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<p><font size="+1"></font><font size="+1"><strong>2004/2 <u>CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY</u></strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>THE HONOURABLE BILL GRAHAM,</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>AT THE NGO HUMAN RIGHTS CONSULTATIONS</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>OTTAWA, Ontario</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>February 2, 2004</strong></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">I would like to welcome you to the Department of Foreign Affairs. This is an important
event on our calendar, and I thank you for coming to share your views and expertise
with us. All of us here today know that success in advancing human rights underpins so
many of the other goals Canada wants to achieve in the world: without human rights
there is no security for individuals, no prospects for their social, economic and cultural
development, and ultimately no lasting security or prosperity for communities and
states. The advancement of human rights is therefore a major goal of Canadian foreign
policy, and your presence here today is vital to keeping our country's efforts in all of
these areas on the right track for the year ahead.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Looking back at the past year, it has to be said that it was a difficult one for the human
rights community. In Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, humanitarian workers and
defenders of human rights came under attack, resulting in the loss of lives of people,
including several Canadians, who were dedicated to improving the lot of others. The
bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad killed the remarkable Sergio de Mello,
whose loss was deeply felt by all of us here, particularly by those whose privilege it had
been to come to know him. For the sake of those who died in the cause of human rights
last year, such attacks must leave us determined to find ways of ensuring that the
ideals these people stood for will continue to be pursued, even in the most dangerous
parts of the world. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">In the area of rights promotion and protection, the situation today is difficult. Global
tensions stirred up by Iraq have further polarized views on sovereignty and non-intervention within the UN membership, hardening opposition to global human rights
and humanitarian activism. Although these problems will likely persist in the near future,
they should not blind us to the fact that Iraqis now have the chance to build a society
that is respectful of the rights of its peoples, and the international community has the
chance to work alongside them in achieving this.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">We should also look at the accomplishments of 2003. Despite very real challenges to
women's human rights, particularly in areas of gender-based violence, sexual and
reproductive rights, and HIV/AIDS, the agenda was advanced last year. Gains here
included the successful renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for violence
against women. With respect to human rights in Iran, Canada took the lead on a
resolution at the UN General Assembly to highlight the current situation and spur
progress in reforms. And in Afghanistan, the country's newly adopted democratic
Constitution includes unprecedented provisions to ensure gender equality, and the first
ever recognition of minority rights.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Within the UN system and in many other forums, we promoted the notion that states,
and ultimately the world community, have a responsibility to protect civilians from
genocide and other forms of atrocity. Our continuing efforts to advance this cause will
gain strength in the coming year, we hope, in light of the growing movement for UN
reform, as well as the 10th anniversary commemorations of the Rwandan genocide. In
combatting impunity, Canada continued to work hard this year in promoting the
ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
We have been helping the Court to function effectively, and were pleased to see a
Canadian named as its first president. Finally, another notable achievement of 2003
was Canada's leadership in spurring the Human Security Network to seek innovative
ways of improving the functioning of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">As you know, in looking toward substantive progress on human rights in 2004, all roads
seem to converge on the goal of reforming the UN and the Commission on Human
Rights. Realistically, though, we have to anticipate another difficult session this year,
with recurrent problems and international tensions still in play. While Canada is not on
the Commission this year, I can assure you that we will be leading on a number of
resolutions, and will be active in negotiating many others. I am pleased to announce
that Ambassador Paul Meyer will lead the Canadian delegation to the Commission this
year. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Now, let me review a few of this year's priority issues. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">On indigenous rights, we will be working with other states and representatives of
indigenous peoples toward a successful conclusion of negotiations on the UN Draft
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Later this month we will be consulting
with Canadian Aboriginal organizations to help build the consensus and compromises
necessary to achieve our common goal.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">On women's rights, Canada will again be leading a resolution on the elimination of
violence against women. We intend to work together with like-minded countries to
counter the trend toward political and cultural polarization of women's rights that we
witnessed at last fall's General Assembly, where only a resolution on domestic violence
was adopted. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Another of our top priorities will be the protection of civilians in armed conflict. As you
know, issues of humanitarian access, international humanitarian law, sexual and
gender-based violence and internally displaced people remain difficult subjects for
member states to discuss. Indeed, opposition to this agenda is becoming better
organized in the General Assembly and the CHR. Progress here will largely depend on
the ability of civil society groups such as yourselves to raise public awareness of the
issues and put pressure on undecided states.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">In addition to these issues, we will maintain our commitment to protecting and
promoting the rights of children around the world, and to combatting discrimination in all
of its forms. We will also be active in the negotiations around economic, social and
cultural rights.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">On behalf of the Canadian government and this Department, I assure you that we will
be doing our part in the coming year in the promotion of human rights around the world,
and particularly in implementing existing standards. The efforts that we will be making
will draw significantly on the views and suggestions you have to offer. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Our efforts will also be drawing on the new energies and priorities of Prime Minister
Martin, and on the International Policy Review he has charged me to carry out. I believe
that we're entering a very dynamic and productive period for Canada's international
profile and our activities abroad. The Prime Minister is committed to seeing our country
be more active in the world--to making our country a catalyst in the global effort to
produce a renewed multilateral system that can be more effective in promoting respect
for human rights. He also wants to see Canada working to ensure that global
development strategies link economic growth with social development and the rule of
law. This latter agenda will obviously bring important gains for the rights of persons in
developing countries.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">We know that Canadians want us to be more active in improving the global order and
the lives of persons beyond our borders. I heard that message from citizens across the
country during the Dialogue on Foreign Policy last year, and I certainly heard it from the
briefs that many of your organizations submitted to the Dialogue. Over the next months,
I'll be leading a comprehensive review of our international policy with the aim of seeing
how we can best define our priorities, and how we can organize ourselves across the
whole of government to pursue our aims and support them with adequate resources. I
believe that at the end of this review we will have a government that is more effective in
addressing the human rights concerns that you are here to discuss today.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Change won't happen overnight, of course, not within Canada nor within international
organizations or the world at large. Eleanor Roosevelt was a visionary in this respect,
as in many others, when she said, "All big changes in human history have been arrived
at slowly and through many compromises." </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">I can tell you, however, that the issues you have come here to advise us on are ones
that we embrace wholeheartedly, and they will continue to be central to our international
policy. We rely on civil society groups such as yourselves to be our partners in pursuing
human rights, and we are looking forward to hearing your ideas about areas where
Canada could focus more productively, and where we could work better together. I
believe this will be a significant year for our common efforts, and I look forward to
working with you on them.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Thank you very much. </font></p>
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