By Romeo Dallaire

Omar Khadr is a Canadian citizen who was a 15-year-old child soldier when he allegedly killed a U.S. serviceman during a firefight in Afghanistan. The debate about his return to Canada must begin and end there. That the current and past Canadian governments have failed to secure his release and repatriation is a glaring instance of hypocrisy by this country that prides itself on its advocacy of human rights and adherence to international law.

Child soldiers who are Canadian citizens belong in Canada for due judicial processing and, more importantly, for rehabilitation after having been reared and coerced into extremism and violence.

All other details about Omar Khadr’s activities in Afghanistan and the aftermath of his capture by U.S. forces only strengthen the argument for his return. The 15-year-old Omar was in a compound during aU.S. attack and was shot twice in the chest during the raid. After his capture, he was transferred to the U.S.’s infamous Bagram detention facility where he was processed as an adult combatant and very likely mistreated and tortured.

Since 2002, Mr. Khadr has undergone relentless interrogation at the notorious U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Following years in detention, Mr. Khadr was charged in February, 2007 for war crimes and terrorism under a military tribunal the Bush administration arbitrarily created and continues to manipulate. This makeshift tribunal allows statements made under coercion and hides potentially exculpatory evidence. Despite international protests, Mr. Khadr will be the first ever child soldier tried for alleged war crimes by any Western nation, including the United States.

Canada’s Conservative government has demonstrated a sorry lack of decisiveness and effort to bring Khadr home. Our other allies recognized at the outset that Guantanamo was no place for due process, and quickly and successfully pushed for their citizens’ release and repatriation. Today, Mr. Khadr is the only remaining citizen of a Western country incarcerated in Guantanamo.

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