Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has not updated its human rights reporting on nearly 80 countries since 2019, according to a new report released by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA). This significant delay in updates raises concerns about the accuracy and reliability of crucial human rights assessments used by various government departments.
The NSIRA report highlights, “NSIRA finds that Global Affairs Canada has not regularly updated its Human Rights Reports. While many were updated during the 2021 review year, more than half have not been updated since 2019. This is particularly problematic when departments and agencies rely on these reports as a key source in assessing risk related to the Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act.”
GAC develops classified human rights reports, which are shared with several internal Government of Canada partners. These reports provide an overview of the human rights situation in specific countries, informing Canada’s international engagement and programming decisions, including foreign policy, development, trade, security, and consular activities.
Post-2019 updates to human rights reports include a designated section addressing the Orders in Council and the Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act (ACA), highlighting the circumstances of mistreatment within those countries.
NSIRA acknowledges that GAC has recently implemented a prioritized list to update these reports, making considerable progress during the 2021 review period by updating 25% of their profiles. Some high-risk countries have been updated to reflect current events. However, nearly 60% of the 133 human rights reports remain outdated. For instance, reports on Pakistan, Somalia, Ukraine, and Yemen have not been updated since 2019, while those on South Africa and Belarus have not been reviewed since 2015.
Keeping these reports current is crucial for ensuring that critical human rights information is utilized when making ACA determinations. This is especially vital as other departments rely on GAC’s human rights reports for their risk assessments. NSIRA notes that the Information Sharing Coordination Group, coordinated by Public Safety Canada, continues to address the prioritization and sharing issues of human rights reports across departments.
It is important to note that GAC’s human rights reports are supplementary to the information collected by other departments as part of their own assessments. Consequently, GAC does not provide evaluative judgments on risk within their reports, leaving departments to assess risk based on the comprehensive information they have gathered under their mandates.
This delay in updating reports underscores the need for a more timely and efficient process to ensure that Canada’s human rights assessments remain accurate and relevant. The lag in updates not only hinders the effectiveness of various government operations but also raises concerns about Canada’s commitment to human rights monitoring and international accountability.