On Tuesday January 26th 2015, I attended Hart House Conscious Docs and the Hancock Lecture series screening of “ Omar Khadr: Out of the Shadows, followed by a discussion led by U of t law, Professor Fadel .

 

The documentary screened as apart of the Hancock lecture is a shorter version of the film Guantanamo’s Child : Omar Khadr, directed by Patrick Reed and Michelle Shepard which premiered during Toronto International Film Festival.

 

For those of you unfamiliar with the case of Omar Khadr, I will summarize below:

 

Omar Khadr, born in Canada, spent most of his childhood between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Khadr’s father, Ahmen Said Khadr, sends his son to help insurgents fighting American forces. Khadr, at the time 15, was under the understanding that he would help through translating.

 

When U.S soldiers invade and attack the insurgent base, Khadr is the only sole survivor. According to Khadr, while hiding behind rubble he threw a grenade, in the process killing an American solider.

 

Once captured, Khadr is taken to Guantanamo Bay and charged with war crimes. Since Khadr was 15 at the time he committed his crimes, under international law the U.S is obliged to rehabilitate former child soldiers and assist them in recovery and reintegration into society.

 

Khadr’s in particular fell into a limbo because in a military court killing a U.S soldier during combat is not considered a war crime under international law. Due to this Khadr was stuck in Guantanamo. According to his lawyer, Dennis Edney, in order to start the process toward freedom, Khadr had to take a plea deal.

 

According to Khadr’s plea deal, he agreed to a sentence of eight years with no credit for time served with the promise he would be transferred back to Canada to carry out his sentence.

 

The case of Omar Khadr brings up a very important question.

 

How could Omar Khadr, detained at 16, and a Canadian citizen be kept in Guantanamo Bay?

 

Firstly, international law is not like domestic law, it is not respected. International law is only respected to the extent nations chose to a participate in it.

 

The rights of a child is protected and outlined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which only two nations have not ratified, Somalia ( which lacks a government) and the U.S. Even if the U.S did ratify the Convention, many Conventions lack forums to hold another country accountable.

 

Secondly, According to Professor Fadel, the United States must have a political calculation in the imprisonment of Omar Khadr. Of 1000+ U.S soldiers killed abroad, only Khadr has been charged with a war crime. If the U.S has an agenda against Khadr, Canada is not in much of a position to do anything.

 

According to international law, if a foreign national is committed to a capital crime the nation from which they are from must be alerted. The U.S did not do this.

 

What makes this situation even harder for Khadr is that Prime Minister Harper’s government did not want him back either. Canada is the only Western nation to not request the returnof their citizen locked up abroad. If Canada wanted Khadr back, the most they could do is complain about U.S conduct, they can not send in the military to retrieve him.

 

What I got from the Hancock Lecture was that citizenship cannot protect you. In reality our country is supposed to protect us and assist us, but if helping you is not favorably to the government’s political agenda you’re out of luck.

 

I am fortunate that I get the opportunity to travel a lot, whether it is for family or for learning. This summer I am planning on going to Israel with U of T. If anything were to ever happen where I am locked up, its scary for me to think that depending on my country’s political agenda they may not come back for me.

 

While learning about Omar Khadr, I couldn’t help but be reminded of last years introduced Bill C-24 law which allows the Canadian government to strip citizenship from any citizen if they are convicted in any country of a terrorist offence, espionage or treason.

 

I couldn’t help but think this bill to be another tactic to deport Khadr, and any future Canadians in similar situations of their Canadian citizenship. Thus riding Canada of their responsibility.

 

The problem I found with Bill C24 is that

 

  • Which terrorist offense is Canada going to adhere by? Many countries have complete opposite laws from Canada. For example, Iran has sent journalists to prison for spying. Is Canada going to judge the offence in accordance with its own laws or the foreign nation in which the crime was committed?
  • If a Canadian child is convicted of a crime abroad, does Canada , a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, have the ability to rid their hands of them? Would this contradict international law?

 

The Hancock Lecture and the fact I am writing this piece after my International Law course really got my gears turning.

 

I really enjoyed the night, the movie and discussion was really thought provoking. If any of you are interesting in learning further about this topic, I suggest you go to their second lecture on February 9th , this year’s theme is the question of citizenship.