On June 23rd, we hosted an online international media conference/public event to expose and demand an end to one of the gravest human rights violations currently perpetrated by the Canadian government.
Canada’s Guantanamo Bay – where Canadian Muslims are off-shored beyond reach of law & rights, respect & dignity – is located in North Eastern Syria. Forty-four Canadians – 8 men, 13 women and 23 children – are illegally detained there under conditions the United Nations and many human rights groups describe as akin to torture.
The Canadian government is violating their Charter Rights by refusing to repatriate them. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, The International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, the US State Department, Save the Children and, in a rare show of cross-party unanimity, a Canadian Parliamentary Committee, have all called for repatriation.
A stellar line-up of human rights advocates appeared at this conference, including:
Monia Mazigh, human rights activist, author and academic
Heather McPherson, NDP MP and Foreign Affairs Critic
Elizabeth May, Green Party MP
Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo Bay detainee and outreach director of Cage, UK
Clive Stafford Smith, human rights lawyer, who was one of the first lawyers into Guantanamo 20 years ago, and co-founder of Reprieve
Natascha Mikkelsen, Repatriate the Children, Denmark
Sally Lane, author and mother of Jack Letts, detainee in Syria
Taha Ghayyur, Justice for All
Matthew Behrens, Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture
Nafeesa Mohammed, attorney and former Senator of Trinidad & Tobago, suing her government for repatriation
Moderated by Tim McSorley, national coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
WHAT: International Media Event calling on Canada to accept and act upon the longstanding offer to hand over 44 Canadian men, women & kids from arbitrary detention in Northeast Syria under conditions akin to torture. The Canadian government has become an international outlier in refusing to repatriate its own citizens, drawing criticism from the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights groups.
WHY: A growing number of international and domestic voices have long documented the appalling conditions under which their nationals are forced to survive in a series of prisons and camps that have been likened to the illegal detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. They are increasingly breaking their silence and demanding that governments like Canada respect their own legal commitments to honour the universal rights of their citizens, regardless of their heritage, religious belief, or political opinion.
WHO:
Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo Bay detainee and outreach director of Cage, UK
Nafeesa Mohammed, attorney and former Senator of Trinidad & Tobago, suing her government for repatriation
Clive Stafford Smith, human rights lawyer, who was one of the first lawyers into Guantanamo 20 years ago, and co-founder of Reprieve
Monia Mazigh, author and academic
Elizabeth May, Green Party MP
Taha Ghayyur, Justice for All
Natascha Mikkelsen, Repatriate the Children, Denmark
Sally Lane, author and mother of Jack Letts, detainee in Syria
Tim McSorley, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
Matthew Behrens, Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture
Heather McPherson, NDP MP and Foreign Affairs Critic
On June 23, 2022, ICLMG hosted an international press conference/public event to expose and demand an end to one of the gravest human rights violations currently perpetrated by the Canadian government.
Canada’s Guantanamo Bay – where Canadian Muslims are off-shored beyond reach of law & rights, respect & dignity – is located in North Eastern Syria. Forty-four Canadians – 8 men, 13 women and 23 children – are illegally detained there under conditions the United Nations and many human rights groups describe as akin to torture.
The Canadian government is violating their Charter Rights by refusing to repatriate them. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, The International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, the US State Department, Save the Children and, in a rare show of cross-party unanimity, a Canadian Parliamentary Committee, have all called for repatriation.
The detainees’ captors themselves (who are in fact allies of Canada) have repeatedly asked that Canada send a representative or delegate for an official handover of the detainees. That’s not too much to ask, especially as dozens of other countries have managed to do this with no problem whatsoever. In addition, Canada has invested $2.5 million to repatriate Iraqi nationals from these same camps and prisons, yet not a cent has been spent on repatriation of Canadians! In fact, the federal government has forced family members of the detainees to go to Federal Court later this year seeking an order to return them home.
A stellar line-up of human rights advocates spoke at this conference:
Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo Bay detainee and outreach director of Cage, UK
Nafeesa Mohammed, attorney and former Senator of Trinidad & Tobago, suing her government for repatriation as well
Clive Stafford Smith, human rights lawyer, who was one of the first lawyers into Guantanamo 20 years ago, and co-founder of Reprieve
Monia Mazigh, author and academic
Elizabeth May, Green Party MP
Taha Ghayyur, Justice for All
Natascha Mikkelsen, Repatriate the Children, Denmark
Sally Lane, author and mother of Jack Letts, detainee in Syria
Tim McSorley, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
Matthew Behrens, Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture
Heather McPherson, NDP MP and Foreign Affairs Critic
Important questions were asked. Among them:
– How can the Government of Canada celebrate its lead role in developing a Global Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention while it has refused to end the arbitrary detention of 44 of its citizens held by Canada’s ally in NE Syria?
– How can the Government of Canada claim compliance with the Convention Against Torture when it is well aware that 44 of its citizens are held under conditions akin to torture?
– How can the Government of Canada oppose repatriation of its own citizens when it is actively funding the repatriation of Iraqi nationals from the same camps and prisons in NE Syria?
– How can the Government of Canada celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it is actively denying these 44 citizens their Section 6 Charter right to return home?
This event was hosted on unceded Algonquin territory. This stolen land must be returned to the care of the Algonquin Nation.
Thank you for attending live or watching now!
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