‘Country-agnostic’ declaration denouncing arbitrary detentions is nothing more than governmental flimflam on Kovrig and Spavor

China, of course, saw the effort for what it was. A meaningless gesture on the part of Canada to apply some undefined measure of pressure on the detention of the Canadians.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau unveiled a declaration on Feb. 15, 2021, calling upon all states to 'take concrete steps to prevent and put an end to harsh conditions in detention, denial of access to legal counsel, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.'The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY GAR PARDY

February 17, 2021

It’s now been more than 800 days since Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were imprisoned by the Chinese authorities, and there are few to no indications their arbitrary imprisonment will end anytime soon. The Canadian governme...

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