SPEECHES
October 18, 2005
OTTAWA, Ontario
2005/37
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NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY
THE HONOURABLE PIERRE PETTIGREW,
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
TO THE THIRD ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE
CANADIAN COMMITTEE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
Honoured members of the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace and Security,
members of civil society, fellow members of parliament, foreign representatives, and
government officials, it is a privilege to be here with you today.
I would like to begin by congratulating the Committee for its work since its last
symposium, notably the strengthening of its partnership made up of parliamentarians,
members of civil society and government officials, to further awareness and the
implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Honourable Maria Minna, Member of
Parliament for Beaches-Woodbine, to our team. She has graciously accepted to
assume the role of my Special Advisor on Women, Peace, and Security, to assist me in
ensuring that this issue is given the attention that it deserves. I am sure many of you
already know Maria well through her work as CIDA Minister and her keen interest in
social policy issues and international affairs.
I would also like to say a special thank you to Senator Mobina Jaffer, who has been a
tireless champion of this issue and the Canadian Committee from the very beginning.
She has increased the awareness and attention that is paid to this file and I wanted to
acknowledge her invaluable contribution.
Introduction
The Third Annual Symposium of the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace and
Security coincides with celebrations around the world, and especially at the UN in New
York, of the fifth anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325. It is sobering,
however, that at the same time, armed conflicts continue to rage in such places as the
Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Colombia,
each having a different impact on women, men, girls and boys.
It is also appropriate that we take a moment to reflect on the terrible disasters which
have struck over the course of the last year, including most recently in Pakistan and the
United States. In such contexts, as in conflict, women have a crucial role to play in
reconstruction efforts. In addition, the military, which is often the first level of response
in such circumstances, need to be trained in the specific needs of women and girls in
such situations in order to provide appropriate assistance.
Activities of the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace and Security
As many of you know, in response to NGO [non-governmental organization] demand,
the Government of Canada established the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace
and Security in 2001. A national coalition of parliamentarians, government officials, and
members of civil society, the Committee is a unique Canadian initiative that has served
as a model for other countries. Under Senator Mobina Jaffer’s leadership, the
Committee engaged with Afghan-Canadian women and Sri Lankan-Canadian women
on the issue of women’s participation in post-conflict reconstruction, in addition to
focussing on advocacy work, capacity-building and the issue of gender training to help
fulfill Canada’s commitments under Resolution 1325.
You will be discussing the future structure and activities of the Committee later this
morning. I look forward to seeing your recommendations and to watch the Committee
undertake new initiatives under the leadership of the Honourable Maria Minna.
As I have already mentioned, this Committee is truly unique and you have an incredible
opportunity to transform it into a model for the rest of the international community.
Governments are often criticized for their lack of action, and in a few moments I will
take the opportunity to acknowledge the great work that Canada has done to date —
however, we can always do more. I would like to challenge you in your discussions
today to be creative, to come up with ideas and recommendations about how we can
do things better. I challenge you to capitalize on the strength and the presence of this
unique group, to provide me with creative and concrete advice on how best to move
forward.
Recent accomplishments
Foreign Affairs Canada has made a commitment to make a distinctive contribution to
Canada’s efforts to help build a more secure world. Indeed, Canada has provided
international leadership in the development of the human security agenda, which seeks
to move beyond traditional security concepts to focus on protecting the individual. We
must understand that when we speak about human security, for example, we are
talking about the different security needs of women, men, girls and boys, and plan our
policies and interventions accordingly.
Foreign Affairs Canada has made the issue of women, peace and security a priority
within the Human Security Program, a program which supports both Canadian and
international organizations to spread awareness and further the implementation of
Security Resolution 1325. The Human Security Program also epitomizes the
complementarity of the agendas on women, peace and security and the protection of
civilians, as projects in both areas often address both issues. For example, the series of
regional workshops on protection of civilians, held to develop region-specific
recommendations for action, was supported over the last three years by the Human
Security Program.
Significant successes for women, peace and security include:
• the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325
• related resolutions on the protection of civilians and children in armed conflict
such as Resolutions 1296, 1265 and 1379, and
• the creation of the International Criminal Court to prosecute, inter alia, gender-based crimes.
Canada has been a strong and consistent advocate of the “zero tolerance” policy with
regard to sexual exploitation and abuse committed by peacekeeping personnel. Within
the context of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping, which Canada chairs, we were
a vocal advocate of the pursuit of measures to follow up on the recommendations made
by Prince Zeid in his report on this very issue. While it is indeed encouraging that there
is increasing recognition in the international community of the impact of sexual and
gender-based violence against women in conflict situations, we must work to ensure
that states and other actors involved in conflict resolution processes understand and
take into account the fact that women are also combatants, leaders, negotiators, and
peacemakers.
Recent international activities
In order to plan for the future, it sometimes helps to review past accomplishments. I will,
therefore, quickly underline a few activities of which the Department is particularly
proud.
In 2004, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom, and the NGO Working Group on Women,
Peace and Security co-sponsored two working group roundtables with UN Security
Council members to help them to put Resolution 1325 into operation in the
establishment of peace support and the advancement of conflict prevention.
Also in keeping with our commitment to the 1325 agenda, Canada played a strong role
at the March 2004 session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, where
states adopted Agreed Conclusions on women, peace and security. Canada’s
delegation to the Commission included Senator Mobina Jaffer and General Romeo
Dallaire.
Canada also gave input to the Secretary-General’s fourth anniversary report in 2004 on
the implementation of Resolution 1325, which called for, among other things, States to
develop a national plan to implement 1325. In addition, Senator Jaffer presented a
statement on violence against women on behalf of the Human Security Network at the
Security Council’s open debate on women, peace and security last year.
At the global level, Canada has funded the Special Representative for the African Union
on the protection of civilians, a position which focusses on the specific needs of women
and girls in times of conflict.
At the Commission on the Status of Women earlier this year, Canada worked tirelessly
with like-minded states to ensure that the international community reaffirmed its
commitments to the Beijing Platform for Action.
As you know, the Security Council open debate this year will focus on women’s
participation in peace processes. We look forward to contributing actively to that
discussion. And incidentally, Senator Jaffer could not be with us today because she is
in Abuja working to include women in the Sudan peace process.
Domestic Activities
On the domestic front, and in keeping with our role as chief advocate of Canada’s
overall implementation of Resolution 1325, Foreign Affairs works closely with key
partners, including other federal departments, Parliament, and members of civil society,
to develop a single, coherent Canadian approach to women, peace and security. For
instance, Foreign Affairs chairs the federal Interdepartmental Working Group on
Gender and Peacebuilding. This group serves as a forum to share information on the
implementation of the women, peace and security agenda, to note areas for
interdepartmental coordination, and to determine priorities. The Working Group will
meet shortly after the Symposium to discuss the process by which the Government of
Canada will draft the national action plan to Implement Resolution 1325. The priorities
we set for the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace and Security can contribute to
this important work.
Success demands that we build innovative partnerships, such as the New York-based
Friends of Women, Peace and Security group, initiated and chaired by Canada. In
addition to UN agencies, NGOs and like-minded countries, the group includes member
states that have not been traditionally engaged on women, peace and security issues.
The group discusses 1325 implementation priorities and maintains pressure on various
actors to implement Resolution 1325.
The International Policy Statement and Resolution 1325
In your discussions yesterday, you looked at the links between the International Policy
Statement and Resolution 1325.
To address the myriad challenges posed by failed and fragile states, for instance, we
must
• strengthen conflict prevention through development strategies; we must support
human rights and democracy — which includes women’s participation in all
aspects of both formal and informal peace processes
• exercise our diplomacy to prevent conflict — which should create opportunities to
draw on women’s conflict-prevention efforts at the grassroots, regional and
international levels, and
• we must support human security initiatives.
Foreign Affairs Canada, as lead on international security policy and the implementation
of 1325, will help to ensure the Government of Canada’s approach to failed and fragile
states is gender-responsive.
This Symposium is a first step, along with discussions we are holding with NGOs in
New York this month, in a process to look at the connections between the responsibility
to protect and the women, peace and security agendas. I look forward to seeing how
thinking evolves on these interconnected issues.
Further, the stabilization of post-conflict societies goes hand-in-hand with the
establishment of public institutions imbued with a strong understanding of gender
equality and of the importance of engaging women and including them in substantive
ways at all levels of decision-making. It is important to underline that where women are
not, for instance, contributing equally in decision-making bodies, participating in political
processes such as elections, or assisting with institution-building, we cannot honestly
say that we have helped to establish effective and sustainable democratic institutions.
Foreign Affairs will work to ensure that the newly established Stabilization and
Reconstruction Task Force (START), which will focus on longer-term planning for early
responses to international crises, will contribute to our implementation of Resolution
1325.
Canada’s Future Activities
Before closing, I would like to mention two future activities of interest to you.
Foreign Affairs is conducting an assessment of the gender training that Canada offers
for military and civilian personnel involved in peace processes. The assessment will
include an analysis of existing materials and courses offered by the various training
centres and the military in Canada. This assessment will determine the degree to which
Canadian military and civilian personnel involved in peace support operations use these
resources, and will guide further work in this area by highlighting the gaps and areas
where our follow-up action will be necessary.
Foreign Affairs Canada is also formulating a “gender mainstreaming initiative” to help
the Department begin to implement our commitments under the federal Agenda for
Gender Equality. We look forward to sharing more details with you as the initiative takes
shape.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to say that to be successful, our foreign policy requires more
than good intentions, creative ideas or reliance on a solid reputation. It needs focus.
The National Action Plan to Implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 will
provide these three Departments, namely Foreign Affairs Canada, the Department of
National Defence, and the Canadian International Development Agency, with a much-needed and very welcome strategy focussed on women, peace and security. I am
eager to see the symposium outcome document and would like to reiterate my support
for the implementation of Resolution 1325. I would also like to thank all of you for
attending this symposium to provide us your input at the beginning of this very
important process.
Finally, I would like to thank all of you for attending this symposium and providing us
with your input at the beginning of this very important process. As I mentioned earlier, I
await your advice on how to increase Canada’s leadership role and how to improve the
way we move this critical issue forward.
Thank you.
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