Legal Research

Continuing Efforts to Bring Omar Khadr Home

By Connie Crosby

Canadian citizen Omar Khadr is the only Western national left in Guantánamo Bay. Khadr and fellow detainee Mohammed Jawad are believed to be the first child combatants ever to face prosecution of alleged “war crimes”. Khadr was only 15 years old when he was captured by US forces in Afghanistan and later transported to the infamous US detention centre where he has now spent more than a quarter of his life. Khadr faces trial by US military commission. The military commissions fall so far short of international human rights standards that it is impossible for Khadr to receive a fair trial at Guantánamo. (from: Statement of Unity, Bring Omar Khadr Back to Canada)

The video lecture Canada?s Duty to Protect Human Rights: the case of Omar Khadr below was given to Pasifik.ca on October 9, 2008 by Gail Davidson, LLB Chair of Lawyers Against the War, and Founder and Executive Director of Lawyers Rights Watch Canada. She maintains that Canadian lawyers have an obligation to secure Omar Khadr?s release from Guantánamo Bay prison and repatriation to Canada. She says:

Commit to doing good rather than making good as lawyers.

Canada?s Duty to Protect Human Rights: the case of Omar Khadr (42 minutes)

I originally found the video through the website Bring Omar Khadr Back to Canada, a site bringing a number of human rights groups together in an effort to have Khadr repatriated to Canada. Their “call to action” leads to the Amnesty International Canada webpage No Security Without Human Rights. Action by the Lawyers Rights Watch Canada is traced on their Campaign Page for Omar Khadr.  Previous posts on Slaw.ca about Omar Khadr are here.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on December 15, 2008 (boomark / email).