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Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes
Program
Remedies and Legislative Framework
International Support
Apprehending and dealing appropriately with persons who have allegedly committed
or are involved in crimes against humanity or war crimes requires a
great deal of international effort and cooperation. To that end, Canada supports
the work of many international bodies including the International Criminal
Court, the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR) and the hybrid Special
Court for Sierra
Leone.
Canada has ratified both the International Criminal Court Statute (ICC) and the
protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement
of Children in Armed Conflicts. Canada was
the first country to introduce comprehensive legislation incorporating
the provisions of the ICC statute into domestic law with the proclamation
of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act on October 23,
2000. Canadaratified the ICC Statute on July 7, 2000. The
Statute entered into force on July 1, 2002, when the 60th
country ratified.
National Legislative Framework
There are several remedies available to deal with alleged war criminals and
persons who have been involved in crimes against humanity. The decision
to use one or more of these mechanisms is based on a number of factors.
These factors include: the different requirements of the courts in
criminal and immigration/refugee cases to substantiate and verify evidence;
the resources available to conduct the proceeding; and Canada's
obligations under international law. These remedies are:
- prosecution in Canada under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act;
- extradition
to a foreign government (upon request);
- surrender
to an international tribunal (upon request);
- revocation
of citizenship and deportation;
- denial
of visa to persons outside of Canada;
- denial
of access (ineligibility) to Canada's
refugee determination system;
- exclusion
from the protection of the 1951 United Nations Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees;
- inquiry
and removal from Canada under
the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and/or
- the
designation of governments considered to have engaged in gross
human rights violations under 35(1)(b) of the Immigration
and Refugee Protection Act.
The decision to utilize a particular remedy is carefully considered and
is assessed in accordance with the Government's policy that Canada not
be a safe haven for war criminals.
Extradition
to a foreign government or surrender to an international tribunal occurs
only upon request and is considered in accordance with Canadian law.
The provisions contained in Canada's Crimes
Against Humanity and War Crimes Act govern criminal prosecutions
in Canada.
This relatively new statute strengthens the legislative foundation
for criminal prosecutions in Canada.
The
following Canadian statutes authorize enforcement action against alleged
war criminals or persons who have committed crimes against humanity.
The Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act:
- provides
for the prosecution of any individual present in Canada for
any offence stated in the Act regardless of where the offence occurred;
- codifies
offences of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and breach
of responsibility by military commanders and civilian superiors;
- creates
new offences to protect the administration of justice at the ICC,
including the safety of judges and witnesses; and,
- recognizes
the need to provide restitution to victims and provides a mechanism
to do so for victims of offences (regulations to implement these
provisions have not yet been passed).
The Extradition Act:
- in
addition to allowing Canada to extradite to other states upon request,
even in the absence of a treaty, the Act allows for the surrender
to international criminal tribunals if so requested by these Tribunals;
- allows
for the use of different forms of evidence that will facilitate surrender
to the International Criminal Tribunals and States with a different
legal tradition;
- permits
the use of video and audio link technology to provide testimony from
witnesses located in Canada or
abroad; and,
- establishes
clear procedures for the extradition or surrender process.
The
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:
- provides
for the examination abroad of all persons seeking to enter Canada for
permanent residence;
- provides
for the examination abroad of persons seeking to visit Canada where
a visitor visa requirement is in effect;
- provides
specific grounds of inadmissibility for persons involved in war crimes
or crimes against humanity and outlines procedures for their reporting,
admissibility hearing and removal;
- provides
for the exclusion from the refugee determination process of persons
involved in war crimes or crimes against humanity;
- provides
for the designation of regimes governments
considered to have engaged in gross human rights violations, war
crimes or crimes against humanity (senior officials of those regimes,
including senior diplomats and senior military officers, are considered
complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity); and,
- limits
appeal rights of persons involved in war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
The Citizenship Act:
- provides
for the revocation of citizenship of persons who have obtained citizenship
by fraud or misrepresentation;
- deems that persons who gained admission to Canada by
fraud or misrepresentation and subsequently obtained Canadian citizenship
are considered to have gained citizenship by fraud or misrepresentation;
and,
- provides that citizenship shall not be granted where the person is under investigation
by the CBSA, the RCMP, the Minister of Justice, or the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service.
Full text of these statutes may be found on the Department
of Justice website.
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