OTTAWA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian military will follow the Geneva Convention in dealing with prisoners taken in Afghanistan, Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor said Wednesday.

    "When they take prisoners, they will always follow the rules of the Geneva Convention, no lower standard than that," the minister told the House of Commons.

    Local media reports have quoted senior Canadian military officers as saying that prisoners in Afghanistan will not be given the formal status of prisoners of war (POWs), but will be entitled to the Geneva provisions of humane treatment.

    The Geneva Convention sets certain standards that must be met before prisoners can be formally considered POWs and entitled to certain privileges.

    For example, fighters must wear a uniform or some distinguishing emblem and must fight under a recognized chain of command.

    Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan do not meet these standards and the United States has classified them as illegal combatants.

    A soldier formally classified as a POW has certain protection not accorded to illegal combatants under the convention. For example, a POW cannot be charged for killings committed in combat, except for defined war crimes.

    Canada routinely turns prisoners in Afghanistan over to the custody of the Afghanistan government. O'Connor said an agreement with the Kabul government allows the Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations to monitor prisoners.

    "If there is something wrong with their treatment, the Red Cross or Red Crescent would inform us and we would take action," he said.

    Canada now has 2,300 troops stationed in southern Afghanistan and it has recently extended the mission by two years until 2009. The Canadian military has been engaged in U.S.-led "Enduring Freedom" operations against Taliban remnants.

    There has been criticism among the public that Canada is waging an unnecessary war in Afghanistan, resulting in heavy casualties in the military. A total of 17 Canadians, including one diplomat, have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.

    But O'Connor denied Canada is at war in Afghanistan. Canadians are in the country "to support the legitimate (Afghan) government and to try to create a stable environment," he said Tuesday when testifying before a parliament committee. Enditem