Volatile world, arbitrary detentions have Ottawa seeking more friends at UN next week

The Trudeau government is planning to use next week's United Nations General Assembly to try building momentum against states using people as pawns in diplomatic spats, with the help of former detainees such as Michael Kovrig.

The Trudeau government is planning to use next week's United Nations General Assembly to try building momentum against states using people as pawns in diplomatic spats, with the help of former detainees such as Michael Kovrig.

"We're in the midst of an international security crisis. That's the reality in which Canada and the world is right now," Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told The Canadian Press in an exclusive interview.

"Now is the time to reach out to a wide group of partners," she said.

Joly will co-host a meeting with her counterparts from Costa Rica and Malawi, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on ways to prevent states from arresting foreigners on political grounds.

It's part of an effort Canada launched in February 2021 to try creating a norm against arbitrary detention, with an action plan that aims to prevent states from placing people in harsh conditions and denying them legal council.

A meeting next week to touch base on those goals will include people who have been arbitrarily detained, including former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, whom China imprisoned for more than 1,000 days.

Also slated to join is American journalist Jason Rezaian, whom Iran jailed for 18 months.