NEWS RELEASES
AXWORTHY OPENS CANADA-OECD SYMPOSIUM
March 18, 1997 No. 52
AXWORTHY OPENS CANADA-OECD SYMPOSIUM
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today opened a two-day Symposium on
Military Expenditures in Developing Countries. The Symposium is hosted jointly by
Canada and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
"In the post-Cold War era, the world community has recognized that security can no
longer be defined solely in military terms," noted Mr. Axworthy in his opening
remarks. "Human security also depends on respect for human rights, good
governance, adequate resources for social and economic investments, and
environmentally sustainable development. We need to find approaches that balance
military and human security."
The Ottawa Symposium is intended to further the dialogue on the efforts of
developing countries to achieve the necessary balance between security interests
and development needs. Participants at the Symposium include officials from both
developed and developing coun-tries, international financial institutions,
regional organizations, and non-governmental organizations, as well as independent
experts.
Canada has worked to raise the profile of the issue of military expenditures in
developing countries since it was discussed at the G-7 Summits in Halifax (1995)
and Lyon (1996). Minister Axworthy tabled the Canadian government's approach to
the subject in a strategy document entitled "Reduction of Military Expenditures in
Developing Countries," which was tabled in the House of Commons last June.
- 30 -
The text of the Minister's statement to the Symposium is attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Catherine Lappe
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
97/15 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY
THE HONOURABLE LLOYD AXWORTHY,
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
TO THE OECD SYMPOSIUM
MILITARY EXPENDITURES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES:
SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT
OTTAWA, Ontario
March 18, 1997
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
I am very pleased to welcome you to Ottawa for this symposium, jointly sponsored
by the OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] Development
Assistance Committee [DAC] and the Government of Canada. This meeting will, I
hope, build on the contributions of four previous symposia -- in Tokyo, Paris, Bonn
and The Hague -- in laying the basis for broader understanding of this extremely
important issue.
I am particularly pleased that we are bringing together today not only DAC member
countries, but also representatives of developing countries and non-governmental
organizations. Only by involving those most directly affected by the burden of
unnecessary military expenditures -- those who see their direct effects on people's
lives -- will we be able to identify truly effective solutions to this problem.
In the post-Cold War era, the world community has recognized that security can no
longer be defined solely in military terms. Human security also depends on respect
for human rights, good governance, adequate resources for social and economic
investments, and environmentally sustainable development. To establish conditions
conducive to stability and peace, governments must promote sustainable economic
development, based on national consensus. In some countries, this is only possible
with a reallocation of resources from the military to more productive
developmental uses.
Global military expenditures have fallen over the past few years. Despite this,
there is still good reason for us to be concerned. It is notoriously difficult to
collect reliable, comparable numbers on military spending, quite apart from the
difficult question of determining the level of spending required to meet
legitimate security and defence requirements. But we can get some sense of the
scale of the problem from the partial figures that are available. In the early
1990s, according to the World Bank, at least 30 lower and lower-middle income
countries were spending more than 5 per cent of their GNP [gross national product]
on defence. Approximately one third of these countries were spending more in
military expenditures than they were on health and education together. And not all
of these high spenders were small or war-torn nations. Some of the largest
developing countries devote high proportions of GNP to military spending.
Where this occurs, particularly in poorer developing countries, the share of
scarce public resources available for meeting basic human needs is reduced. At the
same time, the effectiveness of development assistance may be reduced, so that the
poor suffer twice over.
At the supply end of the equation, in 1995 the five largest exporters -- who
account for 90 per cent of all exports -- earned some US$28 billion from weapons
sales. Many of these sales were, of course, to developed countries. But even if
military spending by the poorest countries is small in absolute terms, it equals
or surpasses inward flows of development assistance in a significant number of
cases.
Canada has been concerned about the relationship between military spending and
development for several years now. We have held discussions both with our
development partners and with other donors, bilaterally and multilaterally, to
seek a better understanding of all dimensions of this complex issue. Following
these discussions, I tabled in Parliament last year a paper outlining Canada's
stance.
Our aim is to take an integrated approach that addresses the development, security
and military export or supply dimensions of this issue. We believe that reductions
in excessive military spending are most likely in the context of a stable and
secure national and regional environment. This requires the presence of strong
democratic institutions, vigorous public debate, and transparency in government
accounts.
Canada is not alone in pursuing the question of military expenditures in
developing countries. Work is under way, under the auspices of the OECD, on four
regional case studies. Preliminary findings highlight some important themes that
are relevant to your discussions within this symposium.
The first of these themes is the importance of good governance and strengthened
democratic institutions as prerequisites to reducing military spending. Clearly,
it is crucial to build strong institutions that will ensure civilian control of
the military. Developing a professional military that understands its role in a
democratic society is also of great importance. So, too, is developing civilian
capacity and expertise on defence policy. Greater transparency of government
budgets and accounts furthers all these objectives by providing more reliable data
on military expenditures.
Canada is already engaged, along with other donors, in projects that work toward
these goals. In Haiti, for example, Canada, the United States and France are
working with the Haitian National Police. Our aim is to develop the capacity of
the police force to the point where it can take over security tasks that properly
fall to a civilian police force, but which in Haiti have been performed by the
military.
A second major theme is the importance of strengthening the capacity of regional
and sub-regional organizations to promote security dialogues and confidence-building measures.
Canada believes that enhancing regional security is a fundamental part of the
equation in reducing military expenditures. In line with this belief, we have co-sponsored seminars on peacekeeping with Argentina for Rio Group members and with
Malaysia and Brunei in the context of the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian
Nations] Regional Forum. These not only provided an opportunity to discuss new
roles for the military as international peacekeepers, but also for military and
civilian officials to exchange views on their respective roles.
Regional initiatives have also proven their effectiveness in our efforts to
achieve a ban on anti-personnel land mines, and in micro-disarmament. Concrete
work by the Organization of African Unity, the South African Development
Community, the Organization of American States and the Central American and
Caribbean Communities on regional mine-free zones has brought us much closer to
achieving a global ban on land mines by the end of this year -- an objective that I
have established as one of Canada's top foreign policy priorities.
On micro-disarmament, the UN Expert Panel on Small Arms has undertaken important
work reviewing empirical research and concrete experience. Their work has made it
clear that tackling the massive security and social problems associated with the
proliferation of small arms will require highly integrated regional approaches.
A third key, related theme is that of transparency, at both the national and the
international levels. In this context, the UN Conventional Arms Register and the
UN Standardized Reports on National Military Expenditures are important
instruments for promoting provision of transparent, comparable national
statistics. These instruments also encourage national transparency with respect to
military expenditures, and thus help to develop the capacity of national
democratic institutions.
Co-operation around these three themes is key in reducing demand for military
expenditures. The other half of the equation is responsible supply-side behaviour.
Principled exporting countries must confront the policy challenge of weighing
legitimate trade interests against the merits of imposing controls on military
exports.
Canada's controls are already among the toughest in the world, and our exports to
lower-income developing countries are very low. We carry out careful analyses of
the security context, the human rights situation, and gun control laws and
practices of recipient countries. Last year I indicated my desire to follow an
even stricter interpretation of human rights criteria. My aim in this is to
further minimize the risk that Canadian military equipment will be used to
destabilize countries, to attack civilians, or to fuel illicit trade in arms or
local violence.
The relationship between military spending, security and sustainable development
is a complex one. I am under no illusion that there are simple solutions to the
questions you will be discussing over the next two days. The first challenge is to
broaden international consensus on the importance of this issue. Ultimately, it is
to promote effective and coherent ways to encourage the reduction of military
expenditures in developing countries, where appropriate, while providing for
legitimate security concerns.
We are all concerned at indications of a growing gap between rich and poor
nations. Excessive, unproductive military expenditures will only exacerbate the
trend toward inequity in incomes. However difficult the issues involved, we must
tackle them if we are to achieve genuinely sustainable, shared development at a
global level. I look forward to hearing the concrete, practical proposals that
will, I am sure, emerge from your discussions over the next two days.
Thank you.
| 
