VZCZCXRO3831
PP RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHQU RUEHVC RUEHYG
DE RUEHOT #0365 0731202
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131202Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7510
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7511
RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0174

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000365 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM MOPS AF CA
SUBJ: CANADIAN CHARTER RIGHTS: NOT FOR AFGHAN DETAINEES 
 
 
¶1. (U) On March 12, Canada's Federal Court ruled that the Canadian 
Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not apply to individuals whom 
the Canadian Forces detain in Afghanistan and then transfer to 
Afghan authorities, nor to the conduct of Canadian Forces in 
Afghanistan.  The Federal Court ruled that the detainees do have 
rights under the Afghan Constitution and under international law, 
and in particular international humanitarian law, however.  In the 
House of Commons' Question Period on March 12, Prime Minister 
Stephen Harper noted that the Court had essentially accepted the 
government's arguments and commented that "we are obviously very 
pleased." 
 
 
¶2.  (U) The Court dismissed the application for a judicial review 
from Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil 
Liberties Association, aimed at stopping these transfers due to 
allegations of torture.  The NGOs had cited the Charter's section 7 
(right to life, liberty, and security of the person), section 10 
(the right to be informed promptly of the reasons for detention, to 
retain counsel, and to receive a hearing) and section 12 (right not 
to be subject to cruel and unusual treatment or punishment) as 
applicable even on this extraterritorial basis due to the 
involvement of the Canadian Forces. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Comment:  The issue of the treatment of detainees has been 
a political football for at least one year, with recurrent 
allegations of torture by Afghan prison authorities, Canadian 
investigations and temporary suspension of transfers between 
November 2007 and February 2008, and ongoing Canadian efforts to 
improve monitoring and to train Afghan corrections officials in 
international norms and standards.  The timing is especially 
fortunate for the government on the eve of the March 13 vote on a 
government motion to extend Canada's deployment in Afghanistan to 
2011, removing one of the few remaining minor differences between 
the Conservatives and the Liberals on the Afghan mission. 
 
WILKINS