Second Response
I received my second response on Friday afternoon to my search for answers on what Canadian forces do with people captured in Afghanistan.
From the office of the Chief of Defence Staff:
Dear Mr. Duyzer,
Thank you for your letter of 1 March, in which you enquire about Canada’s policy on people detained by the Canadian Forces (CF) in Afghanistan.
As you can appreciate, due to operational security reasons, some of the information you requested cannot be released. However, I can provide general information on the policies and agreements surrounding the handling of detainees by the CF in Afghanistan.
In December 2005, the CF signed a new arrangement with the Government of Afghanistan regarding the transfer of detainees from the CF to Afghan authorities. It is the intent of the CF that detainees it captures by transferred to Afghan authorities, as this supports one of the Government of Canada’s objective [sic]: to support Afghan authorities in strengthening local capacity and good governance.
As part of this arrangement, the detainees are treated humanely in accordance with the standards set out by the Third Geneva Convention (the Prisoner of War convention), and all transfers are pursuant to international law.
Again, thank you for your letter, and for your interest and concern for the Canadian forces.
Sincerely,
R.J. Hillier
General
March 27th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
The letter has General Hillier’s signature on it, but alevo has since informed me that they have “signature writing machines” in government offices.
The letter is interesting not so much for what it says, but what it avoids saying.
First, there’s the reference to “operational security” as the reason why my specific questions cannot be answered, although it’s difficult to imagine how answering “Are any individuals captured by Canadian forces imprisoned at the American detention facility at Bagram?” would jeapordize security. The political implications of a positive answer to that question are clear, of course.
Then there’s the information on the agreement between Canadian Forces and the Afghans, signed in December 2005 (I will be seeking out more information on this agreement and posting what I find). What I thought was interesting was the part that says “It is the intent of the CF that detainees it captures by transferred to Afghan authorities” [emphasis mine]. I don’t think I need to point out the implications of that statement.
Finally, when the letter writer – who I suppose I may say is General Hillier, even though it isn’t likely to be – says “the detainees are treated humanely in accordance with the standards set out by the Third Geneva Convention (the Prisoner of War convention)”, they aren’t answering my question: “What status is given to individuals captured by Canadian forces in Afghanistan that are deeed to be a threat?”
Instead of saying that the detainees are deemed prisoners of war under the Third Geneva Convention, the writer says they are treated according to the “standards” set out by the Convention. Needless to say, application of standards is not the same thing as recognition of rights.