New e-petition calls for public inquiry on Afghan detainees!

via FTPPetition E-70 to the Government of Canada calls for an independent judicial commission of inquiry into Canada’s approach to Afghan detainees in Canadian custody. To review and sign, click on  Petition E-70.

The author of the petition is former NDP MP and Osgoode Hall law professor Craig Martin Scott. He describes his reasons for this petition in the following Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/CraigScottNDP/posts/941380969289619.

Our justice system and our parliamentary institutions have both failed in getting to the bottom of this chapter in our history. And in the process not only were human rights seriously violated but also our own democracy was undermined by our inability to hold Canadian state actors to account. Five years of working on this issue has led me to the conclusion that the only way we will know the truth and the only way that some form of real accountability will eventually be possible is to have a judicial commission of inquiry established under the Inquiries Act.

Craig Scott references the Rideau Institute CCPA report which details the case for a public inquiry, Torture and Afghan Detainees: the need for a public inquiry (Omar Sabry, 23 Sept 2015).

In addition to making the case for ensuring there is no impunity for complicity in torture, Craig Scott also argues passionately for the utility of e-petitions as a tool of civil engagement:

Ultimately, it all depends on citizens themselves wanting to make change happen in a more participatory way than typically happens in our current politics. Making the transition from MP (2012-2015) to engaged citizen is something I look forward to, and I very much hope you will join me in supporting the call for a commission of inquiry through E-70.

See also Craig Scott’s latest Facebook post, since the e-petition went live today. Click on: https://www.facebook.com/craigmartinscott?fref=ts.

Please support this petition! We have 120 days to let the Justin Trudeau Government know just how important an issue we think this is. Canada was instrumental in the negotiation of the Rome Statute and the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). How we handle this issue will tell the world whether we can “walk the walk” as well as “talk the talk”.

See also E-petition demands inquiry on Afghan torture   (Murray Brewster, CP 17 Dec. 2015)

To sign the petition, click here and follow the step by step instructions.   Onward!

 

Photo credit: Canadian Forces

Tags: Afghanistan, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canadian defence policy, Canadian foreign policy, Canadian military mission in Afghanistan, Craig Martin Scott, Crimes against humanity, Criminal Code of Canada, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Defence Minister Peter MacKay, Defence policy, Department of National Defence, e-petition, Geneva Conventions, Graeme Smith, grave breaches, Human rights, ICC, International Criminal Court, Louise Arbour, Maher Arar, NATO, OÇonnor Inquiry, Omar Sabry, Peggy Mason, Rideau Institute, Rome Statute, Torture, War crimes