INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS: ‘War’ mentality erodes rights, report says – Western countries cannot treat terrorism suspects as though they exist outside rule of law, judges find
Canada is among the countries that have succumbed to a war-on-terror mentality that has infected too many states, a roving panel of judges has found.
Calling upon the world to dispense with any “war” mentality, the judges say it’s high time that terrorism suspects and intelligence agents cease to be treated as though they exist outside the rule of law.
“It’s time for change,” they write in Assessing Damage, Urging Action. The 200-page report, released earlier this month, advocates rolling back many emergency powers that have been invoked globally since 9/11.
“Human rights are not, and can never be a luxury to be cast aside in times of difficulty” concludes the expert panel, which was commissioned by the International Commission of Jurists.
The ICJ’s wider membership includes Mr. Justice Ian Binnie of the Supreme Court of Canada. The “eminent” panel the ICJ appointed, led by a former South African chief justice, spent three years roaming the world to study terrorism.
“I’m not aware of anything that is comparable to this document,” said Kent Roach, a University of Toronto law professor and counterterrorism expert, who testified at the ICJ’s Canadian hearings. He anticipates the report will be highly influential, adding it is already being reviewed within Ottawa and by the U.S. Obama administration.
Canadian investigations helped shape the findings, with the Maher Arar affair and other controversies highlighted as examples of how polices can go astray.
…Click Here to read the complete article.
Tags: Human Rights, ICJ, Kent Roach, Maher Arar, War on Terror
Short URL: http://tinyurl.com/ygfx7gl
