Traduction de «Action by Christians against Torture » (Anglais → Français) :

(Return tabled) Question No. 4 Hon. Irwin Cotler: With regard to international treaties and conventions dealing in whole or in part with human rights and with Canada’s international obligations in this regard: (a) does the government have any formal or informal procedures for regular review of those international human rights treaties that Canada has not yet signed, ratified, or otherwise accepted; (b) does the government have any formal or informal guidelines according to which it determines whether the specific obligations contained in a treaty or other international undertaking conflicts with the Constitution Act, 1867, and if so where can these guidelines be accessed; (c) do the guidelines referred to in (b) specify the standard accor ...[+++]ding to which the government determines if any obligation contained in a treaty or other international undertaking violates any section of the Constitution Act, 1867; (d) has the government engaged in any review of its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD); (e) does the government have any formal or informal guidelines according to which it determines whether the specific obligations contained in a treaty or other international undertaking require implementing legislation in order for Canada to be able to ratify or otherwise accept it, and if so where can these guidelines be accessed; (f) does the government have a position as to whether international agreements that establish a complaints mechanism or communications procedure for enforcement of the rights and obligations contained therein are necessarily unconstitutional; (g) does the government have a policy as to whether Canada will accept such agreements referred to in (f); (h) does the government undergo review of proposed international human rights agreements that would establish such a mechanism or procedure referred to in (f) on a case by case basis, (i) who is involved in this review, (ii) are the provinces and other inte ...

If memory serves me well, in 2005, the United Nations Committee Against Torture criticized Canada for not taking legislative action to assist torture victims.

Calls on the EU Member States to sign up to, and ratify, the core Council of Europe and United Nations human-rights conventions and the additional optional protocols: among others, the European Social Charter (revised), the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe, as well as the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the UN Convention rel ...[+++]ating to the Status of Refugees, the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, the UN Convention on Organised Crime and its two protocols against human trafficking and smuggling, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; furthermore, suggests that, in the European legislative process, more account be taken of international documents and more reference made to them;

Calls, therefore, on the Government to address these issues systematically by amending legislation and by ensuring its proper implementation at all levels of government, including the municipalities; points too, in this context, to the recommendations adopted by the Venice Commission in spring 2010 concerning the legal personality of religious communities and the ecclesiastical title ‘Ecumenical’ of the Orthodox Patriarchate; welcomes the recent decision by the ‘Foundations Assembly’ to transfer the Büyükada Greek Orphanage for Boys to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in accordance with the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, and the granting of Turkish citizenship to several Greek Orthodox clergy in order to facilitate the Patriarc ...[+++]hate and the Holy Synod; welcomes the religious ceremony in the Sümela Monastery Museum in Trabzon and the ceremony in the church on Akdamar Island in the province of Van; finds the Turkish Supreme Court decision against Mor Gabriel Monastery, concerning a land dispute with villages and the Turkish Treasury, to be regrettable; restates its expectation that the Government’s announcements about the reopening of the Halki Greek Orthodox seminary will soon be followed by action and by measures providing for the unhindered training of Christian communities’ clergy; urges the Government to pay special attention to educational materials in schools, which should reflect the religious plurality of Turkish society, and to the need for unbiaised learning materials;

However, neither the Convention Against Torture nor the Criminal Code provision prevent statements that have been made through actions that amount to less than torture from being admissible.

Canada is a strong proponent of measures to prevent and prohibit torture and it attaches great importance to effective action by the United Nations against torture.