Canada has long been recognized as a global leader in human rights and commitment to international law, wielding moral authority much larger than its size. But our government's unreserved support for the conduct of Israel's recent military actions in Gaza has eroded Canada's hard-won credibility and moral standing.

The inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama provides new opportunities for Canada to play a more assertive role on human rights. Important steps might be taken with respect to Guantanamo, Afghanistan, Colombia, and international institutions.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper should take advantage of US President Barack Obama’s February 19 visit to Canada to push for repatriation or fair trial of Omar Khadr, a Canadian national detained at Guantanamo Bay. Harper should also offer to resettle detainees at Guantanamo who cannot be returned home and who have been promised support by Canadian sponsors.

We write in advance of US President Barack Obama's first official visit to Canada on February 19, 2009, to request that you address the important question of detainees held at Guantanamo. 

Five leading human rights and civil liberties groups delivered a letter to President-elect Barack Obama on January 12, 2009, urging him to suspend the Guantanamo Bay military commissions and to ensure that the upcoming trial of Omar Khadr, a 22-year-old Canadian, does not proceed. The trial is scheduled to begin on January 26, six days after the presidential inauguration.

We write to you regarding Omar Khadr, the 22-year-old Canadian national slated to be tried by military commission at Guantanamo for crimes allegedly committed when he was aged 15. If the trial, now scheduled for January 26, 2009, is allowed to go forward, Omar Khadr will become the first person in recent years to be tried by any western nation for war crimes allegedly committed as a child.

George W. Bush's term as president is coming to an end, and he has little to show by way of meting out justice for the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Perhaps this is why his administration seems so desperate to score a victory on the judicial battleground of the military commissions. That its target is Omar Khadr, a child soldier at the time of the alleged offenses, makes the spectacle all the more pathetic to the observer, and tragic for Khadr.

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.