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For immediate release, November 26, 2009
Ottawa - A private member's bill to be introduced in Parliament today would allow foreign governments accused of torture to be sued by their victims in Canada, a move applauded by a group of leading human rights organizations and individual experts.
Canada's State Immunity Act currently protects foreign governments against most lawsuits in Canadian courts. The proposed bill - initiated by Liberal MP Irwin Cotler and supported by Members of Parliament Scott Reid, Francine Lalonde and Paul Dewar - would create an exception, allowing Canadians to sue foreign governments for serious human rights violations such as torture and genocide.
A letter in support of the bill was signed by eight Canadian organizations with expertise in international human rights, and forty-five individual lawyers, law professors and survivors of torture, including Maher Arar and the son of Zahra Kazemi. The letter states that "this is an issue of extreme importance to the many Canadians who have been affected by torture and war trauma. Survivors consistently express a strong interest in knowing that justice can be served in Canadian courts for the kinds of abuses they have suffered."
The son of Zahra Kazemi, the Iranian-Canadian photojournalist tortured and killed in Iran in 2003 for taking photos outside a prison, is suing the Government of Iran and individual Iranian officials. The case will be heard in Montreal in early December, and the Government of Iran is arguing that it is protected from liability by Canada's immunity law. The new bill would have a critical impact in this case and others like it.
The Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ), which coordinated the letter, explained that most countries do not have a law equivalent to Canada's State Immunity Act. "That fact should alleviate any concerns that allowing these lawsuits would affect trade or diplomatic relations, because that clearly has not been a concern of other countries," said CCIJ Executive Director Jayne Stoyles.
Stoyles also noted that other exceptions to Canada's immunity law already exist, allowing lawsuits that arise in the context of commercial transactions with other countries, and where harm is caused inside of Canada. She stated, "The proposed bill would simply close a gap, allowing people to seek justice when they - or their family members - travel or work abroad and in the process they are tortured or killed. This is about the ability to seek truth and acknowledgement, and about sending a message that there will be consequences if the fundamental rights of Canadians are violated."
For more background information please visit the website of the Canadian Centre for International Justice at: www.ccij.ca.
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For further information:
Jayne Stoyles
media@ccij.ca
613-744-7667
Read the letter calling on Minister of Justice and Opposition Party Justice Critics to support the bill
Read the bill
Read more about the CCIJ's campaign to amend the State Immunity Act.
