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<title>CANADA TO ESTABLISH NEW PEACEBUILDING FUND</title>
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<p><font face="Courier"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2">October 30, 1996 No. 201</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">CANADA TO ESTABLISH NEW PEACEBUILDING FUND</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Don Boudria, Minister for
International Co-operation and Minister responsible for La Francophonie, announced
today that Canada will establish a special fund, financed by the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA), to help build peace in countries and
regions racked by violence and war. The fund is an integral component of a new
Canadian Peacebuilding Initiative.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"This is a new tool of diplomacy," said Mr. Axworthy. "It will support flexible
and timely Canadian responses in critical situations where events are moving
quickly." Mr. Axworthy outlined the purpose of the new program in a speech today
at York University's Centre for International Security Studies.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"Cease-fires, peacekeeping forces and aid to refugees and displaced persons are
vital in building peace," said Mr. Boudria. "But to make peace last, we need to
rebuild the institutions of war-torn societies. This initiative will help us do
that."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">In his speech, Mr. Axworthy described the Peacebuilding Initiative as a response
to one of the most significant challenges of the post-Cold War world: building
sustainable peace in countries, such as those in the Great Lakes region of Africa,
that are prone to recurring cycles of violence and where tragic internal conflict
has profound regional implications.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Minister Axworthy stated that the Initiative will be launched with a formal
consultation on peacebuilding to take place in conjunction with annual
departmental human rights consultations with non-governmental organizations early
in 1997. He also announced that CIDA will contribute $10 million to the special
Peacebuilding Fund, which will assist in filling urgent gaps in Canadian
programming and act as a catalyst to promote new approaches and to mobilize
Canadian talent and expertise. The Minister noted that he announced the third
element of the Initiative, a roster of Canadian human rights experts, at the
United Nations last month.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Minister Axworthy prefaced the announcement of the Initiative with an overview of
the challenges posed by a new kind of war that includes ethnic cleansing in the
former Yugoslavia and hate propaganda in Rwanda. He noted that these situations
have led to a re-examination of the notion of security by Canada and other
countries, including Norway and Holland. Two key concepts have emerged from this
review: human security and, as a means to achieve it, peacebuilding.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"The concept of human security recognizes that human rights and fundamental
freedoms, the rule of law, good governance, sustainable development and social
equity are as important to global peace as are arms control and disarmament," said
Mr. Axworthy.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">While noting that peacebuilding is an evolving concept, he described it as a set
of measures that creates a sustainable infrastructure for human security. These
measures provide the minimal conditions under which a country can implement
social, political and economic development.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">The Minister cited Haiti as an example of peacebuilding complementing
peacekeeping, through programs that include training civilian police, institution
building and promoting national reconciliation and economic rehabilitation.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Minister Axworthy noted the two distinct assets Canada can put to use in
peacebuilding: Canadian expertise in nurturing our own democracy, and advanced
information technology that can be used as a conduit for collecting, sharing and
analysing information as well as a means of maintaining local capacity after the
departure of Canadian experts.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Mr. Axworthy challenged Canadians to contribute to the success of the Initiative.
"Canada has traditionally been a leader in peacekeeping operations. My aim is to
move us toward being a leader in peacebuilding," he said.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">CIDA will contribute $10 million to the Peacebuilding Initiative beginning in the
fiscal year 1997-98. Funding for this initiative was provided for in the March
1996 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Courier">- 30 -</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">For further information, media representatives may contact:</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Catherine Lappe</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Director of Communications</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(613) 997-1851</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Media Relations Office</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(613) 995-1874</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Media Relations Office</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Canadian International Development Agency</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(819) 953-6534</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca</font></p>
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