{"id":6973,"date":"2026-11-02T21:35:46","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T21:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/02\/feds-defend-extradition-treaty-talks-with-uae-amid-concerns-national-globalnews-ca\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T21:35:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T21:35:46","slug":"feds-defend-extradition-treaty-talks-with-uae-amid-concerns-national-globalnews-ca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/02\/feds-defend-extradition-treaty-talks-with-uae-amid-concerns-national-globalnews-ca\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds defend extradition treaty talks with UAE amid concerns &#8211; National | Globalnews.ca"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpe_imgrss\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Feds-defend-extradition-treaty-talks-with-UAE-amid-concerns-National-Globalnews.ca_.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>The federal government is defending its plan to start talks on an <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/extradition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">extradition<\/a> treaty with the United Arab Emirates as civil society groups issue warnings over the country\u2019s human-rights record.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d21y75miwcfqoq.cloudfront.net\/70c8fc80\" alt=\"\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Canada and the UAE signed a free-trade deal last week when the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, met with Prime Minister Mark Carney during a visit to Ottawa.<\/p>\n<p>They also announced plans to start negotiations on an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty.<\/p>\n<p>Amani Khalfan, a spokesperson for the social justice organization Inter Pares, asked what kind of message Canada would send to the world by signing extradition and defence treaties with the UAE, a country with a troubling human-rights record.<\/p>\n<p>Khalfan said the UAE\u2019s record of unlawful and arbitrary detentions is \u201cappalling.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>She cited the case of Sudanese advocate Mohammed Farouk Salman Mahmoud, who she said was imprisoned for over a year and a half in the UAE without charges.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities said he was under investigation for insulting the UAE head of state. Amnesty International said he was released on Aug. 22.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE has taken on increasing importance in global politics and has been praised for work aimed at ending conflicts in the Mideast and Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>But the country also has been accused of supporting a militia in Sudan that has been accused of genocide \u2014 a claim Abu Dhabi denies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile we recognize that diversifying trade and investment is an important goal, it is clear that the UAE is supporting a militia that has carried out genocide, and continues to do so,\u201d Khalfan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the context of such massacres, prioritizing economic partnerships over human rights means that Canada is at risk of seeking blood money in the UAE.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\" readability=\"5.3013698630137\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Feds-defend-extradition-treaty-talks-with-UAE-amid-concerns-National-Globalnews.ca_.jpg\" alt=\"Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\" readability=\"29.599315068493\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get breaking National news<\/h2>\n<p>Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won&#8217;t miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Kwame Bonsu, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, said strengthening Canada\u2019s foreign partnerships on investigating, prosecuting and preventing serious crime is critical to keeping Canadians safe.<\/p>\n<p>Bonsu said an extradition treaty would help bring to justice individuals accused or convicted of serious crimes, such as money laundering, drug trafficking or cybercrime.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe UAE\u2019s increasing and successful international partnerships on extradition and mutual legal assistance with countries that take a similar approach to these matters as Canada, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden, and the Netherlands, makes this a suitable moment at which to revisit the UAE\u2019s invitation to negotiate with Canada,\u201d said Bonsu.<\/p>\n<p>A mutual legal assistance treaty, Bonsu said, would facilitate the exchange of evidence and other forms of legal assistance in criminal investigations and prosecutions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis type of treaty helps authorities in both countries investigate and prosecute serious crimes,\u201d Bonsu said.<\/p>\n<p>An extradition treaty is an agreement between countries that allows one country to request the surrender and transfer by another country of an individual accused of crimes.<\/p>\n<p>The federal government\u2019s website says there are three key stages to Canada\u2019s extradition process.<\/p>\n<p>First, the justice minister must issue an \u201cauthority to proceed.\u201d Next, Canadian courts need to say whether there is enough evidence to justify an individual\u2019s extradition. The justice minister must also decide whether to order the individual\u2019s surrender to the foreign state.<\/p>\n<p>The individual can then seek judicial review of the minister\u2019s order or appeal the decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn all cases, the conduct for which extradition is sought must be considered criminal in both the requesting country and in Canada,\u201d says the government website.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\" readability=\"0.4452296819788\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on Politics<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Extradition Act says the minister should refuse to issue an extradition order if they believe it would be \u201cunjust or oppressive,\u201d or if the request for extradition is made to prosecute or punish someone for things like race, religion or nationality.<\/p>\n<p>The act says the minister also can refuse to issue an extradition order if they think the conduct for which the request was made is punishable by death under the laws of the country requesting extradition.<\/p>\n<p>Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada\u2019s English-speaking section, said in an email her organization is also concerned by the talk of an extradition treaty given the UAE\u2019s \u201cdisturbing\u201d record on human rights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmnesty International has documented grossly unfair mass trials, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances in the UAE, including the disappearance of poet Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi following his extradition in 2025,\u201d she said. \u201cOur global research has also found torture to be correlated with enforced disappearances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nivyabandi said Canada should not rely on diplomatic assurances from the UAE. She said such promises can\u2019t reliably prevent torture or erase Canada\u2019s legal duty never to send someone where they face a real risk of abuse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf these talks move forward, Canadian officials must proceed with extreme caution and, ultimately, should not enter into an agreement unless and until they have evidence and full confidence that human rights will be upheld,\u201d said Nivyabandi.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Seventeen civil society organizations signed an open letter earlier this year warning Canada against deeper ties to the UAE and arguing the country is perpetuating the war in Sudan. The letter said that as Canada looks to diversify its trade, it needs to assert support for human rights as a core Canadian value.<\/p>\n<p>Carney travelled to the United Arab Emirates last year. At the end of that November visit, the prime minister said Ottawa was working on a $1-billion project to expand critical minerals processing capacity in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE pledged to invest about $70 billion in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister\u2019s Office said last week\u2019s visit by the crown prince to Ottawa led to \u201csignificant progress\u201d on the UAE\u2019s commitment to invest in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014<em>with files from Dylan Robertson<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Source: <\/p>\n<div class=\"nSourse\">: World<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The federal government is defending its plan to start talks on an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates as civil society groups issue warnings over the country\u2019s human-rights record.&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}