Amnesty International has sent an open letter to the government of Canada in which it is asking the government to ensure that safeguards are in place to protect the privacy of foreign nationals who are the subject of a Canada-wide arrest warrants for violations under international law or the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. The Canada Border Services Agency created a War Crimes Wanted List on its website with the list of 30 foreign nationals in Canada who are wanted for removal. Amnesty International expressed concern that the photos and names of the fugitives were made available on the website because of the potential reputational harm to those persons.
The War Crimes Wanted List has been successful in locating seven of the fugitives. Two of the fugitives were deported from Canada. One was determined to be the United States.
Amnesty International suggests that Canada prosecute those on the list rather than returning them to their country of origin. In the open letter, Amnesty International says that under international law, Canada is prohibited from deporting a foreign national if the person faces a serious risk of human rights violations such as torture, execution or enforced disappearance.
That is not the case, however. Under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Canada agreed not to expel a foreign national if there are substantial grounds to believe the foreign national would be subject to torture in the receiving country. This is not absolute and pursuant to the Convention, the prohibition against removal is subject to reasonable limits that can be demonstrably justified under Canadian law. What this means is that if a foreign national’s presence in Canada would pose a threat to Canada or Canadians, or would otherwise undermine the integrity of the immigration system, the foreign national may be deported regardless of the Convention. Circumstances where a foreign national’s presence may pose a threat to Canada or Canadians include serious criminality, terrorist threat or other serious security risk (such as war crimes).
Moreover, under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, foreign nationals who are refugees in Canada should not be expelled to countries where their life or freedom would be threatened because of their race, religion, nationality, political views or membership in a social group. The right against expulsion is also not absolute in Canada. Under this Convention, certain activities or conduct disqualify a person as a Convention refugee, including if the foreign national committed a crime against peace, a war crime, a crime against humanity, a serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge before being admitted as a refugee, or an act against the principles of the United Nations.
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