NEWS RELEASES

May 12, 2000 (1:55 p.m. EDT) No. 102

CANADA AND NORWAY TO PROMOTE INCREASED CAPACITY FOR RAPID REACTION FOR UN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced that Canada and Norway, the two founding members of the Human Security Network, have committed themselves to promoting an improved rapid reaction capacity for the United Nations Secretariat in order to conduct effective, timely and integrated planning for peacekeeping operations. They agreed to consult on an urgent basis with the UN and other governments to reach this goal.

Today's announcement was made at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland, attended by ministers and representatives of the 13 states of the Human Security Network.

"The issue is how to address the lack of capacity within the United Nations to effectively plan and conduct peacekeeping operations," said Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thorbjorn Jagland.

"The events of the past week in Sierra Leone underscore the need for international support for the UN system in responding quickly to crisis situations," said Mr. Axworthy. "As an immediate step, Canada has announced an offer of resources and personnel -- two Canadian Forces officers trained in military operations, and funding for two officers from developing countries -- to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations."

The medium-term goal will be to meet the requirements within the UN Secretariat for improved contingency planning, oversight capacity, and indigenous capacity to collect, analyse and disseminate intelligence or information. This will build on the Canadian-sponsored study, Towards a Rapid Reaction Capability for the United Nations, presented to the United Nations in 1995. To date, 19 of the study's 26 proposals have been implemented in full or in part.

At the Lucerne meeting, Human Security Network members also announced their intention to work together to explore practical ways of increasing the UN's capacity to address situations such as that in Sierra Leone, as well as future challenges.

At Mr. Axworthy's initiative, the group held an emergency session on the crisis in Sierra Leone, adopting a Declaration which, among other things, urges a more robust interpretation of the current mandate (UNSC 1289) by the UNAMSIL (UN Mission in Sierra Leone) Special Representative of the Secretary-General. In addition the Declaration allows the UN Security Council to make an adjustment to that mandate if necessary. The Network also calls for any strengthening of UNAMSIL to remain under the command and control of the UN mission.

At the meeting, Network members endorsed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Millennium Report, We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century. They also committed themselves to ensuring follow-up to the work done by Canada at the UN Security Council on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict and on improving the effectiveness of sanctions.

Canada raised additional human security issues and proposed several initiatives for collaboration with Network members. In this regard, Canada invited the group to participate in the International Conference on War-Affected Children, to be held in Winnipeg, in September 2000, and circulated to Network members for consideration Six Points for Political Action in preparation for this event.

The Network agreed to intensify co-operation around preparations for the 2001 UN Conference on Small Arms. Canada also undertook to work with Network members within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to address the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and in particular the often destabilizing effect of their transfer between regions.

In addressing the importance of building knowledge and capacity for gender-equitable peacebuilding, Canada, Norway and Switzerland agreed to co-sponsor a Forum on Gender Relations in Post-Conflict Transitions, in Oslo, in the autumn of 2000. Canada also agreed to host a meeting of Network members and other interested parties on the links between corporate citizenship and human security.

The text of the Declaration on Sierra Leone is attached. The Chairman's Statement will be available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Web site at: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

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STATEMENT ON SIERRA LEONE

SECOND MINISTERIAL MEETING

OF THE HUMAN SECURITY NETWORK

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND

Ministers and representatives of Austria, Canada, Chile, Greece, Ireland, Jordan, Mali, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland and Thailand, participating in the second Ministerial Meeting of the Human Security Network in Lucerne, Switzerland, on May 11 and 12, convened an emergency meeting to discuss the evolving crisis in Sierra Leone.

They condemned in the strongest of terms the illegal detention of UNAMSIL civilian and military personnel by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) forces and called for their immediate release. Those responsible for these acts, including RUF leader Foday Sankoh, must be held accountable. They also deplored the breaches to the Lomé Peace Agreement and called upon the RUF leadership to abide rigorously by its terms.

The ministers and representatives reiterated their unconditional support for the efforts of the UN and UNAMSIL to restore peace in Sierra Leone and to fulfill its mandate, including the protection of civilians under threat.

They indicated that they would be exploring means to support the mission and the United Nations, and urged others in the international community to extend all possible support to the mission, as required. They welcomed the prompt response by the leaders of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) to consider ways to address the problem and urged a more robust interpretation of the current mandate (UNSC 1289) by UNAMSIL's Special Representative of the Secretary-General and, if necessary, an adjustment to the mandate by the Security Council. They also called for any strengthening of UNAMSIL to remain under the command and control of the UN mission.

The ministers and representatives also expressed their concern about the illicit trade in diamonds, which is fuelling and sustaining this conflict and welcomed the initiative to hold a meeting on this subject in South Africa in July.

They re-emphasized their commitment to continue the delivery of humanitarian assistance and their support for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programming and longer term peacebuilding and governance activities as soon as conditions on the ground permit.

The ministers and representatives noted that the crisis in Sierra Leone highlighted, again, the need to develop within the UN system a real capacity for rapid reaction. They undertook to work together with other interested partners to discuss ways in which political will could be engaged and a practical process established to help bring to the UN the capacity it needs to address current situations such as Sierra Leone and future similar challenges.