Vigil and Press Briefing to Stop the Deportation of Mamadou Konaté
Join to Stop the Deportation of Mamadou Konaté
The Canada Border Services Agency has undertaken procedures for the deportation of Mamadou Konaté, scheduled for Friday, September 30. He has been in Quebec since 2016, having fled his home country Côte d'Ivoire where his life was being threatened within the context of the civil war raging there.
Canada is using the very controversial Section 34 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, introduced by the Chrétien Liberal government just weeks after 9/11, entitled "Security," to deny him admissibility to Canada. The legislation had been prepared before the events of 9/11, which means that the government had already been planning to crack down on dissent in certain countries where it and other so-called western democracies have definite interests, giving itself the right to deny asylum to some, no matter how undemocratic or dictatorial the government of a country. It has been suggested that under these provisions even Nelson Mandela could have been refused.
Côte d'Ivoire is a country rich in diamonds, gold, iron, manganese, bauxite, nickel, copper, natural gas and oil, with their exploitation still in its infancy. Many foreign companies are present there, including Canadian mining companies. In 2014, the government of Côte d'Ivoire adopted a new mining code that is very lucrative for them.
More recently, on September 24, Abdoulaye Maïga, Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Mali, which borders Côte d'Ivoire, in his address to the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly's 77th session, accused France of violating Malian airspace "by sending aircraft such as drones, military helicopters and fighter planes over 50 times, bringing information, weapons and ammunition to terrorist groups."[1]
He also blasted international response to the arrest of 49 soldiers from neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire who entered Mali in July. "We ask those who are refuting our version to ask if they would accept the military troops having hidden their identities by saying on their passports that they were painters or builders, would arrive with weapons in their airport without the country of destination having been informed in advance, with the idea of destabilizing the country," he was reported as saying.
In Quebec there have been three petitions that have garnered the signatures of close to 45,000 people demanding that Mamadou be allowed to remain in Quebec: the first presented in Quebec's National Assembly; the second in the House of Commons and the third, which can still be signed, on change.org.
At present, Amnistie Internationale Canada Francophone has undertaken a letter-writing campaign to the ministers of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Public Safety, calling on them to stop the deportation proceedings against Mamadou Konaté. The letter expresses "deep concern" about the outcome of Mr. Konaté's case and calls on the Government of Canada to act quickly to put an end to this situation.
"Canada must respect its international obligations," it reads, "in particular the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), ratified by Canada in 1987." Article 3.1 of this Convention stipulates "No State Party shall expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture."
Amnistie Internationale Canada Francophone has provided an English translation of the letter through a link on its website, which people can read and then return to its website to sign here.
We appeal to all Quebeckers and Canadians to sign both the ongoing petition and the letter to the ministers, as part of our responsibility towards Mamadou so that he is able to remain in Quebec and to ensure that no further injustice is committed against him.
Please join the movement against Mamadou's deportation by taking action now and calling upon all your colleagues, friends and family to do the same.
Together, we can make this happen.
Notes
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 19 - September 28, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520191.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca