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<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. GRAHAM - ADDRESS AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO CONSULTATIONS - OTTAWA, ONTARIO</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE BILL GRAHAM, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO CONSULTATIONS OTTAWA, Ontario February 3, 2003 First, let me welcome you to the 15th annual Human Rights Consultations among Canadian human rights non-governmental organizations, representatives of Aboriginal peoples of Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). As this audience knows better than most, these days the entire world is at a particularly critical juncture; one that demands our continued determination to protect and advance human rights. Conflicts within and between states are bringing devastation to countless civilians; millions of people still live in poverty; and HIV/AIDS threatens to destroy families, communities and nations in many regions of the world. As the international community takes on the new threats of terrorism, we must combat this danger not least by addressing the factors that fuel social instability and create environments in which political or religious extremism can flourish. In view of the dangers posed by fragile and poorly governed states, Canada is committed to working with the international community to strengthen the governing institutions and judicial systems of such states, to hold their leaders accountable, and to support the rule of law. And in the measures we take to combat the threat of terrorism more directly, we must be vigilant to ensure that counterterrorism measures respect our human rights obligations, both domestic and international. We speak of fighting terrorism in the name of freedom. When we do so, we must remind ourselves that among the freedoms we have fought for and must preserve are ones guaranteeing freedom from arbitrary detention, disappearance or extrajudicial execution. Surely we must not compromise these fundamental civil and political rights in the name of preserving them. In this context, I can assure you that Canada is strongly committed to our human security agenda, which holds that the security of individuals is no less important than the security of states. We will continue to make this a priority in the months ahead. As we try to resolve the crisis in Iraq, we are committed to seeking a peaceful resolution through United Nations weapons inspectors and through Iraq's complete and active support in the process of disarmament. The UN Security Council, with its unique mandate to ensure the peace and security of the world community, was created to address precisely the kind of situation we are facing today. It is the most credible way in which the world community can collectively address Iraq's failure to meet its international obligations. At the same time, the international community must find a way of proceeding here that renews prospects for peace in the Middle East, and avoids creating further divisions between Islamic countries and the West. Our current approach to the Iraq crisis is part of our ongoing commitment to multilateralism more generally, not only as a tool that often is best suited to advance our own national interests, but also as a means of giving legitimacy and authority to decisions taken by strong and weaker nations alike. In our increasingly interdependent world, multilateralism is a necessary way of proceeding, we believe, since it allows the community of nations to address problems that affect everyone and that no nation is capable of solving on its own. But in order for international institutions to succeed in bringing about results that cannot be achieved through unilateralism or small coalitions, these institutions themselves must operate in a way that confers legitimacy and authority on their decisions. That is why we consider it our priority to work to reform and strengthen institutions such as the UN. This concern is particularly salient with respect to the UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR), which is the pre-eminent forum where human rights issues are addressed by the international community. Over the years, the CHR has had some success, but it is now facing a critical test. As we argue that all nations should stay within the framework of the UN process, we need to be able to point to a credible multilateral institution that is capable of fulfilling its mandate. That is why, as we approach the CHR this year, I have serious concerns. Doubtless many of you share similar ones. The credibility of the CHR has been damaged of late, most recently with the election of Libya as Chair of the Commission, but also through a widening North-South divide, with the increasing politicization of the Commission around Middle East issues, and with the failure of specific country resolutions due to hardening divisions between regional groups. To maintain the credibility of the United Nations system and the CHR, a strong commitment to principle must be upheld; and that is why Canada took a strong stand against the nomination of Libya to the Chair. Yet for the CHR to be credible to all, we must be aware of the reality that credibility means different things to different people. We must be sensitive to perceptions of a growing divide between the West and Muslim countries, and we must take care to ensure that our actions are not perceived as attacks against Islam but rather as a concerted effort to ensure global respect for human rights standards. For countries of the West, credibility means having a chair with a respected record on human rights. It also means resisting the overwhelming politicization of the discussions on the Middle East to the point where over half of the Commission's time is spent on one country, leaving no time to address other serious human rights failures around the world, such as in Zimbabwe, Chechnya, Iran and Equatorial Guinea. Credibility also means overcoming the "no action" motions that block progress on contentious issues. For many developing countries, however, credibility means having an institution capable of addressing what they consider to be their most pressing needs: namely, economic, social and cultural rights. For the Western Group, as you know, this presents difficulties. In Canada we take our international obligations seriously, hesitating to make commitments until we are confident in our ability to implement them fully. Before we are prepared to endorse new obligations, the federal government must work with the provinces to ensure that these obligations are understood and can be incorporated into domestic practice. As we consider this year's Commission, we need to encourage creative thinking about how we can overcome the deadlock of regional groupings and restore the credibility of the CHR from the point of view of all parties. At this year's session we have a formidable job ahead of us. First I'd like to thank Marie Gervais Vidricaire for the outstanding job she did as Head of the Canadian Delegation at last year's session. I am pleased to announce that this year the Delegation will be led by our Ambassador in Geneva, Christopher Westdal. Ambassador Westdal is here with us today, and I know he looks forward to hearing your views. Now that we have the situation of Libya as the Commission Chair, we will work on fostering constructive dialogue with Libya in order to help influence its behaviour, both at the Commission and within its own borders. From that point of view, Libya's high profile as Chair of the Commission may serve as an important point of entry for states seeking to influence its behaviour. And despite the challenges facing us, we should not underestimate the progress the Commission has made in the promotion and protection of human rights. The Commission has focused world attention on specific violations of human rights and on violators of human rights. In the last few years its work has resulted in two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and the creation of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The Commission created the position of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples and consolidated a separate agenda item on this issue. In looking toward our work at this year's Commission and beyond, one of Canada's priorities is to ensure that the promotion and protection of human rights is better integrated into our bilateral relations with other countries. Canada will continue to consult with states from all UN regional groups in advance of the Commission to clarify positions on controversial issues such as country resolutions, and in particular on economic, social and cultural rights. As many of you know, this department has been working domestically on this latter issue throughout the year. Some of you will have participated at a workshop this fall that was sponsored by DFAIT and Justice Canada, in collaboration with Rights & Democracy and the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation. Among other issues, the workshop looked at whether economic, social and cultural rights were justiciable, and the question of an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The need to restore the credibility of the CHR in the eyes of the world is one of the reasons why your contributions today are so valuable. I urge you to consider Canada's approach in this light, since it will need to be informed by the insights of experts such as yourselves. Although the Commission on Human Rights is foremost on our minds, I would like to take the time now to note some other more general questions for Canada in the area of human rights. One of these issues is the continuing plight of children in the world. Canada was pleased with the outcome of the Special Session on Children held in May of last year. In fulfilling our commitments undertaken at the Special Session, the Canadian government is preparing a National Plan of Action, and seeking the views of civil society in this regard. We also remain committed to international women's equality and women's human rights. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Canada was able to secure language on women's human rights despite strong efforts by other states to break away from international commitments made at the Beijing and Cairo Conferences. We are pleased to be taking the lead again this year on the Commission's annual resolution on the elimination of violence against women. Another priority for Canada is the rights and well-being of war-affected populations. As you may know, DFAIT supports a number of projects and programs aimed at enhancing civilian protection and addressing impunity issues. For example, this past year we funded a number of regional initiatives in Africa aimed at strengthening and understanding the applicability of international humanitarian law. We have continued to support efforts to improve the protection of internally displaced persons. Refugee protection is another key component of our efforts. Over the past 18 months, DFAIT, in conjunction with Citizenship and Immigration Canada and CIDA, as well as with many Canadian NGOs, has been participating in the UNHCR-led Global Consultations on Refugee Protection. This exercise has resulted in the development of an Agenda for Protection, which should help guide work around refugee protection and assistance for the next three to five years. Canada is also leading international follow-up to the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. Its landmark report, The Responsibility to Protect, offers principles to guide a timely response by the international community when people are being inadequately protected by their own governments. While intervention may be required as a last resort, the responsibility to protect also entails responsibilities to prevent conflict and to rebuild conflict-torn societies. Bringing perpetrators to justice is also an essential part of any comprehensive effort to protect victims and to deter crimes. In this context, the establishment of the International Criminal Court is fundamental to the elimination of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. We are seeing a decisive global movement to end impunity for serious international crimes, and I am pleased that Canada will once again take the lead on the resolution on impunity at the Commission. Let me conclude by reiterating how important the views of civil society are to the development of Canadian foreign policy. These annual conferences, for example, have played a key role in helping us define our priorities and develop strategies to advance human rights norms. I should add here an invitation to participate in a wider public consultation process that I have recently launched, called A Dialogue on Foreign Policy. This exercise is intended to update Canada's approach to foreign policy in light of changes in the world over the past decade, and I am inviting civil society groups as well as experts and the general public to join me in this project. As the domestic and international environments become more and more inter-linked, it is vital that we continue to engage in dialogue in order to exchange information and articulate positions on common working issues. We will probably continue to have some differences, but I am certain that we can achieve a more unified voice in our common fight for human rights. This is a priority for the government, it is a priority for this department and it is a priority for me. Thank you. </body> </html>

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