Amnesty International Australia welcomes the ruling of the Federal Court of Canada in relation to long time Guantanamo Bay detainee, Omar Khadr, who was 15 years old when he was taken into custody.

In a major step forward, the Court held that Canada's Federal Government must call for the repatriation of Mr Khadr, in light of violations of his human rights. The Canadian Government is considering appealing this decision.

We have been campaigning hard for Mr Khadr's release, and Amnesty International supporters in Australia and many other countries have been pressing the Canadian Government for years to seek his repatriation from Guantanamo Bay.

The Federal Court of Canada was tasked to answer the question of whether the Canadian Government had a legal obligation to protect Mr Khadr, and concluded that it did. In arriving at this decision, the Court noted that Mr Khadr had been held illegally under both US and international law. Justice O’Reilly noted that Mr Khadr's rights as a minor when taken into custody had been breached and that he had been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

It was noted that Canadian authorities interrogated Mr Khadr and handed over the results of their questioning to the US authorities for use against him. In this regard, the Court stated that Canada 'implicitly condoned the imposition of sleep deprivation techniques on him, having carried out interviews knowing that he had been subjected to them'. The Judge went on to say that '... while Canada did make representations regarding his possible mistreatment, it also participated directly in conduct that failed to respect Mr Khadr's rights, and failed to take steps to remove him from an extended period of unlawful detention among adult prisoners, without contact with his family'.

It also ruled that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applied to the conduct of Canadian agents who travelled to Guantanamo Bay and questioned Omar Khadr.

Under the Charter, if a person's 'life, liberty or security" is at stake, Canadian officials are required to respect principles of fundamental justice. These principles are also informed by Canada's international obligations.

Amnesty International Australia notes that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was central to the Court's finding that the Canadian Government had a duty to protect Mr Khadr, even while being held overseas. Australia does not have similar overarching human rights protections. We do not have a Charter, Bill or Act which protects the rights of Australians and places a duty on our Government to ensure those rights are upheld even when overseas.

Mr Khadr was taken into custody by the US in July 2002, having been picked up in Afghanistan. He is now 22 years old. He is also one of the very few detainees to be charged and face "trial" by US military commission - which Amnesty International has consistently criticised as failing international fair trial standards. These trials were suspended in January this year for 120 days by newly inaugurated US President Barack Obama.