A new low for Canada in Afghanistan

CBC : "The Canadian Forces have for years arrested children suspected of working with the Taliban and handed them over to [the NDS] an Afghan security unit accused of torture.

The document, obtained under an Access to Information request and marked "secret," shows that Defence Minister Peter MacKay was briefed on the topic of juvenile detainees in Afghanistan March 30."

UN General Assembly Security Council, Children and Armed Conflict, April 10, 2010 :

"Approximately 110 children have been detained by the Afghan National Directorate of Security and international military forces on charges related to national security, including their alleged involvement or association with the Taliban or other armed groups. Access to detention facilities continues to be difficult and information on children detained by pro-Government forces remains limited.

The use of harsh interrogation techniques and forced confession of guilt by the Afghan Police and NDS was documented, including the use of electric shocks and beating. ... Available information points to sexual violence as a widespread phenomenon."

Electric shocks, beating, forced confessions, sexual violence.

You can see how the Con/Lib/Bloc Afghan detainee panel - all sworn to secrecy and finally convened in July seven months after it was ordered in the House and charged with going through all those binders on detainees that Laurie Hawn is leaning on - is going to take a really really long time to get around to releasing any hint of this, if ever.

At which point, MacKay will probably issue one of his 'there was a problem but we already fixed it' missives and point out that Afghanistan is a sovereign country whose torture facilities are solely responsible for the treatment of the children we hand over to them. Especially as we now apparently actively solicit Canadian industry support for the CIA-backed NDS.

In the Afghan Committee on Oct 20, 2010, Parliamentary Secretary for National Defence Laurie Hawn remarked the NDS is "probably one of the better institutions in Afghanistan" and asked the Afghan ambassador if there was anything Canadian private industry could do to help them out.

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Newspeak comes to Foreign Affairs

Embassy Mag : "Gender Equality", "Child Soldiers" and "Humanitarian Law" are Axed from Foreign Policy Language

With subtle strokes of the pen, it appears the Conservative government has been systematically changing the language employed by the foreign service and, as a result, bringing subtle but sweeping changes to traditional Canadian foreign policy.

In an email communication obtained by Embassy, staff at the Department of Foreign Affairs express concern about frequent changes being made to commonly used terms, particularly where such changes are not consistent with accepted Canadian policy.

Rewriting Canadian foreign policy without going through parliament.

"International humanitarian law" has been replaced by "international law"

WTF?

IHL is about Geneva Conventions : war, casualties, the limiting thereof.

Take out "humanitarian" and we're talking the laws of the sea, trade law, border stuff.

No humans rights or massacred civilians here. Take that, International Criminal Court! You too, UN.

Doubtless our partners in the Canada-Israel Homeland Security pact will be gratified to learn of our new position on human rights in occupied territoriesopen air prisons.

In fact, a source close to Foreign Affairs told Embassy that the Prime Minister's Office had once tried to change Canada's official position on the ICC to essentially state that Canada does not support the ICC, it tolerates it.

"Gender equality" is now "equality of men and women"

What are we talking here - height? Number of arms and legs?

Back in the 90s we figured out that sex is biological; gender is both political and socially constructed and gender-based violence is not just about your junk.

"References to gender-based violence are removed," the Foreign Affairs email states, muttering darkly about the influence of certain conservative women's groups. Hi, Gwen!

Canada, previously a pioneer in the fight to bring gender equality into the human rights agenda, is apparently back to cocks and cunts.

"Child soldiers" is now "children in armed conflict."

We're obviously talking toddlers in swaddlin' clothes here and we are most definitely not talking child soldier Omar Khadr. Again, Canada pioneered protection for child soldiers in international humanitarian law at the UN, but that was before we became the last government on planet Earth to offer our passive support to what goes on in Gitmo.

Go read.

Foreign Affairs is pushing back. Good for them.

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h/t Waterbaby

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