Some welcome it, but Bill C\u002D41 puts the onus on aid groups to prove their credentials before being cleared to respond to emergencies abroad.
Bill C-41 is the proposed solution, and some aid groups have welcomed it, indicating they were previously “held back” in Afghanistan or, more generally, that the bill is “a critical and important step forward in protecting the provision of neutral and impartial, life-saving humanitarian assistance.” What this perspective conceals is that ample legal provisions already exist and could be reinforced, rather than imposing a new set of legal hurdles for humanitarian organizations.
Criminalizing Canadian humanitarian agencies or their staff for working in territories controlled by terrorist groups would be contrary to existing international norms and laws, most notably the Geneva Conventions, and might even be unconstitutional. There is legal precedent in Canada supporting the claim that, owing to the life-saving purpose of humanitarian aid, it cannot be considered criminal to provide it, even when a terrorist group may accrue some benefit from that aid.
And this assumes clearance is eventually given. If the government starts saying “no,” the very independence of Canadian civil society organizations — and hence their ability to provide neutral and impartial life-saving aid — might be at stake.Article content When aid agencies say they were “held back,” they are saying they were unwilling to operate in the face of perceived legal risk. MSF took a different approach. Our medical teams worked in Afghanistan before and carried on after the Taliban takeover, on the grounds that providing impartial medical humanitarian aid is not only a moral imperative, driven by medical ethics, but a legally protected right under the same international laws that Canada upholds.
Bill C-41 is exactly that: unduly restrictive, and it should be replaced with a general humanitarian exemption. Such an exemption would align with international law while removing any ambiguity in the Criminal Code regarding the protected status of humanitarian aid.
المملكة العربية السعودية أحدث الأخبار, المملكة العربية السعودية عناوين
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