedures consider the child’s best interest, stating that they must “take account of [the child’s] age and the desirability of promoting their rehabilitation”. Further, the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict – ratified by both Canada and the US – requires States to provide “all appropriate assistance for [the child’s] physical and psychological recovery and their social reintegration”. In allowing a child to languish without trial or lawyer in a military prison known to practice torture, Canada is choosing to reject these international commitments.
The circumstances of Kadhr’s detention and treatment in Guantanamo also clearly violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that:
“No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”;
“The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”
While affirming the child’s right:
“To challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action”;
“To have the matter determined without delay by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body in a fair hearing according to law, in the presence of legal or other appropriate assistance and, unless it is considered not to be in the best interest of the child, in particular, taking into account his or her age or situation, his or her parents or legal guardians”;
“To not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt”;
The provisions listed are only a small sample of the rights guaranteed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child which have been wholly violated in Kadhr’s case – and Canada’s inaction makes it an accomplice. As a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Canada has a duty to intervene in cases where the rights afforded to its youngest citizens are knowingly violated.
We urge the Government of Canada to end its silence, condemn the abuses endured by Kadhr in Guantanamo, and demand that he be repatriated to Canada.
Sincerely,
| Rifat Odeh Kassis President Defence for Children International |
William Sparks President Defence for Children International-Canada |
