The federal authorities is defending its plan to start out talks on an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates as civil society teams problem warnings over the nation’s human-rights file.
Canada and the UAE signed a free-trade deal final week when the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, met with Prime Minister Mark Carney throughout a go to to Ottawa.
In addition they introduced plans to start out negotiations on an extradition treaty and a mutual authorized help treaty.
Amani Khalfan, a spokesperson for the social justice group Inter Pares, requested what sort of message Canada would ship to the world by signing extradition and defence treaties with the UAE, a rustic with a troubling human-rights file.
Khalfan stated the UAE’s file of illegal and arbitrary detentions is “appalling.”
She cited the case of Sudanese advocate Mohammed Farouk Salman Mahmoud, who she stated was imprisoned for over a yr and a half within the UAE with out fees.
Authorities stated he was below investigation for insulting the UAE head of state. Amnesty Worldwide stated he was launched on Aug. 22.
The UAE has taken on rising significance in world politics and has been praised for work aimed toward ending conflicts within the Mideast and Ukraine.
However the nation additionally has been accused of supporting a militia in Sudan that has been accused of genocide — a declare Abu Dhabi denies.
“Whereas we acknowledge that diversifying commerce and funding is a vital aim, it’s clear that the UAE is supporting a militia that has carried out genocide, and continues to take action,” Khalfan stated.
“Within the context of such massacres, prioritizing financial partnerships over human rights signifies that Canada is liable to searching for blood cash within the UAE.”
Get breaking Nationwide information
Get breaking Canada information delivered to your inbox because it occurs so you will not miss a trending story.
Kwame Bonsu, a spokesperson for the Division of Justice, stated strengthening Canada’s overseas partnerships on investigating, prosecuting and stopping severe crime is crucial to retaining Canadians secure.
Bonsu stated an extradition treaty would assist deliver to justice people accused or convicted of great crimes, resembling cash laundering, drug trafficking or cybercrime.
“The UAE’s rising and profitable worldwide partnerships on extradition and mutual authorized help with international locations that take the same method to those issues as Canada, resembling the UK, Eire, Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden, and the Netherlands, makes this an appropriate second at which to revisit the UAE’s invitation to barter with Canada,” stated Bonsu.
A mutual authorized help treaty, Bonsu stated, would facilitate the alternate of proof and different types of authorized help in legal investigations and prosecutions.
“Any such treaty helps authorities in each international locations examine and prosecute severe crimes,” Bonsu stated.
An extradition treaty is an settlement between international locations that permits one nation to request the give up and switch by one other nation of a person accused of crimes.
The federal authorities’s web site says there are three key phases to Canada’s extradition course of.
First, the justice minister should problem an “authority to proceed.” Subsequent, Canadian courts have to say whether or not there’s sufficient proof to justify a person’s extradition. The justice minister should additionally resolve whether or not to order the person’s give up to the overseas state.
The person can then search judicial evaluation of the minister’s order or enchantment the choice.
“In all circumstances, the conduct for which extradition is sought should be thought of legal in each the requesting nation and in Canada,” says the federal government web site.
The Extradition Act says the minister ought to refuse to problem an extradition order in the event that they consider it might be “unjust or oppressive,” or if the request for extradition is made to prosecute or punish somebody for issues like race, faith or nationality.
The act says the minister can also refuse to problem an extradition order in the event that they assume the conduct for which the request was made is punishable by loss of life below the legal guidelines of the nation requesting extradition.
Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary normal of Amnesty Worldwide Canada’s English-speaking part, stated in an electronic mail her group can also be involved by the discuss of an extradition treaty given the UAE’s “disturbing” file on human rights.
“Amnesty Worldwide has documented grossly unfair mass trials, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances within the UAE, together with the disappearance of poet Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi following his extradition in 2025,” she stated. “Our world analysis has additionally discovered torture to be correlated with enforced disappearances.”
Nivyabandi stated Canada shouldn’t depend on diplomatic assurances from the UAE. She stated such guarantees can’t reliably stop torture or erase Canada’s authorized responsibility by no means to ship somebody the place they face an actual threat of abuse.
“If these talks transfer ahead, Canadian officers should proceed with excessive warning and, in the end, shouldn’t enter into an settlement until and till they’ve proof and full confidence that human rights will likely be upheld,” stated Nivyabandi.
Seventeen civil society organizations signed an open letter earlier this yr warning Canada in opposition to deeper ties to the UAE and arguing the nation is perpetuating the warfare in Sudan. The letter stated that as Canada seems to be to diversify its commerce, it wants to claim help for human rights as a core Canadian worth.
Carney travelled to the United Arab Emirates final yr. On the finish of that November go to, the prime minister stated Ottawa was engaged on a $1-billion mission to develop crucial minerals processing capability in Canada.
The UAE pledged to speculate about $70 billion in Canada.
The Prime Minister’s Workplace stated final week’s go to by the crown prince to Ottawa led to “important progress” on the UAE’s dedication to spend money on Canada.
—with information from Dylan Robertson
