Human Rights

Introduction

In light of the recent detentions of members of the Taleban and Al-Qaeda, questions have been raised as to what protections they are afforded under international law.  At the same time, attempting to apply existing international law to the novel circumstances presented by their cases yields substantial controversy and reveals possible gaps in the law.

 

In 1999 the Supreme Court of Canada held that same-sex couples must be granted essentially the same rights as married couples.  On June 10 of this year the Court of Appeal of Ontario held that gays have a right to get married. The constitutional basis for the decision lay in the principles of human dignity and anti-discrimination. The federal government decided not to appeal this and similar cases, but instead to institute legislation toward the same effect.  Questions arise about the impact these developments might have on the gay community in the United States. 

 

According to news reports, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has transferred about a dozen non-Iraqi prisoners out of Iraq in the past 18 months. Their destination has not been made known. The news reports say that the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has prepared a draft legal opinion that would authorize the CIA to take Iraqis out of the country for brief periods of interrogation, and permanently to remove persons deemed to be illegal aliens under "local immigration law." [1]