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Canada Canada: Imprisoned HIV/AIDS Activist Wins 2008 Rights Award A federal prisoner and health activist is the recipient of the 2008 Canadian Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch announced today. The award, which recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that protect the rights and dignity of people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS, will be presented at a public reception and ceremony in Ottawa on June 16. June 16, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Testimony of Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno before the Canadian Parliament I am honored to appear before you today. Thank you for your invitation to address the situation of violence against trade unionists in Colombia and the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement that is now under negotiation. I would like to request that my written remarks be incorporated in the record. June 2, 2008 Testimony Printer friendly version Canada: Supreme Court Rules Ottawa Complicit in Abuse of Omar Khadr Canadian Youth at Guantanamo to Be Given Access to Intelligence Files In a major rebuke to the Canadian government, the Canadian Supreme Court determined today that the United States violated the human rights of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who has been held at Guantanamo since he was 15, and that Ottawa shared culpability by allowing its intelligence agents to interview Khadr and share that information with US authorities. May 23, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Free trade and human rights Letter to the Editor Published in The Globe and Mail Jeffrey Simpson blames protectionism for opposition to U.S. and Canadian free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia. This ignores the real reason that groups concerned with workers' rights oppose the Colombian FTAs at this time: widespread anti-union violence, impunity, and the influence of paramilitary death squads. April 17, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version US: Don’t Misrepresent Human Rights Watch to Justify Guantanamo Trials Contrary to US Claims, Human Rights Watch Opposes Khadr Prosecution The US government fundamentally misrepresented Human Rights Watch’s position to justify its prosecution of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen facing charges for war crimes allegedly committed when he was just 15, Human Rights Watch said today. February 5, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Letter to US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Omar Khadr Human Rights Watch and partner organizations write to Secretary Gates ahead of the February 4 appearance before a military commission of Omar Khadr, detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since he was 15 years old. Human Rights Watch notes the United States' failure to incorporate juvenile detention and juvenile justice in military commission proceedings standards, and urges the US to not compound these violations by prosecuting Khadr before a military tribunal that is not equipped to meet these standards as well as other fair trial requirements, and in a manner inconsistent with its legal obligations to assist in rehabilitating former child soldiers within its jurisdiction. Accordingly, if the United States is not prepared to prosecute Khadr in a judicial system that incorporates fundamental standards of juvenile justice and other fair trial rights, it should promptly release Khadr and repatriate him to Canada for appropriate rehabilitation. February 1, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Omar Khadr Human Rights Watch and partner organizations write to Prime Minister Harper ahead of the February 4 appearance before a military commission of Omar Khadr, detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since he was 15 years old. Consistent with its commitment to the rule of law, international juvenile justice standards, and the rehabilitation of former child soldiers, Canada should formally request that unless the US government will prosecute Khadr in accordance with international juvenile justice and fair trial standards, the United States should promptly release Khadr and repatriate him to Canada for rehabilitation. February 1, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Canada: Intervene on Behalf of Canadian Citizen at Guantanamo Canada should formally request that the United States transfer a Canadian citizen at Guantanamo, who was arrested when he was 15, to a court that meets juvenile justice and fair trial standards or repatriate him to Canada for rehabilitation, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, and Human Rights First said today in a joint letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. February 1, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version US: Stop Unfair Trial of Guantanamo Youth Transfer Omar Khadr to Federal Court or Return Him to Canada The United States should try Omar Khadr, a Guantanamo detainee arrested when he was 15 years old, in a court that meets juvenile justice and fair trial standards or repatriate him to Canada for rehabilitation, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, and Human Rights First said today in a joint letter to the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. February 1, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Canada: Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International Letter on Bill C-3 Hearings Human Rights Watch joined with Amnesty International to urge the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to identify extra dates for public hearings on Bill C-3. The groups criticized the Committee for announcing public hearings and then closing the witness list just two days later, leaving many organizations and individuals with expertise on security certificates and in other relevant areas no opportunity to present evidence. November 28, 2007 Letter Printer friendly version Canada: Parliament Should Amend Bill on Special Advocates Letter to Members of Parliament In February 2007, the Canadian Supreme Court struck down provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as unconstitutional. The provisions permitted the use of secret evidence against foreign national security suspects subjected to "security certificates" and threatened with deportation, many to places where they would be at risk of torture. Bill C-3 proposes a system of "special advocates" to review sensitive national security-related evidence in security certificate cases. Human Rights Watch's commentary raises concerns that the bill does not rectify the constitutional deficiencies identified by the Canadian Supreme Court and should not be passed until amendments are made to it. November 19, 2007 Letter Printer friendly version US: Guantanamo Judge Allows Military Commissions to Proceed in Khadr Case A military judge today allowed the controversial military commissions at Guantanamo Bay to go forward without hearing evidence as to whether or not Omar Khadr, a 21-year-old Canadian who has been in US custody for more than five years, met the definition of an “unlawful enemy combatant” as required by the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Human Rights Watch said today. November 8, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version Canada: Protect Citizens Facing Death Penalty in US The Canadian government should not abandon its longstanding policy of seeking to prevent the execution of Canadian citizens in the United States, Human Rights Watch said today. November 7, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version The Pentagon Tries a New Tactic to Spin Guantanamo Coverage: Keep Journalists Away from NGOs By Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel Published in The Huffington Post The Pentagon, seemingly all too aware of what a debacle its military commissions have been, has come with a new tactic to prevent groups like mine, Human Rights Watch, from doing our jobs as watchdogs: Restrict our access to the press and handpick a new crop of observers. November 7, 2007 Commentary Printer friendly version US: Makeshift Military Commissions Rules Unfair Trial of Canadian Youth Should Be Transferred to Federal Court Ad hoc US military commission rules for the trial of Omar Ahmed Khadr, the 21-year-old Canadian who has been detained at Guantanamo since he was 15, are grossly unfair, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called for Khadr’s trial to be moved to federal court. November 5, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version US: Move Khadr and Hamdan Cases to Federal Court Military Commissions Are Fundamentally Flawed The trial of Omar Ahmed Khadr, the 20-year-old Canadian who was been in US detention since he was 15, and Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the 36-year-old Yemeni who successfully challenged the initial military commission proceedings before the Supreme Court, should be moved to US federal court, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 4, both men will be formally charged by military commissions in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. June 1, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version The Omar Khadr Case A Teenager Imprisoned at Guantanamo In this backgrounder, Human Rights Watch said that although Khadr was just 15 when he was arrested, the United States has completely ignored his juvenile status throughout his detention. The US government incarcerated him with adults, reportedly subjected him to abusive interrogations, failed to provide him any educational opportunities, and denied him any direct contact with his family. June 1, 2007 Background Briefing US: Wal-Mart Denies Workers Basic Rights Weak Labor Laws Perpetuate Abuses Wal-Mart’s relentless exploitation of weak US labor laws thwarts union formation and violates the rights of its US workers, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. May 1, 2007 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Ensure Access to Condoms in US Prisons and Jails The management of infectious disease in prisons is a human rights imperative as well as a matter of public health. Given the high level of HIV infections among those who enter prison, making condoms readily accessible to inmates is an effective and inexpensive measure that corrections officials should take to limit the spread of infection. The experience of correctional systems that have distributed condoms indicates no adverse security consequences associated with those policies. Human Rights Watch urges prison officials and policymakers to comply with best practice based upon international human rights standards, US constitutional law, and the recommendations of correctional health experts to ensure that condoms are available to inmates. March 14, 2007 Background Briefing Cluster Munitions: Statement to the Canadian Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Delivered by Steve Goose, director of the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch and co-chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition Canada, perhaps above all other nations, should be at the forefront of this endeavor to eradicate inaccurate and unreliable cluster munitions. It was Canada’s vision, commitment, and caring that largely brought about the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. And it has largely been Canada’s ongoing dedication and hard work for the past decade that has made that treaty such a success. March 1, 2007 Oral Statement Printer friendly version |
 
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