Canada

The United Nations has released a damning report into the operations of Canadian mining company Nevsun Resources in Eritrea, which accuses the company of using conscripted labour at it's Bisha Mine in the country. Nevsun estimated that the mine held over a billion pounds of copper and 2.7 billion pounds of zinc.

The first ever international week of action for military-free education and research was held between 25-31 October 2014. This follows on from a day of action last year. Antimilitarists across the world took action to raise awareness, and challenge, the role the military has in education and research in educational institutions. This role gives them access to young people - to lay the groundwork for recruitment later in life, and to promote military values.

Different groups used the week of action in different ways. Some challenged military presence in schools through direct action, some publicly debated the presence of the military in education, others showed films, wrote articles, and campaigned on social media.

The Canadaian War Resisters' Support Campaign held a week of action from January 12 to 19th, asking Canadians across the country to send a message that U.S. war resisters are welcome in Canada, and that the Canadian government must stop the deportations and enact a provision to let them stay.

For 'Let Them Stay Week 2014', activists joined in on social media, by writing to local papers, lobbying the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and promoting public meetings and debates.

Turkey continues to dominate this issue of co-update, after we already opened the last issue with a long report on Turkey. However, the good news from the last issue cannot be repeated. This time we have to report that torture and abuse of a conscientious objector in a Turkish military prison does not necessarily lead to prosecution - or if it does, then to the prosecution of the victim.

In recent weeks several US war resisters who have sought refuse in Canada have been ordered to leave the country. U.S. Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman was told on 16 August that his family's application to stay in Canada has been rejected. Hinzman was told that he does not qualify under Canada's Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) program following a review by a Citizenship and Immigration department officer.

With the number of Canadian soldiers going AWOL increasing, and the Canadian military playing an increasingly aggressive role in Afghanistan and Haiti, the Canadian military too seems to have problems recruiting new soldiers. According to the "London Free Press", "[t]he number of Canadian soldiers who have gone absent without leave has doubled in the last six years... Records obtained through access to information show 708 troops were convicted of going AWOL in 2005 - more than twice the 340 convicted of the offence in 2000.

The WRI Women's Working Group has had a long standing interest in women's militarization, including the role of women in militaries. This last issue can be a problematic one for feminist pacifists. Pacifists have no interest in encouraging women to join the military; rather, they support anti-militarist work that keep both women and men out of the armed forces. Conservative forces that support a restricted and traditional view of women's place also strongly oppose women in the military.

07/05/1998 1 Conscription

conscription does not exist

The Canadian Forces (CF) are an all-volunteer, professional force. The Canadian Constitution does not expressly address the issue of conscription. At present there are no national laws that entitle the government to launch a conscription or compulsory military service scheme. Nor is there any system of national registration for a potential draft. [3]

recruitment

Enlistment in the armed forces is voluntary for men and women. The minimum age for enlistment is 17.

In June of last year, Canada granted political refugee status to an Ecuadoran women who had escaped ten years of domestic violence, including marital rape. Her husband had threatened to kill her and local police had refused protection. The Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board ruled that this constituted persecution if she returned to her home country. The board cited Canada's new immigration guidelines--the first in the world that grant asylum to women facing gender violence.

Communication No. 446/1991 : Canada.
CCPR/C/43/D/446/1991. (Jurisprudence)

Human Rights Committee, Forty-third session

Decision of the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights -Forty-third session concerning Communication No. 446/1991

Submitted by: Dr. J.P. [name deleted]

Date of communication:21 February 1991 (initial submission)

Alleged victim: The author
State party: Canada