Canada: Absolute prohibition against torture

The prohibition against torture is a fundamental norm of international law, and as such is absolute. Not only are states expressly forbidden to commit torture, under any circumstances, they are also forbidden to return an individual to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture (Article 3 of the 1984 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). The Canadian government has signed the Convention Against Torture (CAT), but has not fully incorporated this prohibition against return to torture into its domestic legislation, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. In January 2002 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled, in the Suresh case, that Canada "should generally decline to deport refugees where on the evidence there is a substantial risk of torture." This decision, however, left open the possibility that deportation could go ahead in "exceptional circumstances" What is meant by "exceptional circumstances" has yet to be defined. Previously, in November 2000, the UN Committee against Torture had reminded Canada that the Convention against Torture, ratified by Canada, includes absolute protection against deportation or extradition to a country where an individual faces a serious risk of torture.

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