Convention on the Rights of the Child

Article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of Children states that a child’s government has a responsibility to make sure their rights are protected.

Canada has a moral and legal duty to bring Abdulrahman back home since they are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The objective of this widely known convention is to create a healthy environment for a child to thrive and meet their full potential. The rights stipulated by the convention applies indiscriminately to all children under the age of 18.

Article 36 mentions that a child has the right to protection from any kind of exploitation (i.e. being taken advantage of).

When Abdulrahman was 17-years-old and being entrapped by the FBI, the RCMP chose to provide sensitive information about his health to the American security service and hand him over to American authorities rather than protecting their own citizen’s right. The RCMP should have raised red flags whether in the form of getting him treatment as soon as possible (he was manic and on a waiting list at this moment) or preventing him from crossing the border to the United States. 

Abdulrahman was a minor with health issues who was taken advantage of by both the FBI and the RCMP, infringing upon his Article 19 (right to be protected from being mistreated in mind), Article 23 (right to special care if a child has a disability), Article 36, and Article 40 (right to legal help and fair treatment in the justice system) rights.

Canada must do its utmost to bring Abdulrahman back home since Article 4 of the Convention states that a child’s government has a responsibility to make sure their rights are protected.

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"What makes this story even more disturbing is that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) knowingly participated in this sting with the FBI. They unlawfully obtained Abdulrahman’s medical records that described his mental health vulnerabilities and provided them to the FBI to better manipulate this damaged youth.

This raises serious human rights concerns of discriminatory investigations, targeting vulnerable youths such as Abdulrahman, who had no previous history of violence or criminality, until drawn in by a U.S. government actively involved in developing the plot, persuading and pressuring the target to participate."

Dennis Edney

Canadian Defence lawyer