Amnesty International 'profoundly concerned' Canada is ignoring UN on torture

Amnesty International says Canada is obstructing efforts to compensate three men who suffered torture in Syria — effectively ignoring a key recommendation from the United Nations Committee against Torture.

In a brief to the UN committee, the human rights group says it is "profoundly concerned" that Canada has not heeded the committee's call to provide redress to Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El-Maati and Muayyed Nureddin.

The three Arab-Canadians were brutalized in Syrian prisons, in part due to lapses by Canadian agencies.

In its June 2012 report, the UN committee took issue with several aspects of Canada's legal regime, including planned measures affecting refugee claimants and the continuing use of national security certificates to deport non-citizens.

It also asked Canada to provide followup answers to key concerns and recommendations by June 1 of this year.

The committee plans to hold a meeting Friday in Geneva to review Canada's progress.