June 26: International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
Tina Lopes, Chair of the Board
It is my pleasure, on behalf of the staff, the board, and the volunteers of the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, to welcome Secretary of State, the Honorable Gar Knutson, Mr. Lewis Chan, Assistant Deputy Chair of the Immigration & Refugee Board, Ontario Region, and all of you here this evening; you are all our honored guests. We at the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture are so pleased that you have joined us at this event recognizing the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. You may notice that I hesitate to call this a celebration, for though I am always grateful that people do in fact survive torture, and I am deeply in awe of the strength, courage and determination of survivors, I believe the real celebration will happen when torture is no longer practiced anywhere, and when people no longer need to survive such an inhumane and devastating practice. This is the celebration we must work towards.
As the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, said so eloquently in 1999, this day is "an occasion for all of us to raise our voices in the defense of human decency and respect for human life. It is a day on which we remember all the victims of torture: those who have survived, often physically or mentally scarred, and those who succumbed to this most horrible of deaths."
Torture is the ultimate denial of our shared humanity and everything we hold sacred. The torturer, face to face with another human being, denies any common bond and deliberately inflicts suffering on the other person. Torture shatters the common bonds of empathy that are so essential to our humanity. Trust in others and the possibility of belonging to a caring and thriving community become impossible in the face of torture, not just for one generation, but for many. For reasons such as these, international conventions declare torture a crime against humanity.
Despite these conventions it is distressing to see that in today's world, at the turn of the millennium, a number of governments continue to practice torture for a variety of political objectives. As Mr. Annan puts it so pointedly, "torture continues to be used as weapon of intimidation in war time, and as a tool of governance by those who cannot rule with the confidence of the people."
In the past two years, the argument has been raised that torture, while an extreme measure, may be acceptable in exceptional circumstances, to deal with some threats of terrorism. Yet Article 2 (2 & 3) of the Convention Against Torture clearly stipulates that "no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. There is good reason for such a strong statement, for as history and current events show, meeting violence with violence has never provided protection for people, nor has it prevented crimes or created the security we seek; it simply perpetuates, and often escalates, the violence.
The good news is that here in Canada, the Supreme Court has recognized this truth in a recent ruling, stating that there is a need to "ensure that legal tools used to protect our national security do not undermine values that are fundamental to our democratic society -- liberty, the rule of law, and the principles of fundamental justice" It is at times like this that I am very proud to be a Canadian. It is more difficult to feel such pride when security measures are taken by our government that compromise these principles.
This is the 5th consecutive year in which the CCVT has organized a community event in recognition of this day in support of survivors of torture. The most wonderful thing about these events is that the program is filled with performances by survivors of torture; people who have not only survived, but through their courage, spirit and profound humanity, choose to affirm life by sharing their love of music, dance and poetry. We are privileged that they have chosen to live in our midst. Please enjoy the rest of the evening.
