Promoting Compliance of Private Security and Military Companies with International Humanitarian Law

Private security and military companies have become a ubiquitous part of modern armed conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. Their diverse clients include governments in the developed and developing world alike, non-state belligerents, international corporations, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, and private individuals. The implications of this proliferation of private security and military companies for international humanitarian law and human rights are only beginning to be appreciated, as potential violations and misconduct by their employees have come to light in Iraq and Afghanistan. The author critically examines the theoretical risks posed by private military and security company activity with respect to violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, together with the incentives that these companies have to comply with those norms. Empirical evidence is also presented to expand on this theoretical framework. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the author draws on law, international relations theory, criminology, economics, corporate strategy and political economy, as well as psychology and sociology, to analyse the competing risk-factors and ‘‘compliance levers’’ that interact at each level of private military and security company activity to enhance or reduce the likelihood of a violation occurring. These findings are then applied by the author to assess emergent measures to deal with private security and military companies outside the legal sphere, including a programme of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the advent of the International Peace Operations Association

The Slave Trade is Back: Confronting Human Trafficking in Canada and Beyond

Individual liberty is being systematically attacked in Canada and around the world with a resurgence in the last two decades of human trafficking — a modern-day form of slavery. Modern-day slavery is thriving in countries as diverse as Cambodia and Costa Rica, India and Italy, as well as the Ukraine and the United States itself. International policing agencies say that illegal profits from modern-day slavery rival that of drug and weapons trafficking. While countries around the world have been tackling the issue for over a decade, Canada’s response has been comparatively lethargic due to a lack of widespread awareness about the extent of the problem and insufficient political will to make it a priority. As a result, Canada has been recognized as a destination country for human trafficking involving sexual exploitation and forced labour, as well as a transit country for perpetrators to transport their victims into the United States. Even more alarmingly, Canada has recently been identified as a source country for sex trafficking victims. In fact, our own citizens have become targeted by traffickers who richly profit from the young women and underage girls under their control. This paper offers: a primer on human trafficking and its victims and looks at Canada’s human trafficking connection. It also discusses the cost of inaction, considering: its effect on victims; its economic costs;and its role in fuelling criminal activity, corruption and undermining the rule of law. Interested readers will want to see the author\u27s book Invisible Chains: Canada’s Underground World of Human Trafficking detailing his research findings and recommendations from his study on human trafficking in Canad

Promoting Compliance of Private Security and Military Companies with International Humanitarian Law

Private security and military companies have become a ubiquitous part of modern armed conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. Their diverse clients include governments in the developed and developing world alike, non-state belligerents, international corporations, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, and private individuals. The implications of this proliferation of private security and military companies for international humanitarian law and human rights are only beginning to be appreciated, as potential violations and misconduct by their employees have come to light in Iraq and Afghanistan. The author critically examines the theoretical risks posed by private military and security company activity with respect to violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, together with the incentives that these companies have to comply with those norms. Empirical evidence is also presented to expand on this theoretical framework. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the author draws on law, international relations theory, criminology, economics, corporate strategy and political economy, as well as psychology and sociology, to analyse the competing risk-factors and ‘‘compliance levers’’ that interact at each level of private military and security company activity to enhance or reduce the likelihood of a violation occurring. These findings are then applied by the author to assess emergent measures to deal with private security and military companies outside the legal sphere, including a programme of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the advent of the International Peace Operations Association

Migrant Smuggling: Canada\u27s Response to a Global Criminal Enterprise: With an Assessment of the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada\u27s Immigration System Act (Bill C-4)

Migrant smuggling is a dangerous, sometimes deadly, criminal activity which cannot be rationalized, justified, or excused. From both a supply and demand side, failing to respond effectively to migrant smuggling and deter it will risk emboldening those who engage in this illicit enterprise, which generates proceeds for organized crime and criminal networks, funds terrorism and facilitates clandestine terrorist travel; endangers the lives and safety of smuggled migrants, undermines border security, with consequences for the Canada/U.S. border, and undermines the integrity and fairness of Canada’s mmigration system. Introduced in Parliament in June, 2011, the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act (Bill C-4) includes amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that would: 1. Enhance the existing offence of migrant smuggling, in terms of the elements of the offence, the penalties available, and recognized aggravating factors; 2. Modify the general provisions of the IRPA to provide for detention of foreign nationals on arrival in Canada on grounds of serious criminality, criminality, or organized criminality; and 3. Create a separate legislative scheme for groups of smuggled migrants who arrive in Canada that relates to detention, release, and timing to apply for various forms of immigration status. This paper supports Bill C-4, but with two necessary amendments, namely: 1. Initial review of detention of designated foreign nationals should take place within 48 hours of detention, with further reviews every three or six months thereafter, in order to comply with binding Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence; and 2. An exemption for designated foreign nationals who are minors (persons under 18 years of age) from the detention provisions of Bill C-4, which would instead subject them to the general rules related to detention of foreign nationals who are minors. These changes would provide Bill C-4 with a more balanced response to migrant smuggling. Bill C-4 is just part of the overall action being taken by the Government of Canada to address migrant smuggling. A comprehensive approach to addressing migrant smuggling ultimately requires three primary strategies pursued together at the national and international levels: 1. National jurisdictions must take greater action to discourage illegal migration and disrupt migrant smuggling operations through legislation like Bill C-4 and through international cooperation; 2. National jurisdictions must establish more efficient refugee-determination processes and expedient procedures to remove failed claimants; and, 3. As part of the solution, the international community should continue to develop a proactive response to the global refugee situation

Migrant Smuggling: Canada\u27s Response to a Global Criminal Enterprise

Migrant smuggling is a dangerous, sometimes deadly, criminal activity. Failing to respond effectively to migrant smuggling and deter it will risk emboldening those who engage in this illicit enterprise, which generates proceeds for organized crime and criminal networks, funds terrorism and facilitates clandestine terrorist travel, endangers the lives and safety of smuggled migrants, undermines border security, and undermines the integrity and fairness of immigration systems. Introduced in the Canadian House of Commons in June 2011, the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act (Bill C-4) includes proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that would enhance the existing offense of migrant smuggling, modify the general detention provisions for foreign nationals on arrival in Canada on grounds of serious criminality, criminality, or organized criminality, and require mandatory detention for groups of smuggled migrants. This article analyzes Bill C-4 and proposes amendments to it that would provide a more balanced response to migrant smuggling. The article concludes by arguing that a comprehensive approach to addressing migrant smuggling ultimately requires three primary strategies be pursued together at the national and international levels: (1) national jurisdictions must take greater action to discourage illegal migration and disrupt migrant smuggling operations and through international cooperation; (2) national jurisdictions must establish more efficient refugee-determination processes and expedient procedures to remove failed claimants; and, (3) as part of the solution, the international community should continue to develop a proactive response to the global refugee situation

Humanitarian Assistance and the Private Security Debate: An International Humanitarian Law Perspective

The changing nature of armed conflict has had a dramatic impact on the security risks facing humanitarian personnel. Historically, the safety of humanitarian aid delivery was secured through the consent of the relevant Parties to the conflict. However, non-international ethnically-motivated armed conflicts, failed and failing states, and insurgency-based warfare have fundamentally challenged the viability of this traditional security paradigm. In confronting today\u27s complex security climate, humanitarian organizations are faced with a diverse menu of alternatives to enhance their security. The debate over armed protection that has sharply divided the humanitarian community is explored in this paper, including a critique of specific armed protection options. Tensions between the safe and efficient delivery of aid, and principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence are discussed. The implications of humanitarian organizations using private security companies for defensive armed protection have been relatively unexplored, particularly with respect to international humanitarian law. This paper aims to address this shortcoming by considering two threshold questions: is the protected status of humanitarian personnel under international humanitarian law suspended or lost if they use armed private security contractors; and, is humanitarian access to provide relief legally affected by the decision to hire a private security company for armed protection of relief consignments

Oldest Profession or Oldest Oppression?: Addressing Prostitution after the Supreme Court of Canada Decision in Canada v. Bedford

The future of Canada’s laws related to prostitution has become an urgent public policy issue in the wake of the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford. Three prostitution-related offences in the Criminal Code were found to infringe the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and are to be struck down, effective within one year. The Court’s decision of December 20, 2013 has spurred a national debate on the issue as Parliament has this limited timeline to adopt any new legislative approach, or else Canada will face the de facto legalization of adult prostitution. Studies have painted a bleak picture of prostitution in Canada: • Street-level prostitution represents between 5–20 percent of all prostitution, the rest occurring indoors; • the majority of prostitutes entered prostitution between 14 and 20 years of age; • a disproportionate number of prostitutes were sexually abused as children; • substance abuse is significant among street prostitutes; and • marginalized women, including Aboriginal women, are particularly vulnerable to prostitution and more likely to face violence (including assaults, sexual assaults, and murder). Parliament has an opportunity to respond, within the general constitutional parameters that the Court has set. Decriminalizing/legalizing prostitution in the foreign jurisdictions reviewed in this paper (the Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Australia (Queensland), and the United States (Nevada)) has not been the hoped-for panacea for protecting prostitutes. Such an approach is not recommended. Canada should instead overhaul its prostitution laws. The starting point for such an approach could consist of three key components, inspired by an abolitionist model developed by Sweden and since adopted by other countries. The evidence from an independent inquiry is that such a model is working to reduce prostitution, change public attitudes, and undermine criminal elements and sex trafficking. First, going forward, Canada’s objective should be to abolish prostitution. Its harms are inherent and cannot simply be regulated away. Second, prostitutes themselves should not be criminalized, but given support to help them exit. Leaving prostitution is the only way to truly protect prostitutes. In most provinces, this intensive assistance is sorely lacking. It has been suggested that the perpetrators of prostitution (“johns” and “pimps”) should pay substantial fines that could be used to fund such services. There is merit in exploring this idea further. Finally, our criminal laws and enforcement should instead target pimps, traffickers, and johns with enhanced penalties – they are the perpetrators responsible for the harms of prostitution

Social Media Threats: Examining the Canadian Criminal Law Response

This article begins by discussing the legislative history, essential elements, and purpose of the threats offence in s. 264.1(1) of the Criminal Code. It then analyzes major reported Canadian judicial decisions dealing with social media threats, based on the five themes identified above. Finally, this article concludes by highlighting the implications and limitations of this study, as well as areas for future research

Bill C-268: Minimum Sentences for Child Trafficking Needed

Under-aged girls as young as 12 years old are being subjected to sexual exploitation by traffickers according to a Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada (CISC); this is a pressing national problem, as organized crime networks are actively trafficking Canadian-born women and under-age girls within and between provinces and to the United States, destined for the sex trade. Law enforcement agencies are beginning to investigate and lay human trafficking charges under Canada’s Criminal Code s. 279.01 which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 14 years, and up to life imprisonment if the accused kidnaps the victim, subjects them to aggravated assault or aggravated sexual assault, or causes the death of the victim during the commission of the offense. However, there are currently no minimum sentences provided, even when the victim is a child. This is a serious gap in the current law, which Bill C-268, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offenses involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years), aims to address by introducing a five-year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for trafficking in persons under 18 years of age. The inappropriately short sentences handed down in two Canadian cases (Imani Nakpangi and Michael Lennox Mark) are discussed, lending strong support to the need for parliamentary intervention in the form of Bill C-268

Trafficking in Persons & Transit Countries: A Canada-U.S. Case Study in Global Perspective

International trafficking in persons is often facilitated by the movement of victims through one or more transit countries in order to reach a destination country where the victim will ultimately be subjected to sexual exploitation or forced labour. Despite this recognized pattern, there has been a relative lack of attention paid to the response of transit countries in addressing their role in this transnational criminal activity and systematic human rights abuse. This working paper begins by identifying several characteristics common to transit countries, including: (1) geographic proximity by land, sea, or air to attractive destination countries; (2) insufficient legislation and weak enforcement against trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling; (3) liberal immigration policies; and (4) an operational criminal infrastructure to facilitate illegal entry to, and exit from, a country. The case study of Canada as a transit country to the United States is presented, both to better understand the nature of the problem between these two jurisdictions and to explore the responses that officials have provided to date. Transit countries face heightened challenges compared to origin and destination countries, particularly with respect to distinguishing between trafficked persons and smuggled migrants. By synthesizing the legal obligations in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air into terms that are relevant to transit countries, a comprehensive set of standards emerge to enhance their ability to prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers and protect victims. Policies and programs that have been adopted by some transit countries are then highlighted, demonstrating how these standards can be implemented to engage transit countries in a more comprehensive response to trafficking in persons. While Canada and the United States have undertaken important bilateral efforts to combat trafficking in persons, the following recommendations are proposed to improve their joint response, including: 1. Increase training and capacity of border officials to identify potential trafficking victims in transit; 2. Continue to cooperate in joint enforcement activities to disrupt illegal movement across the shared border; 3. Enhance mutual legal assistance and engage in cross-border human trafficking investigations and prosecutions to dismantle the entire network involved in identified cases; 4. Ensure victims of human trafficking in transit are afforded assistance and protection, including support made increasingly available through enhanced cross-border cooperation between governmental and non-governmental victim support organizations; 5. Build public awareness in border areas about human trafficking, the needs of victims, and information on where to report suspicious activity; and 6. Cooperate with major source countries as well as enhance trilateral cooperation between Canada, the United States, and Mexico to prevent human trafficking. Number of Pages in PDF File: 10