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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. AXWORTHY - ADDRESS TO THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CANADIAN BUREAU FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION - OTTAWA, ONTARIO</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 99/56 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE LLOYD AXWORTHY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CANADIAN BUREAU FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION OTTAWA, Ontario November 23, 1999 (1:25 p.m. EST) Last month, in the Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada affirmed the prominence of human concerns in our global relations. This focus on the individual, on putting people first, reflects the changing times in which we live and the need to adapt Canada's engagement with the world to reflect the new realities. Today, I would like to speak about this human dimension in Canada's foreign policy, its application in our relations with the Americas, and the role played by international education in these efforts. In a changing world, issues that directly affect the lives of people have assumed centre stage on the global agenda: among many others they include the new dynamic of armed conflict, the integration of world markets, the emergence of global environment and health concerns. Globalization has brought instant communications, faster transportation and improved technology; and now the images and the impact of these changes hit home, connecting all of us more closely into a common destiny. As our country is among the most open to the world, the situation presents challenges for Canadians. The new global circumstances have also diversified the levers of power and influence. Compelling ideas such as negotiation, public diplomacy, and the attributes of vibrant, tolerant societies are all valid currencies in global life. They are levers that Canada possesses and is uniquely placed to use. As a result, there are new opportunities for Canadians to project our values and to advance our culture. It is in this context of challenge and opportunity that we are adjusting the focus of our foreign policy and adapting the instruments we use to pursue it. The human-centred approach gives impetus to Canada's links with the Americas. The links are clearly multiplying: this year we hosted the Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, the Conference of Spouses of Heads of State and Government, and the Americas Trade Ministers meeting in Toronto; and next June we welcome the OAS [Organization of American States] General Assembly in Windsor, followed by the Summit of the Americas at Québec City in 2001. All these events mark a crowded hemispheric agenda. The theme of your conference, "Education Co-operation With the Americas," underlines the wider engagement of Canadian society. The focus on people -- on human security, human rights and human development -- clearly has resonance not only for Canada but throughout the Americas. Indeed, in many respects the countries of this hemisphere are on the leading edge in putting the concerns of people at the forefront. We clearly see this in the themes that have been central to the Summit of the Americas process: governance, poverty alleviation, economic integration and education. The promotion of human rights and governance is a top priority. At Canada's initiative, the OAS recently began discussions on strengthening the inter-American human rights system. The OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (a Canadian initiative) is in place and working. In the area of peace and security, human security now has a place alongside the more traditional focus on national security. Our hemispheric partners were among the first and most committed to the campaign to ban anti-personnel mines -- weapons designed specifically to injure, maim and kill people. Regional efforts to implement the Ottawa Convention are equally energetic, both at the OAS and through bilateral demining and rehabilitation projects, such as Canada's demining efforts in Central America. Similarly, it is our region that has taken the global lead in efforts to confront the abuse and proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Last year we signed the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials; this will help deal with the devastating effect of such weapons on our societies. The emerging, transnational challenges of corruption, crime, and illicit drugs all have an impact on the daily lives of our people. Confronting them has therefore taken on greater importance. The OAS Convention on Corruption has spurred ongoing efforts to enhance probity and promote transparency in relations between governments and citizens. The illicit drug trade jeopardizes the stability of our societies and imperils lives, especially among our youth. This year, under Canada's leadership, hemispheric nations agreed to a Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism. It will assess progress in the battle against drugs and will improve the ability of governments and enforcement agencies to combat this scourge. To complement this effort, I initiated a Ministerial Dialogue on Drugs to examine the broader impact of the drug trade on our societies and our shared hemispheric agenda. The Dialogue has helped build consensus around the concept of human security, which I plan to discuss further with my counterparts in the lead-up to the OAS General Assembly next year. Education -- the dissemination of information, the exchange of ideas, the promotion of understanding -- clearly has a central role to play in efforts to improve the lives of people. In today's knowledge-based societies, it is an even more potent agent for human development and human security. This fact was brought home to me with devastating clarity during my visit to Kosovo last week. Conflict there is far from over. Centuries-old enmities and racial hatreds persist. Until Kosovo's people learn to overcome them, until Kosovo's children are taught to respect differences rather than distrust them, lasting peace and stability will remain elusive. In Kosovo as elsewhere, education is an essential part of strong, open societies. It is the cornerstone of an informed, engaged and tolerant citizenry, the basis for democracy and stability, and an essential element for the full respect of human rights and human security We in the hemisphere know this. Our leaders acknowledged the importance of education when they gave it pride of place at the Santiago Summit, recognizing education as the "key to progress" in the Americas. Canada is utilizing this commitment to education as the basis for promoting human rights and human security in several ways. An important element in advancing human security is raising awareness of the issues and the challenges -- whether in eradicating landmines, diminishing the negative impact of small arms or dealing with the illicit drug trade. Awareness precedes action: people must understand the dimensions of a problem before they can solve it. That is why, for example, education figures so prominently in our demining projects in Peru and Ecuador, in Nicaragua and at the OAS. These awareness efforts need to be accompanied by practical transfers of know-how. To this end, earlier this month Canada and Brazil jointly co-hosted a seminar that involved human rights training for police officers. Canada's contribution to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office in Colombia will be used, in part, to help teach local human rights workers to do their jobs more effectively. Training projects such as these, especially in the security sector, are indispensable to the task of fostering open and democratic institutions that advance human security. The education needs of societies emerging from conflict require special attention. The plight of war-affected children is a particular concern. The Canadian Peacebuilding Initiative has devoted resources to help children in the Americas deal with the traumas of war and conflict through education and rehabilitation therapy. Paying special attention to children and youth -- helping them learn from and overcome the experience of war -- will go a long way to building peaceful and stable societies. Indeed, the best way we can guarantee human security in all our communities for the long term is by imbuing our children and young people with a strong sense of human rights, of the fundamentals of justice and democracy, and of the value of tolerance -- and by involving them directly in practising what they are taught. Through your own projects, the CBIE [Canadian Bureau for International Education] knows this first-hand. An excellent example is the peace education initiative you have undertaken in Haiti, training teachers and introducing civics and conflict resolution directly into school curriculums. In a similar vein, representatives from around the hemisphere recently participated in a meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, which considered the contribution that education can make toward promoting peace and the concept of human security in the Americas and elsewhere. This, I hope, is the beginning of a process that will lead to the inclusion of human security-related curriculum in classrooms. Canada's Youth Internship Program, established in 1997, is aimed at giving Canadian youth the opportunity to help and learn about other young people around the world. To date over 1400 young Canadians have participated in the Program. They have served in Latin America; they have helped out at inter-American institutions, including the OAS, the Inter-American Commission of Women and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission; they have worked directly in the field. In doing so, they have helped strengthen awareness of human security issues. At the same time, by their involvement and commitment, they have projected Canadian values and culture. All of these efforts to promote human security in the Americas through education show potential. Whether through awareness raising, training projects, meeting special needs in war-torn societies, or involving children and young people directly, they need to be encouraged. I trust they are only a start. They also underline the need to consider human security as we develop a more comprehensive international knowledge strategy. Consultations to this end are under way, and I am committed to working with my colleagues, provincial representatives and NGOs such as the CBIE toward this goal. Our changing world is involving people more directly in global affairs while putting human concerns increasingly at the forefront of the global agenda. We are responding by emphasizing the human dimension in our foreign policy, including in our embrace of the Americas. A natural part of this approach is co-operation in the area of education, with its emphasis on people. Your conference is therefore timely, and the presence of partner organizations from the Americas is welcome. I am certain that in these two days you will strengthen educational ties. And in the process you will further enhance Canada's and Canadians' links with the hemisphere. Thank you. </body> </html>

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