Canada seems to be having some concerns regarding what happens to detainees that are turned over to Afghan authorities.
On Feb 27, the Globe and mail reported that
Watchdog probes Canadian troops
The Canadian Military Police Complaints Commission launched a probe yesterday into whether military policy knew -- or should have known -- they were handing Afghan detainees over to known torturers.
It's the fourth probe into Canadian treatment of Afghan detainees initiated this month, and sets in motion what could be the most wide-ranging look at the legality of Canada's controversial detainee policy in Afghanistan.
Canadian troops routinely hand captives over to the Afghan National Police and Afghanistan's secret police, known as the National Directorate of Security.
On the same date more problems were reported in Afghanistan, after some recent shooting of Afghan civilians by Canadian soldiers.
Afghan civilian shot by Canadian soldiers
MURRAY BREWSTER
Canadian Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Frustrated by a spate of civilian shootings, Afghan National Police and the head of the local human-rights commission have recommended to Canadian commanders that military convoys be shepherded by local authorities.
The issue was brought sharply into focus again Tuesday when a civilian driver was gunned down as he approached a broken-down Canadian armoured vehicle. It is the fourth time this month that foreign troops have shot dead an Afghan bystander.
The shootings have put a strain on relations between Canadian soldiers and civilians, who are often caught in the crossfire or hit by wayward warning shots.
Today we hear that the three detainees who were alleged to have been assaulted by Canadian troops cannot be found. These treatment of these detainees is what triggered the investigation above.
Canada loses track of Afghan detainees
PAUL KORING
From Friday's Globe and Mail
WASHINGTON — The three detainees at the heart of multiple probes into allegations of abuse by Canadian soldiers have disappeared while in Afghan custody, a seemingly grave breach of the Canada-Afghan pact on detainee treatment, The Globe and Mail has learned.
That poses significant challenges for the criminal probe and raises new doubts about government assurances that all detainees are properly treated and accounted for.
Major Robert Bell, senior operations officer for the Canadian National Investigation Service, said in a brief telephone interview that NIS investigators have been unable to determine what happened to the three men, but said they are still working on the case.
When asked to confirm information that Military Police have been unable to find the three men Canadian troops handed over to Afghan National Police on April 8, 2006, Major Bell said: "No we haven't."
And today we also hear that Canada will be working with an Afghan human rights group to deal with complaints of abuse.
Canada signs deal with Afghan rights agency
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – The Kandahar office of Afghanistan's human rights commission has agreed to act as watchdog for detainees captured by Canadians to ensure that valid complaints of abuse are investigated, The Canadian Press has learned.
The secret agreement with military commanders papers over concerns raised by human rights groups about the practice of handing captured Taliban prisoners over to Afghan authorities who have a reputation for torture. It could also take some of the fire out of a burning debate over allegations that Canadian troops abused detainees last spring.
"Canadians respect human rights very well," Abdul Quadar Noorzai, the Kandahar manager of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said in an interview. He was eager to trumpet the agreement signed last Friday with Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
"It is one of the greatest acts taken by them and I really appreciate it from the core of my heart," said a beaming Noorzai, who's been working for a year to carve out such an arrangement.
Some background on the Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission
Afghanistan: Human rights commission a great development
2003 AWARD RECIPIENT - Dr. Sima Samar - Chair, Independent Afghanistan Human Rights Commission
UPDATE 8-Mar-2007
Amir Attaran on the treatment of Afghan detainees
"In December of 2005, General Rick Hillier, Chief of the Defence Staff, signed a covert agreement to transfer war detainees to Afghanistan's domestic and secret police forces," Amir Attaran writes on the Comment Page of Friday's Globe and Mail.
"The agreement has since leaked into the open. Human-rights advocates deplore detainee transfers because of Afghanistan's cruel treatment, [while] Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor praises detainee transfers because they 'help strengthen [Afghan] capacity and good governance.'
"Even the Afghan government's own human-rights watchdog concedes that torture is 'a routine part of police procedures.' The techniques, according to the U.S. State Department, include 'pulling out fingernails and toenails, burning with hot oil, beatings, sexual humiliation, and sodomy.'
"Thus, when Canadian soldiers follow standing orders and transfer men to self-confessed torturers, they could be — through no fault of their own — aiding and abetting that offence, which makes them prosecutable for war crimes. Willful blindness has trumped caution and responsibility."