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17 November 2000
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CAT
25th session
17 November 2000
Morning
Government Delegation Questioned on Refoulement Procedures,
Accountability of High-Level Military Officers, Other Topics
The Committee against Torture began consideration this morning of a third periodic report of Canada, questioning a Government delegation, among other things, about national policies for returning rejected asylum seekers, some of whom were termed "security risks"; about reports that private firms hired to return such persons were sometimes abusive; and about allegations of police ill-treatment of indigenous citizens.
Committee Experts also asked if investigations and court-martials carried out against some Canadian peacekeeping forces who had served in Somalia in 1993 should also have been extended to higher-level military officers; and about alleged ill-treatment of women in Canadian prisons.
Committee representatives termed the report overall a "model" presentation.
Introducing the report, Marcus Jewett, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Canadian Department of Justice, outlined recent legislative efforts to improve the protection of immigrants and refugees; to enhance incarceration conditions and improve monitoring of the situation of women prisoners; to define crimes of humanity in keeping with the Rome Statute; to review allegations of genocide against persons now residing in Canada; and to investigate and report on any complaints against Canadian military police.
In addition to Mr. Jewett, the delegation consisted of Daniel Therrien, Director-General of the Legal Department of Citizenship and Immigration; Elizabeth Tromp, Director-General of the Enforcement Branch of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration; Fraser McVie, Director-General of the Department of Correctional Services; Gerry VanKessel, Adviser to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration; Johane Levasseur, Advisor to the Department of Justice; Kerry Buck, Deputy Director for Human Rights of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Liane Venasse, Programme Officer for International Human Rights Instruments of the Department of Canadian Heritage; and Christian Deslauriers, Director-General of the Ministry of International Relations.
The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to offer conclusions and recommendations on a second periodic report of Armenia and to hear responses of a Government delegation from Australia to questions put to it Thursday.
Third periodic report of Canada
The report (CAT/C/34/Add.13) has chapters on general information, measures adopted by the Federal Government, measures adopted by Provincial Governments, and measures adopted by Governments of territories. It notes that "an individual who alleges a violation of the Convention has recourse to a variety of remedies, including remedies under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms"; and states that "international law is not automatically part of domestic law. Rather, the provisions of a treaty must be incorporated into domestic law either by enactment of a statute ... or by amendment of the domestic law, where necessary". Prior to ratification of the Convention, according to the report, "the federal and provincial governments engaged in extensive consultations which resulted in provincial governments undertaking to ensure compliance with those provisions of the Convention falling within their exclusive legislative authority".
The report reviews, among other things, an investigation into reported abuses by Canadian forces who were in Somalia as part of United Nations efforts, as a result of which nine soldiers ranging in rank from private to lieutenant-colonel were charged with a variety of offences and tried by general court-martials; the results ranged from acquittals to a sentence of five years' imprisonment to a severe reprimand and a reduction in military rank.
Introduction of report
MARCUS JEWETT, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice of Canada, said that the report had been prepared with the help of an intergovernmental Continuing Committee of Officials on Human Rights, and that the country's next report would include criticisms and concerns expressed by Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Torture was prohibited throughout the country, was a criminal offense, and was not justified under any circumstances; torture or cruel treatment did not occur in Canada except in aberrational situations and never as a matter of policy. When it did occur, victims were entitled to various remedies, including compensation.
A new Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act had been passed, Mr. Jewett said; among other things, it provided for a definition of crimes against humanity that included torture as defined in the Rome Statute. Some 800 files had been reviewed in relation to allegations of genocide against persons now living in Canada, and 10 per cent of those files had resulted in formal police investigations. In addition, a new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act had been tabled in Parliament; and the Correctional Service had established a Working Group which reviewed the Service's ability to monitor and comply with human-rights standards. A report on some matters of imprisonment of women in Kingston had resulted in recommendations to address concerns involving women's incarceration, and had led, among other things, to appointment of a Deputy Commissioner for Women within the Correctional Service and creation of a national strategy for the management of women offenders.
Although Canada took its obligations under the Convention against Torture seriously, in 1997 the Committee had requested that Canada not return a rejected asylum seeker to his country while his complaint was under review by the Committee, but Canada had done so after careful consideration of the
potential risk to public safety and security posed by the individual's presence in Canada, Mr. Jewett said. This risk was deemed to be far greater than the possible risk the individual could face on his return. The decision had not been taken lightly, Mr. Jewett said.
Following a public inquiry into the deployment of Canadian Forces to Somalia in 1993 and other studies of the military justice system, Mr. Jewett said, Parliament had amended the National Defense Act to establish an independent Director of Military Prosecutions empowered to refer charges and conduct prosecutions at all court-martials. In addition, a Military Police Complaints Commission had been set up to investigate and report on any complaints about the conduct of military police members.
Discussion
Serving as rapporteur on the situation in Canada was Committee Expert FELICIA GAER, who said, among other things, that the report addressed previous concerns raised by the Committee and in many ways was a model report, especially in the information it provided on training in human rights, which was laudably applied to a wide range of Government officials.
Ms. Gaer asked, among other things, if the domestic legal sanction of torture could be considered thorough, as the Canadian Charter on Rights and Freedoms prohibited cruel or inhuman treatment and punishment but did not specifically mention or prohibit torture; and to what degree Canadian ratification of the statute for an International Criminal Court related to specific offenses of torture.
The Committee had received some information that the prosecutions of some Canadian military personnel following peacekeeping operations in Somalia, while laudable, were focused on lower-level military personnel, Ms. Gaer said; she asked if higher-level personnel had not been accountable as well for some of the offenses committed, and if there had been a "coverup", as some sources charged. She also wondered if complaints of misconduct of such officials could be filed outside military channels; and if there was a procedure under which military officers could formally declare that they were not following orders as the orders were in violation of international human-rights standards and amounted to torture.
Ms. Gaer asked if persons were set aside or excluded from the refugee-determination process in Canada, as reported by several NGOs, including Amnesty International, because they were suspected of being guilty of acts of torture, and if, as Amnesty International alleged, such persons were then not pursued legally or charged. She asked what kind of defenses were allowed or what kind of limitations applied to such persons.
Ms. Gaer noted that individual appeals brought before the Committee under Convention article 3, in which persons in Canada had challenged decisions to refoule them, outnumbered those against almost any other country, and asked if Canada had revised its policies, as recommended by the Committee, to take into account the Convention prohibition against refouling anyone to a country where he stood a reasonable chance of undergoing torture. She questioned whether stated Canadian concerns with public security in many such cases outweighed concerns about the safety of the individuals involved. The review process for such claims had been criticised as being opaque, she said, and the qualifications and training of the immigration officers who carried out the reviews had been questioned. Considerable information had been received as well, she said, about improper physical force used in removing such persons from the country, such as binding and gagging when putting them on airplanes; about involuntary sedation; and about the use of private firms to carry out returns. What assurance did Canada have, she asked, that the firms it hired to repatriate rejected asylum seekers did so humanely?
Questions had been raised about the 1997 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Conference) meetings in Vancouver and police treatment of demonstrators, Ms. Gaer said; reportedly a Government inquiry into the matter had been stopped, and she wondered why. She also asked if police use of pepper spray was sometimes inappropriate, as had been charged; and if complaints of unfair police treatment of indigenous Canadians were accurate -- there had been reports, for example, that the Saskatoon police had been known to take indigenous residents to the outskirts of town in sub-zero weather and simply leave them in the cold.
Serving as second rapporteur on the situation in Canada was Committee Expert SAYED KASSEM EL MASRY, who asked, among other things, if such law-enforcement officials as fisheries-enforcement personnel were trained in human-rights standards, as there had been reports that aboriginal fishermen had been attacked and their boats swamped during an enforcement action by fisheries personnel. He asked if private security firms used in repatriating illegal immigrants from Canada were trained in anti-torture provisions; if strip searches of women continued to be conducted in a routine manner at women's penal institutions, and if on occasion minimum-security women prisoners were transported in cages; if some recommendations by the Arbour Commission investigating the situation of women's prisoners had not been implemented; if, as reported, some women had been kept in isolation in men's penal institutions; if, as charged, women inmates were frequently and inappropriately termed "maximum security" prisoners; and if there was, as reported, a marked increase in the number of prisoners with mental-health problems, perhaps as a result of punishment procedures, including solitary confinement, and inappropriate medication of prisoners.
As for reports that Saskatoon police had transported indigenous persons to the edge of town and left them in sub-zero temperatures, Mr. El Masry said, he had heard that two men had died after such incidents; he asked for information on the topic.
Other Committee members also put questions. They asked, among other things, why Canada's contributions to a domestic torture-rehabilitation group had fallen in recent years; if training was given to immigration officers in recognizing signs of torture and in proper treatment of torture victims; and if officers in the Immigration and Refugee Service at times behaved in insensitive ways, as such allegations had been received.
* *** *
25th session
17 November 2000
Morning
Government Delegation Questioned on Refoulement Procedures,
Accountability of High-Level Military Officers, Other Topics
The Committee against Torture began consideration this morning of a third periodic report of Canada, questioning a Government delegation, among other things, about national policies for returning rejected asylum seekers, some of whom were termed "security risks"; about reports that private firms hired to return such persons were sometimes abusive; and about allegations of police ill-treatment of indigenous citizens.
Committee Experts also asked if investigations and court-martials carried out against some Canadian peacekeeping forces who had served in Somalia in 1993 should also have been extended to higher-level military officers; and about alleged ill-treatment of women in Canadian prisons.
Committee representatives termed the report overall a "model" presentation.
Introducing the report, Marcus Jewett, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Canadian Department of Justice, outlined recent legislative efforts to improve the protection of immigrants and refugees; to enhance incarceration conditions and improve monitoring of the situation of women prisoners; to define crimes of humanity in keeping with the Rome Statute; to review allegations of genocide against persons now residing in Canada; and to investigate and report on any complaints against Canadian military police.
In addition to Mr. Jewett, the delegation consisted of Daniel Therrien, Director-General of the Legal Department of Citizenship and Immigration; Elizabeth Tromp, Director-General of the Enforcement Branch of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration; Fraser McVie, Director-General of the Department of Correctional Services; Gerry VanKessel, Adviser to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration; Johane Levasseur, Advisor to the Department of Justice; Kerry Buck, Deputy Director for Human Rights of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Liane Venasse, Programme Officer for International Human Rights Instruments of the Department of Canadian Heritage; and Christian Deslauriers, Director-General of the Ministry of International Relations.
The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to offer conclusions and recommendations on a second periodic report of Armenia and to hear responses of a Government delegation from Australia to questions put to it Thursday.
Third periodic report of Canada
The report (CAT/C/34/Add.13) has chapters on general information, measures adopted by the Federal Government, measures adopted by Provincial Governments, and measures adopted by Governments of territories. It notes that "an individual who alleges a violation of the Convention has recourse to a variety of remedies, including remedies under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms"; and states that "international law is not automatically part of domestic law. Rather, the provisions of a treaty must be incorporated into domestic law either by enactment of a statute ... or by amendment of the domestic law, where necessary". Prior to ratification of the Convention, according to the report, "the federal and provincial governments engaged in extensive consultations which resulted in provincial governments undertaking to ensure compliance with those provisions of the Convention falling within their exclusive legislative authority".
The report reviews, among other things, an investigation into reported abuses by Canadian forces who were in Somalia as part of United Nations efforts, as a result of which nine soldiers ranging in rank from private to lieutenant-colonel were charged with a variety of offences and tried by general court-martials; the results ranged from acquittals to a sentence of five years' imprisonment to a severe reprimand and a reduction in military rank.
Introduction of report
MARCUS JEWETT, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice of Canada, said that the report had been prepared with the help of an intergovernmental Continuing Committee of Officials on Human Rights, and that the country's next report would include criticisms and concerns expressed by Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Torture was prohibited throughout the country, was a criminal offense, and was not justified under any circumstances; torture or cruel treatment did not occur in Canada except in aberrational situations and never as a matter of policy. When it did occur, victims were entitled to various remedies, including compensation.
A new Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act had been passed, Mr. Jewett said; among other things, it provided for a definition of crimes against humanity that included torture as defined in the Rome Statute. Some 800 files had been reviewed in relation to allegations of genocide against persons now living in Canada, and 10 per cent of those files had resulted in formal police investigations. In addition, a new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act had been tabled in Parliament; and the Correctional Service had established a Working Group which reviewed the Service's ability to monitor and comply with human-rights standards. A report on some matters of imprisonment of women in Kingston had resulted in recommendations to address concerns involving women's incarceration, and had led, among other things, to appointment of a Deputy Commissioner for Women within the Correctional Service and creation of a national strategy for the management of women offenders.
Although Canada took its obligations under the Convention against Torture seriously, in 1997 the Committee had requested that Canada not return a rejected asylum seeker to his country while his complaint was under review by the Committee, but Canada had done so after careful consideration of the
potential risk to public safety and security posed by the individual's presence in Canada, Mr. Jewett said. This risk was deemed to be far greater than the possible risk the individual could face on his return. The decision had not been taken lightly, Mr. Jewett said.
Following a public inquiry into the deployment of Canadian Forces to Somalia in 1993 and other studies of the military justice system, Mr. Jewett said, Parliament had amended the National Defense Act to establish an independent Director of Military Prosecutions empowered to refer charges and conduct prosecutions at all court-martials. In addition, a Military Police Complaints Commission had been set up to investigate and report on any complaints about the conduct of military police members.
Discussion
Serving as rapporteur on the situation in Canada was Committee Expert FELICIA GAER, who said, among other things, that the report addressed previous concerns raised by the Committee and in many ways was a model report, especially in the information it provided on training in human rights, which was laudably applied to a wide range of Government officials.
Ms. Gaer asked, among other things, if the domestic legal sanction of torture could be considered thorough, as the Canadian Charter on Rights and Freedoms prohibited cruel or inhuman treatment and punishment but did not specifically mention or prohibit torture; and to what degree Canadian ratification of the statute for an International Criminal Court related to specific offenses of torture.
The Committee had received some information that the prosecutions of some Canadian military personnel following peacekeeping operations in Somalia, while laudable, were focused on lower-level military personnel, Ms. Gaer said; she asked if higher-level personnel had not been accountable as well for some of the offenses committed, and if there had been a "coverup", as some sources charged. She also wondered if complaints of misconduct of such officials could be filed outside military channels; and if there was a procedure under which military officers could formally declare that they were not following orders as the orders were in violation of international human-rights standards and amounted to torture.
Ms. Gaer asked if persons were set aside or excluded from the refugee-determination process in Canada, as reported by several NGOs, including Amnesty International, because they were suspected of being guilty of acts of torture, and if, as Amnesty International alleged, such persons were then not pursued legally or charged. She asked what kind of defenses were allowed or what kind of limitations applied to such persons.
Ms. Gaer noted that individual appeals brought before the Committee under Convention article 3, in which persons in Canada had challenged decisions to refoule them, outnumbered those against almost any other country, and asked if Canada had revised its policies, as recommended by the Committee, to take into account the Convention prohibition against refouling anyone to a country where he stood a reasonable chance of undergoing torture. She questioned whether stated Canadian concerns with public security in many such cases outweighed concerns about the safety of the individuals involved. The review process for such claims had been criticised as being opaque, she said, and the qualifications and training of the immigration officers who carried out the reviews had been questioned. Considerable information had been received as well, she said, about improper physical force used in removing such persons from the country, such as binding and gagging when putting them on airplanes; about involuntary sedation; and about the use of private firms to carry out returns. What assurance did Canada have, she asked, that the firms it hired to repatriate rejected asylum seekers did so humanely?
Questions had been raised about the 1997 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Conference) meetings in Vancouver and police treatment of demonstrators, Ms. Gaer said; reportedly a Government inquiry into the matter had been stopped, and she wondered why. She also asked if police use of pepper spray was sometimes inappropriate, as had been charged; and if complaints of unfair police treatment of indigenous Canadians were accurate -- there had been reports, for example, that the Saskatoon police had been known to take indigenous residents to the outskirts of town in sub-zero weather and simply leave them in the cold.
Serving as second rapporteur on the situation in Canada was Committee Expert SAYED KASSEM EL MASRY, who asked, among other things, if such law-enforcement officials as fisheries-enforcement personnel were trained in human-rights standards, as there had been reports that aboriginal fishermen had been attacked and their boats swamped during an enforcement action by fisheries personnel. He asked if private security firms used in repatriating illegal immigrants from Canada were trained in anti-torture provisions; if strip searches of women continued to be conducted in a routine manner at women's penal institutions, and if on occasion minimum-security women prisoners were transported in cages; if some recommendations by the Arbour Commission investigating the situation of women's prisoners had not been implemented; if, as reported, some women had been kept in isolation in men's penal institutions; if, as charged, women inmates were frequently and inappropriately termed "maximum security" prisoners; and if there was, as reported, a marked increase in the number of prisoners with mental-health problems, perhaps as a result of punishment procedures, including solitary confinement, and inappropriate medication of prisoners.
As for reports that Saskatoon police had transported indigenous persons to the edge of town and left them in sub-zero temperatures, Mr. El Masry said, he had heard that two men had died after such incidents; he asked for information on the topic.
Other Committee members also put questions. They asked, among other things, why Canada's contributions to a domestic torture-rehabilitation group had fallen in recent years; if training was given to immigration officers in recognizing signs of torture and in proper treatment of torture victims; and if officers in the Immigration and Refugee Service at times behaved in insensitive ways, as such allegations had been received.
* *** *