Meng Wanzhou and Canada’s ‘Perfect’ Human Rights Record

Meng Wanzhou says her constitutional rights were breached and is seeking damages for "false imprisonment.” The suit was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against the Canadian Border Services Agency, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and the Canadian government.

The notice alleges that the police officer and several border guards detained, searched and interrogated Meng under the guise of a routine customs or immigration case, and used "that opportunity to unlawfully compel her to provide evidence and information.” It alleges they did so without immediately arresting her under the warrant to avoid affording Meng her constitutional rights.

Meng’s claim was filed the same day that the Canadian government agreed to begin an extradition process that was sparked by her arrest on Dec. 1 at the request of the US, which alleges that Meng lied to banks to trick them into processing transactions for Huawei that potentially violated Iran trade sanctions. China has demanded the release of Meng, who is under house arrest in Vancouver.

China has also argued that the unilateral sanctions by the US against Iran are not legal or binding as they go against UN Resolution 2231 that endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement with China, Russia, the US, the UK, France plus Germany.

On the whole, it should be admitted that Meng Wanzhou case is fraught with thorny legal problems, and both international and domestic laws will have to be considered if Meng were to be extradited to the US. For instance, the pre-meditated detention of Huawei's CFO has left many observers with the impression that Canadian authorities have gone rogue. They coarsely snagged Meng while at the airport - at the request of the US government.

They refused to follow proper protocol with intent. When the chief financial officer was detained, she had the right to know, because her rights are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Meng's botched arrest and interrogation were for political ends. The so-called bastion of freedom and democracy's officers and officials "intentionally delayed the immediate execution of the warrant, contrary to the order of the Court." Instead, they held her "under the guise of a routine border check," and unlawfully detained, searched and interrogated her to pull evidence from her.

Mind you, this deteriorating case for human rights is not limited to Meng. In yet another blow, the United Nations Human Rights Council has raised these sorts of concerns and troubling issues with Canada. The Council says in a recent report that "Canada's human rights record has been on display and the range of shortcomings and violations that have been probed has been sobering."

Some are long-standing, such as violence against indigenous women and indigenous peoples (Canada is dismissive of the important UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), and others are more recent, such as the shameful detention and interrogation of Meng. This is not to say that Canada is among the worst human-rights violators in the world, but human rights in Canada are far from perfect, as three-quarters of a century after the Charter of United Nations, human rights are manifestly far from being realized (and enjoyed) by far too many Canadian people.

There is an expectation, as well, that as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with all the resources and strong institutions that Canada has, the Canadian Border Services Agency and police could have set a high example for their counterparts in other parts of the world. They didn't.

This is the same government that drafts resolution after resolution against other nations at the UN regarding alleged cases of human rights abuses. Ottawa must walk the talk and stop appeasing the United States government at the sacrifice of its own judicial independence and integrity. Ottawa must comply with the requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, act in accordance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and release Meng Wanzhou without any delay.

  Source:Farsnews