The Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, which seeks both to bar the entry of war criminals into Canada and to facilitate their prosecution, entered into force twelve years ago. Four departments and agencies of the government are tasked with implementing the war crimes law: the Canadian Border Services Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, […]
Tag Archives: Canada
Saunders: Why was Canada in Kandahar?
Globe and Mail columnist Doug Saunders examines how the Canadian Forces ended up at war in Kandahar (“Canada picked its Kandahar moment,” Globe and Mail, 7 January 2012): What on earth were we doing in Kandahar? Now that it’s all over, that question hangs in the air…. How did we pour five years, more than […]
ICC may examine NATO's role in Libya
Ottawa may be celebrating victory in Libya, but NATO and its members could yet face the scrutiny of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over their actions during the conflict, the Associated Press reported earlier this month (Slobodan Lekic and Mike Corder, “AP Exclusive: NATO may face possible ICC probe,” Associated Press, 11 November 2011). The […]
Panetta: F-35 could be on chopping block
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned the U.S. Congress that the Pentagon may be forced to cancel its planned purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter if a congressional “super committee” fails to reach a budget deal, thus triggering automatic deep cuts in government spending (Bill Curry, “Washington could scrap its F-35 jet purchase,” […]
Canadian government unhappy with Palestinian UNESCO membership
Palestine was admitted as a full member to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on October 31st (Sarah Dilorenzo, “Palestine becomes a full member of UN agency, despite U.S. objection, Globe and Mail, 31 October 2011). In response, the U.S. government has withdrawn all funding to the organization (representing over 20% of the […]
Ten years in Afghanistan
On Friday, the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan marked its tenth anniversary (“Afghanistan war marks 10 years with little commemoration,” CNN, 7 October 2011). The conflict is already the longest war in U.S. history, having surpassed the duration of the Vietnam War in 2010. Canada’s participation in the war has not yet reached the ten-year […]