Former MP To Ask International Criminal Court To Investigate Canada's Afghan War Conduct

9 posts / 0 new

Tue, 2017-11-28 22:17

NDPP

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/afghan-detainees-icc-1.4418269

"...Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who did three tours in Afghanistan as a reservist and intelligence officer, - has - in the past - said Canadian troops served with 'absolute credibility and honour' and abided by the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners. His office however declined to comment...and referred questions to Global Affairs Canada. A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada is a strong supporter of the ICC..."

Wed, 2017-11-29 12:27

Mobo2000

Good stuff and props to Craig Scott. I suppose I'm a little curious as to why the Liberals would not go along with an investigation now, seeing as it would implicate Conservatives and Harper.

"Scott tried unsuccessfully to force the current Liberal government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to conduct a full inquiry into the handling of prisoners.

Responding to a written question in the House of Commons, posed by the NDP, the government recently said there has been no investigation conducted by either civilian or military law enforcement into possible war crimes.

The brief argues that the Canadian government and military has had 10 years of reports about possible violations, and has failed to look into it.

"There is a proactive duty on the relevant state policing authorities to investigate war crimes when information about the possibility of such crimes comes to the attention of the authorities."

A Federal Court judge, in one of the legal battles involving Amnesty International, warned that even though he was upholding the Conservative government's arguments there was the possibility the issue could end up before the ICC."

Wed, 2017-11-29 13:27

Michael Moriarity

This is good news, and I'm glad to see that Craig Scott is making good use of his political experience and professional expertise to push forward a really important issue. Our politicians and military commanders need to know that they are not above the law.

Wed, 2017-11-29 14:17

(Reply to #3) #4

Sean in Ottawa

Mobo2000 wrote:

Good stuff and props to Craig Scott. I suppose I'm a little curious as to why the Liberals would not go along with an investigation now, seeing as it would implicate Conservatives and Harper.

"Scott tried unsuccessfully to force the current Liberal government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to conduct a full inquiry into the handling of prisoners.

Responding to a written question in the House of Commons, posed by the NDP, the government recently said there has been no investigation conducted by either civilian or military law enforcement into possible war crimes.

The brief argues that the Canadian government and military has had 10 years of reports about possible violations, and has failed to look into it.

"There is a proactive duty on the relevant state policing authorities to investigate war crimes when information about the possibility of such crimes comes to the attention of the authorities."

A Federal Court judge, in one of the legal battles involving Amnesty International, warned that even though he was upholding the Conservative government's arguments there was the possibility the issue could end up before the ICC."

I think the impression is that the Conservatives woudl be implicated but the reality may be different. The war was on for 5 years before Harper ws elected and I sincerely doubt that any investigation will be sure to start only there.

It also would not end there and have implications going forward that could prove awkward for them.

Wed, 2017-11-29 18:20

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
I think the impression is that the Conservatives woudl be implicated but the reality may be different. The war was on for 5 years before Harper ws elected and I sincerely doubt that any investigation will be sure to start only there.

It would be difficult not to support this initiative, on principle, in kind of the same way that one should support the scrutiny of any factual claim. But the idea that it would be partisan, and only the "bad" Canadians would suffer is a bit of a fevered dream. Which is to say that I agree.

Wed, 2017-11-29 18:41

WWWTT

I can see why Craig is doing this. But as far as I'm concerned, the Canadian government commited a war crime by just participating in the unprovoked illegal invasion of a sovereign country/region. I never believed the 9/11 fairy tail link with nothing more than circumstantial evidence. Not to mention that Canada was never attacked. Craig is a lawyer, I find it odd that he has a problem with the alleged treatment of prisoners at the hands of the Canadian military but is completely ok with an illegal invasion based on NATO agreements (that the NDP for a long time opposed) and no concrete or even barley credible evidence?

I guess out of fear, going the whole way and doing the right thing is still way too much for the NDP to take on.

Fri, 2017-12-01 21:58

NDPP

Of course they are above the law. The ICC is a kangaroo court. This will go nowhere. I promise.

Thu, 2019-01-31 15:41

NDPP

International Criminal Court Judge Resigns Citing 'Shocking' Interference from 'Above the Law' US

https://on.rt.com/9nd7

"A senior judge has resigned from the International Criminal Court in the Hague after the US tweeted judges investigating US war-crimes in Afghanistan..."

Thu, 2019-01-31 16:04

montgomery

I've read too on RT.com that Russia is considering re-entering Afghanistan, now that the US intends to pull out. This is substantial proof that the US isn't going to ever pull out.

Same with Iraq, and especially with Syria!