Rwanda: Mugesera family writes to Canadian Minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
Re:
|
Enforcement of
the assurances on human rights provided by the government of
|
We are writing to you regarding the case of Leon Mugesera, and to
demand that you immediately communicate with the government of Rwanda (“Rwanda ”) to request that THE said government
honours and enforces the assurances on human rights (“Assurances”) it provided to the
government of Canada (Canada ) on March 27, 2009 .
In the Assurances,
Rwanda guaranteed that if Canada removed
Leon Mugesera from Canada and deported him to Rwanda, Leon Mugesera would, inter alia,have the right to a fair
trial, would be detained in accordance with the minimum standards of detention
stipulated I the United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of all Persons
under any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.
The fundamental
principle stating that “ex injuria jus
non oritur” (i.e.: law does not arise from injustice)
proves to be true in Leon Mugesera’s case. As a matter of fact, Canada ’s violations of Leon Mugesera’s refugee and
human rights lead and gave sway to numerous violations of Leon Mugesera’s human
and legal rights in complete violation of the Assurances, including and not
limited to:
1. Leon Mugesera is tortured by
Rwanda (refer to the Supreme Court of Canada’s definition of what constitutes
torture in Suresh c. Canada, 2002 CSC 1, par. 43, following
which torture is “the unlawful use of psychological or physical techniques to
intentionally inflict severe pain and suffering on another, when such pain or
suffering is inflicted by or with the consent of public officials);
2. Leon Mugesera is not fed
properly and is starved;
3. Leon Mugesera’s right to a
legal counsel of his choice is denied (lawyers fear for their personal safety
and security in Rwanda , and fear to face professional liability if
they participate in a mock trial where their freedom to defend their client’s
rights is subject to unjust, unwarranted and arbitrary conditions and
restrictions);
4. Leon Mugesera’s right to
communicate with his family is denied;
5. Leon Mugesera’s religious
rights, including the right to practice his faith, are denied;
6. Leon Mugesera’s constitutional
right to be tried in French is denied; and
7. Leon Mugesera is condemned in
advance and as such, his right to a fair trial by a independent and impartial
tribunal is denied.
Given the recent public policy announcements and actions undertaken by
the current conservative government, we have reasons to fear that Canada is
engaged in the slippery slope of being associated with, being perceived as
condoning, being used as an accessory to, condemnable and criminal practices by
foreign governments , including the practice of torture (psycholigical and
physical) by Rwanda in violation of the Assurances and of Canadian and
international law (see Jim Bronskill, “CSIS gets green light to share info
despite ‘substantial’ torture risk”, The
Globe and Mail, Ottawa, Friday, Mar. 02, 2012). Accordingly, we humbly
request that:
1.
Canada Rwanda Rwanda Canada
2.
Canada requests that
Rwanda stops any psychological and physical methods used by Rwanda to extract
from Leon Mugesera a false confession in violation of his right to be presumed
innocent and right not to be subject to cruel and unusual punishment;
3.
Canada requests that
Rwanda stops threatening the lives and property of Leon Mugesera’s family in
Rwanda and its attempts to coerce them to make false testimonies regarding Leon
Mugesera’s character and reputation to safeguard their lives and belongings;
4.
Canada Rwanda
5.
Canada Rwanda
6.
Canada Rwanda
7.
Canada allocates
resources to the monitor Rwanda’s practices to ensure that the Assurances
provided to Canada are honoured, respected and enforced by Rwanda’s kangaroos
courts; and
8.
Canada Rwanda
We humbly believe that the requests above are
necessary to protect Leon Mugesera’s rights, to ensure that Rwanda respects and
honours the Assurances it gave to sCanada, and reaffirm Canada’s commitment to
the advancement of human rights and its unqualified condemnation of torture in
all matters where its national security interests are not under threat.
We would be grateful if you contacted us to
let us know if you accept to grant our request.
We wish to thank you
for your time and consideration with respect to this matter. Should you have
any comments, questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the
undersigned at 418-380-3333.
Thank you for your
attention into this important matter.
Sincerely,
On the behalf of
Leon Mugesera Family,
Uwamariya Gemma
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 9:03 AM
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