
Français		Home		Contact Us		Help		Search		canada.gc.ca		Canada International

Home > Media Room

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Canadian Offices Abroad

Services for Canadian Travellers

Services for Business

Canada in the World

About the Department

SPEECHES

2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996

Print friendly version - Printing Tips

<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. AXWORTHY - ADDRESS TO THE CONFERENCE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ON 'THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT' - NEW YORK, NEW YORK</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 99/9 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE LLOYD AXWORTHY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE CONFERENCE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ON "THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT" NEW YORK, New York February 12, 1999 (5:30 p.m. EST) I have just come from the United Nations Security Council where, at Canada's request, a meeting was convened today focussing on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. We are committed to bringing the human dimension of peace and security to the forefront of Council concerns, and to making human security a central impetus for Council action. The condition of the world's children, particularly in armed conflict, is a special concern for Canada and for me personally. I was proud to have been involved in the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 10 years ago this year. Realizing the ideals of that document has been an important objective for me in the intervening years. To that end, I am also reminded of a common belief among the Cree nation, as related to me by the Opaskwayak elders, that a child is a gift or loan from the Great Spirit. We are given the responsibility of raising and caring for that child. Since children are a gift from the Great Spirit, they are sacred and must be treated with respect and dignity. Unfortunately, as a global community, we are falling well short of keeping that trust. This is especially true in situations of armed conflict. The saddest reality about war at the end of this century is that civilians are now, overwhelmingly, the main victims and targets. The number of casualties from armed conflict has almost doubled from the 1980s to about one million a year; and of those, 80 percent are civilians. And you are all only too familiar with the particularly appalling -- and completely unacceptable -- toll being borne by the world's children. This was reinforced with devastating clarity last month during my visit to Africa. This conference could not be more timely or appropriate. This should be a defining issue for all of us. As practitioners with on-the-ground experience, your perspectives are indispensable in setting out the way forward. Today, I would like to situate Canada's approach to the subject within the context of our human security agenda, provide our assessment of the challenges we face, and outline the elements of Canada's strategy to protect and improve the condition of war-affected children. Human Security Over the past decade, the global landscape has shifted from the verities of our Cold War past to new, unchartered paths to the future. Our notion of global security -- how we define it, how we obtain it and how we maintain it -- has changed considerably. Despite the hurly-burly of events during the last 10 years, a few certainties have emerged to give us our bearings. Most important, as I have just noted, civilians are increasingly the main victims and targets of violent conflicts. This is partly the result of a change in the complexion of war. Most conflicts now occur inside rather than between states. In the case of failed states, modern-day warlords and vigilantes have emerged -- aided and abetted by outside arms dealers and others who benefit from the marketplace of conflict. These individuals take advantage of, brutalize and terrorize civilians. The result has been human tragedies of devastating proportions: exploitation of civilians, massive refugee flows and the grossest violations of humanitarian law, including genocide. The nature of threats to global security is evolving. Many are multi-faceted and have a transnational dimension. Illicit drugs, terrorism, environmental despoliation, human rights abuses and weapons proliferation pose challenges that respect no borders and cut across many disciplines. They cannot be solved unilaterally. They do, however, have a direct impact on our everyday lives. Globalization has irreversibly linked our destinies. The undeniable truth of our lives today is that they are more connected than ever. We live in the age of the World Wide Web; far-off concerns, isolated from our own lives, are a thing of the past. And while globalization presents opportunities, it also has a darker side. This can expose all of us to economic and social insecurity. The common denominator of these new realities is their human dimension. Our changing world has increasingly put the individual, and the security of the individual, at the centre of global affairs. As a result, the safety and well-being of the individual -- that is, human security -- has become a new measure of global security. Humanitarian objectives -- protection from abuse, reducing risks of physical endangerment, improving the quality of life, and creating the tools to guarantee these goals -- should provide, and indeed are providing, a new impetus for concerted global action. It is within this context that Canada has been reshaping and refocussing our own foreign policy priorities. We are increasingly occupied with issues that strike directly home to the individual. This human security-centred approach is expressed in three main ways: First are the initiatives we undertake to focus global attention and action on challenges that directly threaten the security of individuals. Examples are the campaign to ban anti-personnel mines, or efforts to curtail the abuse and proliferation of military small arms and light weapons. Second are focussed activities. These include peacebuilding via the Canadian Peacebuilding Initiative; the advancement of humanitarian standards -- the driving force behind our efforts to create the International Criminal Court; and adapting international and regional institutions to integrate human security concerns, such as at the UN Security Council. Third is the use of innovative partnerships with like-minded countries and civil society, and new techniques such as soft power principles. These must be balanced with a willingness to use robust action when and where necessary in the pursuit of humanitarian objectives -- as in Kosovo, for example. Protecting Children Affected by Armed Conflict The welfare of the world's children merits special priority in Canada's human security agenda. In the new global environment, it is the most vulnerable -- but especially children -- whose security is most at risk, who pay the highest price and who consequently demand close attention. Nowhere is this more true than in situations of armed conflict. The record of the past decade is grim: close to 2 million children killed; more than 4 million children disabled; over 1 million children orphaned; over 300 000 girls and boys serving in armies and rebel groups as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies, labourers and sex slaves; and over 10 million children psychologically scarred by the trauma of abduction, detention, sexual assault and witnessing the brutal murder of family members. Graça Machel's ground-breaking report three years ago on the impact of armed conflict on children drew global attention to their desperate plight and sounded the clarion call for global action. Using the tools of our human security agenda, Canada has been pursuing activities on several fronts: Increasing knowledge and the political will to act Action starts with awareness. The appointment of Olara Otunnu as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General [SRSG] for Children and Armed Conflict was an important step in this direction. Mr. Otunnu has made good progress in focussing international attention on the condition of children victimized by armed conflict, and in mobilizing international action to ensure their rights, protection and welfare. The Special Representative's efforts are vital to ensuring a continuing high profile for the issue, and to catalyzing action. His advocacy must be sustained and reinforced. To do this, his office needs resources and political support. To that end, I am pleased to announce that Canada will be providing $400 000 to the Trust Fund established to support the SRSG's office. As a result of enhanced understanding, we are seeing concerns and concrete programming relating specifically to war-affected children reflected throughout the UN system. This is welcome news. Preparations will soon begin for the UN Special Session on Children in 2001. Through this process and elsewhere at the UN, Canada will continue to consolidate and build on the progress we have made. Efforts at the global level need to be complemented at the regional and bilateral level, as well as among our own publics. Canada belongs to a number of regional organizations. We are seeking to ensure that the plight of war-affected children is addressed at these forums. For example, children in the regions covered by the OAS [Organization of American States] and the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] have suffered because of armed conflict. We are considering the best way to mobilize these organizations to help. In addition, the protection of children in armed conflict is a central concern in the partnership developed by Canada and Norway, in co-operation with a number of other like-minded countries, to address human security concerns. As the campaign to ban anti-personnel mines made clear, the contribution of civil society is also vital. A strong partnership between governments and civil society can make an enormous difference. In Canada, civil society has been playing a very important and active role in dealing with war-affected children. Last autumn, we created a joint Committee on War-Affected Children, bringing together NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and the Government of Canada, and chaired by Canadian Senator Landon Pearson. By sharing experiences and resources, we are working to chart a common strategy for the future. Strengthening international norms People and governments need to care before they act. That is why awareness is so vital. But to be effective, we all need to be held accountable for our actions. To that end, Canada is working both to improve international legal instruments and to ensure compliance with existing humanitarian standards and norms that protect the rights of children. One of the most notorious practices in conflicts is the recruitment of child soldiers. It is a barbarism that defies all standards of moral behaviour. We have been vividly reminded of this during the fighting in Sierra Leone. Outlawing this appalling activity has been a long-standing objective for many of us. To that end, Canada strongly supports the work under way in Geneva to develop an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which would raise the age of recruitment and participation in hostilities. In support of this goal -- and, again, in partnership with civil society -- Canada was the first government to provide resources to the international NGO Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The Coalition is working on a region-by-region basis to raise awareness about the issue of child soldiers, and to endorse the strongest standard in negotiations of the Optional Protocol. Most of us could also take further steps at home. In Canada, we are in the process of examining current legislation on the recruitment of youths under the age of 18 into our armed forces. Most recently, we codified our practice of not sending anyone under the age of 18 to hostilities. Many countries are studying how to align their laws with what we expect will be the terms of the Optional Protocol. Therefore, Canada and Norway are inviting a small number of governments to a workshop later this year, in Ottawa. This meeting will allow for an exchange on the common challenges we face in changing our respective laws while sharing draft legislative amendments. Raising the international bar against the exploitation of children in conflict is important. We also need to redouble efforts to ensure the respect of existing humanitarian norms in conflict situations. Internationally accepted standards already exist for a number of practices, including the targeting of children, child abduction, sexual exploitation, access to humanitarian assistance, respect for sanctuaries, and ending impunity. Countries need to be actively encouraged to ratify and then adhere to relevant international agreements. Integrating the protection of children in peacemaking and peace support operations As the "civilianization" of conflict intensifies, the need to consider the interests and protection of civilians in peace operations becomes more urgent. Today, at Canada's request, the UN Security Council examined the issue of the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The aim is for the Council to reflect these concerns better and more actively in its deliberations, and to include them more systematically in its decisions. By dealing better with the situation of civilians in conflict, the Council will, in fact, be dealing with the situation of children. However, I underlined the importance of addressing the specific challenges relating to children. The case for doing so is compelling. Peacekeepers are increasingly confronted by child soldiers in their work. Canada is exploring ways of addressing this new reality. Pre-deployment military training might include courses on child rights and on how to deal with war-affected children during peace support operations. Military personnel might work with NGOs to assist war affected children. I am pleased to announce that Canada, in partnership with Norway, is developing a training module which could be used to enhance peacekeepers' awareness, knowledge and expertise in dealing with children in conflict zones. Furthermore, Canada strongly supports the inclusion of child protection specialists in UN peace-support operations. As UN peace operations become more multi-faceted with larger civilian components (civilian police, humanitarian workers, human rights monitors), these specialists can make the difference for children. To this end, I would like to announce that Canada is also examining ways to help strengthen capacity at the international, regional and local levels to ensure that children's rights are a central consideration during every stage of conflict. These might include the deployment of rapid-response mediation teams to advocate on behalf of children in conflict zones, or the inclusion of children's rights in post-conflict peace agreements. Such teams might be able to help ensure that the rights of children are respected in the critical early stages of implementing peace agreements -- for example, in the process of disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating child soldiers. We are currently developing this concept, and will consult with others on the most effective and appropriate way to move it forward. Encouraging humanitarian and development programming aimed at war-affected children In areas of active or potential conflict, development assistance can promote peacebuilding. In emergency situations, humanitarian assistance helps alleviate immediate suffering. And in post-conflict societies, development programming contributes to rebuilding stable and equitable communities. In all cases, the specific needs of children should be -- and, indeed, are being -- reflected in how and where we put our development and humanitarian resources. The Canadian International Development Agency [CIDA], through its humanitarian, multilateral and bilateral programming, has devoted significant resources to a wide range of programs specifically targeted to the needs of war-affected children. Programming has been undertaken or is under way to help child soldiers in Angola, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda. In war-torn societies from Rwanda to Bosnia, development assistance is being aimed directly -- through counselling, demobilization, reintegration, education and health -- at helping children recover from the traumas of war. In these situations, small can also be beautiful. Through Canada's Youth International Internship Program, we have placed interns in Bosnia with the International Children's Institute to work with children affected by the conflict in that country. Through Canada's Peacebuilding Initiative, and working with civil society, we have made relatively modest -- but I believe highly effective -- contributions to smaller local projects. For example, in Algeria, again working with Norway, we have helped local health care and social work professionals to assist children affected by the horrifying violence in that country. Using innovative techniques, our Cultural Initiatives for War-Affected Children Program, launched last July, is aimed at raising awareness about children in armed conflict by promoting cultural activities at the international level. One of those projects, "Mapping Our World," uses art therapy to help children from conflict areas work through the trauma of their experiences while using their images to sensitize others to their situation. Co-ordinating assistance efforts, especially in war-torn zones, would go a long way toward making the best use of resources. In conflict situations, many actors may be charged with responding to the needs of children. Special Representative Otunnu's role is to advocate directly on behalf of children; agencies such as UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees], UNICEF [United Nations Children's Fund] and the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] are crucial for ensuring that humanitarian assistance gets to war-affected children; and peacekeepers might be made responsible for gathering evidence or intelligence on the mistreatment and recruitment of children by the parties to a conflict, or might be charged with setting up the structures to disarm and demobilize child soldiers. In post-conflict conditions, rehabilitation and re-integration of war-affected children are critical for peacebuilding and democratic development. In these cases, different and overlapping activities may be taking place at the same time. Without creating new structures, we believe that the Special Representative's office is uniquely placed to provide both the overview and guidance on how to co-ordinate resources more effectively. Promoting partnerships with civil society Coalitions between governments and civil society are part of the new way of doing business in our changed global environment. Active co-operation and consultation with civil society runs through Canada's approach to war-affected children. This is crucial, as NGOs carry out much of the work, especially on the ground. I referred to our own NGO-Government dialogue, which was established last year. I firmly believe that this partnership can be widened and reinforced. Canada and Norway will work in concert with the NGO community to bring together government and NGO agendas on this issue, with a view to convening an international conference in the future. Conclusion Promoting children's security is indispensable to promoting human security. Protecting children from the traumas of armed conflict is inescapably linked to our broader objective of building peaceful and stable societies. We cannot possibly hope to build a secure world without due regard to those who will inherit it. I have outlined the elements of Canada's approach. Through a mixture of advocacy and action -- and a strong commitment to co-operation with civil society -- we are committed to, and indeed we can live up to, the sacred trust so eloquently described by the Opaskwayak elders. Thank you. </body> </html>

2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996

Print friendly version - Printing Tips



Last Updated: 2006-10-30	Top of Page	Important Notices