By Ian Austen, New York Times
A training manual for Canadian diplomats lists the United States among countries that potentially torture or abuse prisoners.
The manual is an internal document of the Department of Foreign Affairs. A spokesman for the foreign minister confirmed the contents of the manual after news reports about it circulated on Thursday.
The manual appears to contradict the public stance of Canada’s Conservative government, which accepts assurances from the United States that it does not mistreat prisoners, including those at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
One Canadian, Omar Khadr, is being held there; he was captured in Afghanistan in 2002.
In an e-mail message, Neil Hrab, a spokesman for the minister of foreign affairs, Maxime Bernier, said the manual was “not a policy document or any kind of a statement of policy” and did not “convey the government’s views or positions.”
A spokeswoman for the United States Embassy here was quoted by Reuters as saying, “The United States does not permit, tolerate or condone torture under any circumstances.”