Amnesty International asks Canada to arrest George W. Bush
Human Rights Watch has called on President Obama to investigate his predecessor George W. Bush and several of his top aides who allegedly ordered torture during the ‘War on Terror’.
Amnesty International says the Canadian government must arrest former U.S. president George W. Bush when he visits the country next week.
The human rights group says Canada is obliged under both Canadian and international law to arrest Bush and investigate him for war crimes and authorizing torture in the U.S.-led war on terror, the Canadian Press reports.
Bush is scheduled to attend an economic conference in Surrey, British Columbia, on October 20, along with former president Bill Clinton.
More from GlobalPost: Memo to the presidential candidates: Overlook foreign policy at your peril
Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty Canada, points to Bush's memoirs, "Decision Points," saying that the former president admits to authorizing the use of torture against terror suspects, the CP reports.
“Canada is required by its international obligations to arrest and prosecute former president Bush given his responsibility for crimes under international law including torture,” Amnesty’s Susan Lee said in a statement, Agence France-Presse reports.
“As the U.S. authorities have, so far, failed to bring former president Bush to justice, the international community must step in. A failure by Canada to take action during his visit would violate the UN Convention Against Torture and demonstrate contempt for fundamental human rights,” Lee said.
AFP says Bush canceled a visit to Switzerland in February after similar calls for his arrest.