Annual report 2025 – Implementation of Order in Council Directions for Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities

Published: March 12, 2026

Table of contents

• Summary
• Background
• Governance and departmental resources
• Collaboration with other government departments and agencies
• Conclusion

Summary

This report details activities undertaken by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) from 1 January to 31 December 2025 related to the implementation of the Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities Act (ACMFEA) and the related Order in Council Directions for Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities (OiC Directions).

During the reporting period, GAC continued its efforts to strengthen ACMFEA implementation across the department and collaborated with other departments and agencies to improve our ACMFEA implementation. Also in 2025, GAC’s Avoiding Mistreatment Compliance Committee (AMCC) met twice – once to reach a decision on a specific information sharing case, and once to gather information from stakeholders on their information-sharing practices.

Background

Pursuant to subsection 7(1) of ACMFEA, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, before 1 March of each year, is required to provide the Minister of Foreign Affairs with a report regarding the department's implementation of the OiC Directions during the previous calendar year.

ACMFEA and the related OiC Directions, issued in September 2019, restrict the sharing of information with foreign entities where there is a substantial risk of mistreatment and place limitations on certain uses of information which may likely have been derived from mistreatment. Specifically, the OiC Directions prohibit:

• The disclosure of information that would result in a substantial risk of mistreatment of any individual by a foreign entity (where the substantial risk cannot be mitigated);
• The making of requests for information that would result in a substantial risk of mistreatment of any individual by a foreign entity (where the substantial risk cannot be mitigated); and
• Certain uses of information that was likely obtained through mistreatment of an individual by a foreign entity (unless the use of the information is necessary to prevent loss of life or significant personal injury).

Prior to the introduction of the OiC Directions, GAC was subject solely to the 2017 Ministerial Direction Avoiding Complicity in Mistreatment by Foreign Entities (2017 MD). The department’s obligations under both the 2017 MD and the 2019 OiC Directions are substantively the same. Since the introduction of ACMFEA, the department has updated policies and processes originally developed under the 2017 MD to continuously improve the implementation of ACMFEA and the OiC Directions. The department’s guidance on responsible information-sharing with foreign entities is informed by:

• Statutory obligations under ACMFEA and the OiC Directions;
• Relevant definitions from the 2017 MD that are not reflected in the OiC Directions; and
• Recommendations from recent NSIRA reviews.

As part of its mandate, GAC collects and uses information obtained from other government departments and foreign entities, notably through diplomatic reporting. Indeed, the very nature of diplomacy involves frequent exchanges of information. Very rarely does GAC exchange information with foreign entities that presents a risk of mistreatment. In cases where an exchange is assessed as potentially putting someone at risk of mistreatment, the OiC Directions provide clear guidance to officials on the factors to be considered in their decision-making.

Governance & Departmental Resources

Avoiding Mistreatment Compliance Committee (AMCC)

The Avoiding Mistreatment Compliance Committee (AMCC) is the formal governance mechanism supporting department's compliance with its obligations as outlined in the OiC Directions. The Committee’s primary role is to determine the mistreatment risk posed by information sharing activities with a foreign entity, direct additional risk-mitigation measures as appropriate, decide whether it can proceed while respecting the OiC’s prohibitions, plus refer decisions to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs when required. The AMCC is structured similarly to other executive governance committees that exist within other Canadian federal departments and agencies subject to ACMFEA. The AMCC is supported by a secretariat, which serves as the policy centre for ACMFEA at GAC. As the AMCC Secretariat, it receives and reviews referrals to the AMCC, recommends convening the committee, compiles briefs to and records decisions of the AMCC, and communicates those decisions within the department.

The AMCC is convened on an ad hoc basis to review the proposed disclosure, request or use of information by a GAC division or mission in cases in which prohibitions under the OiC Directions may apply. It was convened twice during this reporting period – once to reach a decision on a specific case and once to canvas implicated divisions to better understand specific departmental information-sharing practices (no decision sought). In the former, the committee granted GAC officials permission to share the information with specific mitigation measures. Details are provided in a classified annex.

Departmental Policies and Procedures

In 2025, the department continued to promote various policy guidance tools created in 2024, including new guidance documents and risk assessment from.  

During this reporting period, GAC made minor updates to its guidelines and risk assessment form introduced in 2024. These changes included: (1) removing the requirement for officials to complete a risk assessment and review form prior to exchanging information in exigent circumstances (while maintaining the obligation to assess the risk of mistreatment in all cases); and (2) requiring programs to commit to (rather than merely propose) risk mitigation measures in their risk assessment and review form, clarifying that once identified, mitigation measures are mandatory. The department also conducted internal training to increase awareness of ACMFEA obligations.

Training and Outreach

The department’s obligations under ACMFEA and the OiC Directions are currently included as part of a broader intelligence training course called ‘Governance, Access, Technical Security, and Espionage’ (GATE), which was delivered to a total of 1015 employees in 63 training sessions during the reporting period. An in-depth session on the department’s information sharing practices, including its obligations under the Directions, was also offered to 12 outgoing diplomats of the Global Security Reporting Program in June 2025. GAC is continuing its efforts to develop an internal ACMFEA training course available to all staff to enhance understanding of the departments associated obligations, with completion anticipated in 2026

The Consular Affairs Bureau incorporated content on information sharing best practices, including obligations under ACMFEA, into their Consular Pre-Posting Training, the Management Consular Officer Onboarding Program, and the Consular Specialist Training for Locally Engaged Staff, reaching a total of 94 employees in 2025.

Human Rights Reporting

GAC’s Human Rights Reports provide an evidence-based overview of the human rights situation in specific countries, highlighting key events, trends, and developments. Prepared by Canada’s diplomatic missions abroad, the reports inform Canada’s foreign policy, development, trade, and consular activities and may be classified. Produced for an internal Government of Canada audience, the reports are made available to all Canadian federal departments and agencies, including those subject to ACMFEA, to support evidence-based risk assessments where obligations under the OiC Directions may apply.

In response to the increased demand for reliable information on mistreatment since the OiC Directions were issued, GAC updated its reporting guidelines and templates to collect more detailed and relevant information concerning torture and mistreatment from missions. Consequently, GAC’s human rights reports include a standard section focusing on risks related to torture and mistreatment. These reports are a key source of information used to inform decision making in cases where the OiC Directions may apply.

Each year, GAC develops a list of priority countries about which it intends to publish a Human Rights Report, based on consultations with geographic and functional divisions, diplomatic missions abroad, and other Canadian federal departments and agencies subject to ACMFEA. In the 2025 reporting period, GAC produced 84 human rights reports which were made available to other Government of Canada departments. GAC is committed to delivering relevant, evidence-based information to support responsible information sharing with foreign entities by GAC and other Canadian federal departments and agencies.

Collaboration with Other Government Departments and Agencies

Information Sharing Coordination Group (ISCG)

GAC participates in the ISCG, an interdepartmental working group led by Public Safety Canada which supports a coordinated approach to implementing the OiC Directions across all implicated departments and agencies. In addition to making Human Rights Reports available to ISCG members, GAC also provided additional information regarding ACMFEA implementation at GAC to members at their request. Three ISCG meetings were held in 2025.

NSIRA-Directed Study on Information Sharing Practices with Foreign Entities Engaged in Armed Conflict

Under section 31(2) of its Act, NSIRA has the authority to direct that departments undertake their own study of national security or intelligence activities to ensure they are carried out in compliance with the law and ministerial directions.

In January 2025, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs received a letter from NSIRA directing GAC to conduct a study on the department’s information sharing practices with foreign entities engaged in armed conflict. This is the first time GAC has been directed to undertake such a study. Similar letters were sent to the Deputy Ministers of four other departments and agencies (the Canadian Security Intelligence Service; Department of National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Public Safety (although not so directed by NSIRA) is coordinating this effort as lead policy department for ACMFEA.

NSIRA’s directive stems from findings in NSIRA’s Review of Departmental Implementation of ACMFEA for 2023: Mitigation in Armed Conflict, in which NSIRA found that armed conflict created ACMFEA implementation challenges, including difficulty assessing mistreatment risk in these contexts. As such, NSIRA requested that select departments analyze how armed conflict created challenges when implementing the ACMFEA regime and propose solutions.

Since receiving the directive, GAC has been working diligently to produce its own substantive report in collaboration with internal programs and other stakeholders. It met regularly throughout the reporting period to coordinate this effort interdepartmentally, convened by Public Safety with other implicated members, virtually and on the margins of plenary ISCG meetings.

CSIS’ Information Sharing Evaluation Committee (ISEC)

GAC sits on CSIS’ ISEC in an advisory capacity to offer input on human rights and foreign policy considerations, which can include legal considerations as they relate to GAC's economic sanctions regime, assessments of human rights records of the entities being discussed, and any consular or other foreign policy considerations. ISEC is a CSIS Director General-level committee, which is convened on an ad hoc basis to deliberate cases that may pose a higher risk of mistreatment. ISEC assesses cases involving the disclosure of information to, request for information from, or the use of information from foreign entities and comes to a decision on whether a proposed action may or may not proceed in accordance with CSIS policy, ACMFEA, and the OiC directions. GAC participated in one ISEC meeting in 2025.

Conclusion

During the reporting period, the AMCC met twice: once to render a decision in a case engaging the OiC Directions (approving a disclosure) and once to gather information from stakeholders about specific departmental information-sharing practices. No restrictions were applied by GAC to formal information-sharing agreements or arrangements due to concerns related to torture or mistreatment.

GAC continued to advance the full implementation of ACMFEA and the OiC Directions across business lines and worked with counterparts from other departments to develop a more coordinated approach to reducing risks related to mistreatment.

In the year ahead, GAC will continue its efforts to promote consistent ACMFEA application throughout the department, including finalizing an internal training course, improving existing tools and guidelines, and continuing collaboration with other departments and agencies on related subjects.