STATEMENT BYTHE HONOURABLE DAVID KILGOURSECRETARY OF STATE (LATIN AMERICA AND AFRICA)AT THE 1999 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OFTHE UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF CANADAFACULTY CLUB, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
STATEMENT BY
THE HONOURABLE DAVID KILGOUR
SECRETARY OF STATE (LATIN AMERICA AND AFRICA)
AT THE 1999 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF
THE UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
FACULTY CLUB, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
"CANADA'S ROLE IN THE AMERICAS AND AFRICA"
EDMONTON, Alberta
June 12, 1999
I am delighted to have this opportunity to participate in the annual general assembly of the UN Association of
Canada. I am particularly pleased that you have chosen Edmonton as the venue for your assembly this year.
For decades, the UN Association of Canada has played a central role in stimulating informed debate among
Canadians about the UN and its role in promoting international peace and security. It is no secret that the UN
has faced enormous challenges in recent years. This has made the outreach and advocacy functions of the UN
Association of Canada and similar institutions even more important. This is why we have worked closely with
Harry Qualman and his team, to ensure for the association a vigorous place in the national debate in support of
a dynamic and effective UN--one that is responsive to the needs of the rapidly evolving global community. I
would like to pay tribute to Harry and his team for their important contributions.
I understand that you heard an interesting presentation earlier today by Ambassador Michel Duval on Canada's
experience on the UN Security Council since our term began in January. I'm also told that you have had
stimulating discussions on Canada's human security agenda, including how elements of that agenda can be
advanced through the United Nations. Permit me to share with you some thoughts on Canada's relations with
the regions that have been my focus over the last two years--Latin America and Africa.
La Gran Familia
Canada's relations with Latin America have undergone a real sea change over the past decade. We have
become a member of "la gran familia," in Prime Minister Chrétien's words. Over the next two years, Canada will
host an unprecedented series of high-profile hemispheric events. These include the Pan-American Games in
Winnipeg this summer; the Conference of Spouses of Hemispheric Leaders in Ottawa in September; and the
Americas Business Forum and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Trade Ministerial in Toronto in
November. Next June, on the 10th anniversary of our joining the Organization of American States, Canada will
host the OAS General Assembly for the first time in Windsor. Finally, the Third Summit of the Americas will be
held in Quebec City in 2001.
The turning point in our relationship with the hemisphere was the decision in January 1990 to join the
Organization of American States, the region's premier political club. This served as formal recognition that
Canada was indeed a nation of the Americas. Since then, we have expanded our diplomatic presence, built
commercial alliances through free trade agreements with Mexico and Chile, and through framework
agreements with MERCOSUR (Southern Common Market), Central America and the Andean Community. We
have also increased our high-level contacts and strengthened our cultural and academic ties. This level of
activity is unprecedented--and it is more than a series of unconnected meetings.
It says a great deal about Canada's commitment to this region and reflects major and positive change in the
Americas. Hemispheric integration has been gathering momentum, and there is no going back. Democracy and
economic liberalization are here to stay. Governments have been transformed, regional institutions are being
revamped, and new mechanisms are being created to meet today's challenges.
One of those mechanisms is the summit process. It started with the Miami summit in 1994 and was followed by
the Santiago summit in 1998. As I said, Canada will host the third in Quebec City. The fact that hemispheric
leaders are meeting on a regular basis is important, but what happens in between is equally significant
because it provides the substance of what is doable, and what leaders can eventually endorse. This is the glue
of hemispheric integration. Today Canada and our hemispheric partners are discussing issues that would have
been unthinkable just a few years ago--good governance, corruption, human rights, civil society and landmines,
to mention a few.
The other significant movement driving the integration process is the FTAA. Negotiations are reasonably on
track for completion in 2005. The sheer magnitude of this undertaking is daunting: 34 countries in a region that
will have a population of over 800 million and a combined GDP of some $10 trillion by the time negotiations are
finished.
There will be challenges to overcome. One of them is that the United States does not yet have "fast-track"
authority to conclude an agreement. Another is the sheer complexity of negotiating a comprehensive
agreement among countries of widely varying size, historical experience and level of economic development.
Human Security is Priority
A third engine driving hemispheric integration is the regional security framework--not the old, cold-war model
designed to protect the hemisphere from external aggression, but new mechanisms such as the OAS Unit for
the Promotion of Democracy and the Committee on Hemispheric Security.
As you know, the promotion of human security is a priority of this government's foreign policy. In the Latin
American context, an important element of our human security agenda is the illicit drug trade and its associated
criminal activity. Canada is promoting a dialogue among hemispheric foreign ministers on this issue. Some of
us have been actively involved, travelling to Latin America and the Caribbean to meet with foreign ministers
and others concerned about the drug problem. This initiative, along with the broad concept of human security,
has been very well received throughout the region, given the threat that the illegal drug trade poses to the very
stability of some of the nations in our hemisphere.
Africa, my second area of responsibility, faces a different set of challenges but also offers opportunities for
strengthened ties with Canada.
Recent developments in Nigeria, Africa's most populous state, inspire hope for the future of a continent that,
too often, has attracted attention for its conflicts rather than its progress. I had the honour of representing
Canada at the ceremony in Abuja last month, in which the military administration transferred power to an
elected civilian, President Obasanjo. The ceremony, attended by thousands of people, was an important event
for Nigerians, marking as it did the end of 15 years of authoritarian military rule. The new president expressed
firmly and clearly his intention to provide Nigeria with transparent, honest government, and his first days seem
to indicate that he will carry through with this commitment.
Canada's traditional approach to Africa has been through the development program of CIDA, responding to the
humanitarian impulse of many Canadians. We have projected our values by seeking to alleviate poverty and
promote human rights and development in the world's poorest region. CIDA has built for Canada an impressive
reputation over the last 30 years for generous and intelligent aid. Africa accounts for 45% of Canadian bilateral
development assistance and close to half of our humanitarian relief.
But we have come to realize that aid is not a panacea and that trade/investment can be equally important
instruments both for promoting development in Africa and for consolidating a stronger relationship with African
countries. At the behest of many African leaders, we have been working more actively in the area of economic
relations.
In practice, this has meant that in stable countries where there is potential for growth, we have been
encouraging Canadian involvement. For example, the Canadian government has been trying to interest
business people to engage in trade, investment and joint ventures in Africa. In March of 1998, I travelled to six
countries in west Africa, and led a small delegation of Canadian business people to look at, talk about, and
consider becoming engaged. I have just returned from another trek, this time to four countries in central Africa
on a trip which combined political, security and economic issues.
Opening Doors
At the end of the day, business people will make their own decisions, but I feel that it is my responsibility to try
to open some doors, to the benefit of Canadians and also of Africans.
We have also come to realize that Africa's security is important to Canadians. In those parts of Africa where
war or near-war conditions prevail, Canada has worked, mostly through the multilateral system, to try to return
these countries to stability and help them move forward. Peacebuilding, democratic development, conflict
prevention and conflict response mechanisms are all requirements for Africa's sustainable prosperity in the 21st
century.
For example, Canada has participated in the UN Mission to the Central African Republic (MINURCA) since
April 1998. One of the elements of the mandate was to provide limited advice and technical support for the
legislative elections, which took place in December 1998. The Secretary-General has declared that MINURCA
played an important role in these free, fair and peaceful elections, ensuring that UN voting materials were
properly distributed throughout the country and providing transportation and security for international observers.
Presidential elections should be held during the fall.
On my recent trip to Bangui, I met with President Patassé who assured me of his commitment to having the
elections pass in transparency, serenity, with a spirit of national unity and with a respect for the institutions of
the republic. I encouraged him to continue with much needed political, economic and social reforms.
Building Capacity
Let me give you another example of how we are pursuing our security agenda in Africa. It is our view that the
best way to deal with Africa's complicated conflicts is to build the capacity of African institutions to lead, with
western support. But these organizations themselves often need support. And that is just what Canada has
been doing for the past years--trying to build the capacity of such institutions as the Organization of African
Unity, the OAU.
For example, Canada has contributed $2.5 million to establish an OAU mechanism for conflict prevention and
resolution, which is also becoming an incipient African security council. In addition, we support other regional
security organizations, such as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in southern Africa, and
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in west Africa. As a member of the Security
Council, we also see the critical need for the regional organizations of Africa to coordinate and work smoothly
with the UN.
The importance of these organizations is demonstrated in the nearly year-long intermittent border conflict
between two formerly friendly neighbours, Eritrea and Ethiopia, where the OAU has been a critical actor and
where Canada has urged the UN Security Council to become engaged.
Following an initial United States and Rwandan effort at mediation, the OAU sent a delegation of ambassadors
last June, who managed to work out a peace plan, which has continued to be the baseline for everyone.
Although the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have not yet agreed to lay down arms, the OAU has returned
again and again, using the good offices of the Secretary-General and various African leaders, to try to achieve
a cease-fire and to begin to find a resolution to the territorial dispute.
Secretary-General Annan has sent his special envoy to the region several times to exert international pressure,
in co-ordination with the OAU, on the belligerents to stop fighting. Last week the foreign minister of Burkina
Faso (which currently chairs the OAU) came to New York to debrief the Security Council about the state of
negotiations for a cease-fire. We hope that the OAU and the UN will continue to work closely together and
manage to convince the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia to stop fighting and to re-direct their energy
toward development.
Canada is also playing a leadership role in seeking to address the deteriorating situation in Angola, a country
that has seen its considerable potential squandered by ruinous civil war that has taken an appalling toll on
civilians. Canada is lobbying hard to restore a UN presence in Angola, including a human rights component,
following the demise of the UN peacekeeping mission in February. Ambassador Robert Fowler chairs the UN
Security Council committee on sanctions against UNITA, the rebel forces in Angola. He has just returned from
a three-week trip to southern Africa on a fact-finding mission, and has presented 14 recommendations to the
council on ways to improve the effectiveness of the sanctions regime. Additionally, at Canada's suggestion, two
expert panels will be struck to look at the key issues of how UNITA obtains its weapons of war, and how the
illegal diamond trade helps to finance the purchases.
The panels will take the 14 recommendations as their point of reference. The Angola sanctions committee has
been reinvigorated under Canadian leadership, and we hope to be able to make real progress in limiting
UNITA's ability to wage war.
Fragile Democratic Government
Another country in crisis where Canada is working through multilateral organizations is Sierra Leone. Canada
is deeply concerned about the situation in that country. Unimaginable atrocities have been inflicted upon
innocent civilians. Gross human rights abuses, including torture, amputation, rape, mutilation and the forcible
recruitment of children as combatants have torn the social fabric of this country apart. Minister Lloyd Axworthy
appointed my colleague, David Pratt, M.P. to travel to Sierra Leone in March. His report, which is now available
over the Internet, provides a vivid account of his findings. It reinforces the need for countries such as Canada to
assist the restoration of peace, the beginnings of national reconciliation and the reconstruction of the country.
The negotiations currently taking place between the rebel commanders and the fragile democratic government,
are signs of hope. Both in the UN Security Council and in the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, Canada
has encouraged sustained international attention to the problems of Sierra Leone as well as financial, military
and moral support to its fragile democratic government.
I believe that Canada's enhanced presence in Latin America and Africa demonstrates our commitment to
strengthen our partnership with the countries and people of both of these regions. This partnership offers
significant benefits to Latin America and to Africa as well as to Canada and Canadians. The UN system is an
important vehicle for Canadian co-operation with many states, particularly in Africa, and Canada remains very
determined to ensure that the UN fulfils its essential role in support of peace, security and development.
Thank you.