Richard Colvin (diplomat)
Encyclopedia
Richard Colvin is a Canadian diplomat who gained public attention as a witness in the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. He appeared before the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan in late 2009 where he discussed a signed affidavit
alleging that Afghan detainees turned over to Afghanistan
prisons by Canadian soldiers were tortured. The events surrounding this issue, and the Conservative
government's response to his testimony, were, according to many Members of Parliament, closely related to the widespread anti-prorogation protests
.
, Great Britain
, where he lived until the age of 16, when his family migrated to Canada
, settling near Waterdown
, Ontario
. His father was a marketing executive for farm machinery manufacturer Massey Ferguson
. His uncle David Colvin worked for the British foreign service
and ended up ambassador to Belgium. Colvin attended high school in Waterdown and studied international relations
and Russian language at the University of Toronto
, graduating with distinction.
He applied to join the foreign service straight out of school, but failed the exam, and obtained a job as reporter for the weekly newspaper USSR Business Reports in Moscow
. After a year he returned to Canada, completing a masters of journalism at the University of Western Ontario
in 1994, where he graduated at the top of his class. In 1992 he took the exam to enter the foreign service for a second time. This time he succeeded.
He married a Russian woman and took a job in Ottawa working on Canada-U.S. defence relations. In 2002, he moved to Ramallah
in the Palestinian territories
, where he served as head of a new political mission in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death. His marriage failed, and he returned to Canada in 2005, moving to Calgary
. During a vacation in Whistler
he was offered a job in Afghanistan.
and obtained by CBC News
, lawyer Lori Bokenfohr said the government invoked the national security order in response to Colvin's decision to co-operate with the Military Police Complaints Commission
.
During his testimony in November 2009, Colvin said Canada did not monitor detainee conditions in Afghanistan and that detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured. "According to our information, the likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over were tortured", Colvin said. "For interrogators in Kandahar, it was a standard operating procedure". Colvin worked in Kandahar for the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2006 before moving to Kabul, where he was second-in-command at the Canadian Embassy. He said his reports were ignored and he was eventually told to stop putting the reports in writing. However, Mr. Colvin’s testimony had been “…politely but steadily chipped away by evidence from a cast that includes three former Canadian ambassadors to Afghanistan and other senior officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade who were on the Afghanistan file, a representative from the Correctional Service of Canada (who was in Kandahar and made 47 visits to prisons, most of them unannounced) and an array of generals” (Globe and Mail, C.Blatchford, 14 May 2010).
On the other hand in a ruling of June, 2010, the High Court of England and Wales [2010 EWHC 1445] gave Mr. Colvin's testimony considerable weight. Arguments that the High Court did not have benefit of the full Canadian testimony can be balanced against much other corollary evidence considered in the judgement. For example (paragraphs 74, 75) in 2008 the American State Department and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons both asserted that the risk of torture by Afghan "authorities" was real and well-known.
On December 30, 2009 Prime Minister Stephen Harper
sought his second prorogation, which, according to his spokesperson, was to consult with Canadians about the economy. However, "...the move triggered immediate condemnation from opposition MPs who labelled the Conservative
government's move an 'almost despotic
' attempt to muzzle parliamentarians amid controversy over the Afghan detainees affair." This triggered a protest of thousands of citizens
.
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
alleging that Afghan detainees turned over to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
prisons by Canadian soldiers were tortured. The events surrounding this issue, and the Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
government's response to his testimony, were, according to many Members of Parliament, closely related to the widespread anti-prorogation protests
2010 Canada anti-prorogation protests
On 23 January 2010 there were numerous protests opposing the prorogation of the 40th Canadian Parliament. The prorogation had occurred a month earlier on 30 December 2009 on the constitutional advice of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and was officially carried out by Governor General...
.
Early life
Colvin was born in 1969 in a village near CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, where he lived until the age of 16, when his family migrated to Canada
Immigration to Canada
Immigration to Canada is the process by which people migrate to Canada to reside permanently in the country. The majority of these individuals become Canadian citizens. After 1947, domestic immigration law and policy went through major changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the...
, settling near Waterdown
Waterdown, Ontario
Waterdown is a town in Canada which since 2001 has been a community of Hamilton, Ontario.On January 1, 2001 the new city of Hamilton was formed from the amalgamation of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth and its six municipalities: Hamilton, Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook,...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. His father was a marketing executive for farm machinery manufacturer Massey Ferguson
Massey Ferguson
Massey Ferguson Limited was a major agricultural equipment manufacturer which was based in Canada before its purchase by AGCO. The company was formed by a merger between Massey Harris and the Ferguson tractor company in 1953, creating the company Massey Harris Ferguson. However in 1958 the name was...
. His uncle David Colvin worked for the British foreign service
Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service
Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom, dealing with foreign affairs, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which deals with domestic affairs...
and ended up ambassador to Belgium. Colvin attended high school in Waterdown and studied international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
and Russian language at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, graduating with distinction.
He applied to join the foreign service straight out of school, but failed the exam, and obtained a job as reporter for the weekly newspaper USSR Business Reports in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. After a year he returned to Canada, completing a masters of journalism at the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
in 1994, where he graduated at the top of his class. In 1992 he took the exam to enter the foreign service for a second time. This time he succeeded.
He married a Russian woman and took a job in Ottawa working on Canada-U.S. defence relations. In 2002, he moved to Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
in the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, where he served as head of a new political mission in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death. His marriage failed, and he returned to Canada in 2005, moving to Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
. During a vacation in Whistler
Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...
he was offered a job in Afghanistan.
As a witness in the Afghan detainee issue
On October 6, 2009, the lawyer for Colvin (called to testify at a hearing into allegations of Afghan prison torture) said that the Conservative government was trying to keep her client silent. In a letter sent to the Canadian Department of JusticeDepartment of Justice (Canada)
The purpose of the Department of Justice is to ensure that the Canadian justice system is fair, accessible and efficient. The Department also represents the Canadian government in legal matters...
and obtained by CBC News
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, lawyer Lori Bokenfohr said the government invoked the national security order in response to Colvin's decision to co-operate with the Military Police Complaints Commission
Military Police Complaints Commission
Military Police Complaints Commission is a Canadian government independent, quasi-judicial agency which was established in December 1998 and is responsible for "handling of complaints concerning the Canadian Forces Military Police more transparent and accessible, and to ensure that both...
.
During his testimony in November 2009, Colvin said Canada did not monitor detainee conditions in Afghanistan and that detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured. "According to our information, the likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over were tortured", Colvin said. "For interrogators in Kandahar, it was a standard operating procedure". Colvin worked in Kandahar for the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2006 before moving to Kabul, where he was second-in-command at the Canadian Embassy. He said his reports were ignored and he was eventually told to stop putting the reports in writing. However, Mr. Colvin’s testimony had been “…politely but steadily chipped away by evidence from a cast that includes three former Canadian ambassadors to Afghanistan and other senior officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade who were on the Afghanistan file, a representative from the Correctional Service of Canada (who was in Kandahar and made 47 visits to prisons, most of them unannounced) and an array of generals” (Globe and Mail, C.Blatchford, 14 May 2010).
On the other hand in a ruling of June, 2010, the High Court of England and Wales [2010 EWHC 1445] gave Mr. Colvin's testimony considerable weight. Arguments that the High Court did not have benefit of the full Canadian testimony can be balanced against much other corollary evidence considered in the judgement. For example (paragraphs 74, 75) in 2008 the American State Department and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons both asserted that the risk of torture by Afghan "authorities" was real and well-known.
On December 30, 2009 Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
sought his second prorogation, which, according to his spokesperson, was to consult with Canadians about the economy. However, "...the move triggered immediate condemnation from opposition MPs who labelled the Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
government's move an 'almost despotic
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
' attempt to muzzle parliamentarians amid controversy over the Afghan detainees affair." This triggered a protest of thousands of citizens
2010 Canada anti-prorogation protests
On 23 January 2010 there were numerous protests opposing the prorogation of the 40th Canadian Parliament. The prorogation had occurred a month earlier on 30 December 2009 on the constitutional advice of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and was officially carried out by Governor General...
.
Apart from his witness duties
Richard Colvin currently serves as the First Secretary and Liaison Officer in the Intelligence division at the Canadian embassy to the United States of America.See also
- 2010 Canada anti-prorogation protests2010 Canada anti-prorogation protestsOn 23 January 2010 there were numerous protests opposing the prorogation of the 40th Canadian Parliament. The prorogation had occurred a month earlier on 30 December 2009 on the constitutional advice of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and was officially carried out by Governor General...
- Bagram torture and prisoner abuseBagram torture and prisoner abuseIn 2005, The New York Times obtained a 2,000-page United States Army report concerning the homicides of two unarmed civilian Afghan prisoners by U.S. armed forces in 2002 at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Bagram, Afghanistan. The prisoners, Habibullah and Dilawar, were chained to the...
- Canadian Afghan detainee issue
- Canada's role in the invasion of AfghanistanCanada's role in the invasion of AfghanistanCanada did not have a significant role in the first few months of the invasion of Afghanistan that began on October 7, 2001, and the first contingents of regular Canadian troops arrived in Afghanistan only in January–February 2002. Canada took on a larger role starting in 2006 after the Canadian...
- Canadian Forces casualties in AfghanistanCanadian Forces casualties in AfghanistanThe number of Canadian Forces' fatalities resulting from Canadian military activities in Afghanistan is the largest for any single Canadian military mission since the Korean War between 1950 and 1953...
- Criticism of the War on TerrorismCriticism of the War on TerrorismCriticism of the War on Terror addresses the issues, morals, ethics, efficiency, economics, and other questions surrounding the War on Terror...
- International public opinion on the war in AfghanistanInternational public opinion on the war in AfghanistanInternational public opinion is largely opposed to the war in Afghanistan. A 47-nation global survey of public opinion conducted in June 2007 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found considerable opposition to the U.S. and NATO military operations in Afghanistan...
- Opposition to the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Protests against the invasion of AfghanistanProtests against the invasion of AfghanistanThe ongoing decade-long War in Afghanistan has prompted large protests around the world, with the first large-scale demonstrations beginning in the days leading up to the war's official launch on October 7, 2001....
- Timeline of the Canadian Afghan detainee issueTimeline of the Canadian Afghan detainee issueThe following is a timeline of events in the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. This includes many specific dates and statements.-2005-2006:*On December 18, 2005, in the midst of a general election and while the Liberal government of Paul Martin was still in power, Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier...
- War in Afghanistan (2001–present)War in Afghanistan (2001–present)The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
Videos
- Canada's pro-democracy movement (includes footage of Colvin) Produced by Jesse Freeston, January 29, 2010; Publisher: The Real News (duration: 10:36)