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)
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.
Connie is the principal of Crosby Group Consulting and is also a law librarian, writer, teacher and speaker specializing in social media, knowledge management and information management. She is author of the book "Effective Blogging for Libraries" part of the award-winning Tech Set published by Neal-Schuman in 2010. [click on the author's name for more information]
If there is any such thing as humanity left, then Omar Kadr should not ONLY be released and returned to Canada BUT he should be given a chance to rehabilitate and reintegrate.
Khadr absolutely SHOULD be returned to Canada. But he has to be handled carefully upon his return.
One has to remember that Khadr was indoctrinated into Islamic militant ideology. If he won't renounce that philosophy so that he even can be rehabilitated, then he should be stripped of his citizenship and deported along with the rest of his family (most of whom should have been deported long ago).
As a Canadian citizen, Khadr deserves the opportunity to be handled justly. But he is not owed the opportunity to be unconditionally set loose where he may well be dangerous.
We don't have to like it, but we do have to be realistic about this.
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This is a listing of a few upcoming events in Canada of interest to lawyers, law students, legal librarians, and others involved in the practice of law.
Clicking on any event in the list below will give you access to more information and to links allowing you to see the full entry and to add the event to your own calendar.
Click this link for a fuller version of the TalkLaw/ParLoi calendar of events and for instructions as to how to add events and calendars to your own calendar.
If there is any such thing as humanity left, then Omar Kadr should not ONLY be released and returned to Canada BUT he should be given a chance to rehabilitate and reintegrate.
Khadr absolutely SHOULD be returned to Canada. But he has to be handled carefully upon his return.
One has to remember that Khadr was indoctrinated into Islamic militant ideology. If he won't renounce that philosophy so that he even can be rehabilitated, then he should be stripped of his citizenship and deported along with the rest of his family (most of whom should have been deported long ago).
As a Canadian citizen, Khadr deserves the opportunity to be handled justly. But he is not owed the opportunity to be unconditionally set loose where he may well be dangerous.
We don't have to like it, but we do have to be realistic about this.