Africa
Society 2000
Notes for a presentation
by Hon. David Kilgour, Secretary
of State (Latin America
and Africa)
to University of Alberta
Conference on Prospects
for an African Renaissance:
Culture, Development and
Reconciliation
Humanities Building, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, February
25, 2000
Your Excellency,
ladies and gentlemen.
I do not
believe for a moment that human rights are
less important to the 700 million residents
of the African continent than to peoples
anywhere else on earth.
Indeed, it
has occurred to me often that basic respect
for one another, in many respects, is greater
among Africans than elsewhere. For example,
when you meet someone on the streets of
cities across Africa you would not think
twice of saying "good morning"
or "good afternoon" before asking
directions. There are myriad other examples
of this courtesy.
Unfortunately,
North Americans tend to focus on the disastrous
situations -- the so-called hot spots. The
successful stories of reconciliation and
forgiveness, such as Archbishop Tutu described
at the University of Toronto get lost. Who
among us can not be permanently changed
by Desmond Tutu or Nelson Mandela, who after
27 years in prison walked through the gates
of Victor Verster prison to the jubilation
of the on looking crowds?
HUMAN RIGHTS
IN CANADIAN FOREIGN POLICY
The international
protection and promotion of human rights
is an integral part of Canadian foreign
policy, not only because respect for human
rights is a fundamental Canadian value,
but also because respect for human rights
is a crucial element in the development
of stable societies at peace with each other.
Goal of Canada’s
foreign policy is to influence other governments
to respect international human rights principles,
in keeping with their obligations under
international law.
Cross-cutting themes which Canada keeps
at the forefront of our dialogues on human
rights include women’s human rights,
children’s rights, indigenous concerns,
and the fight against impunity.
Canada uses bilateral and multilateral tools
to influence others to respect international
human rights principles. The key is effective
influence, using the tools which will best
influence those governments.
Bilateral dialogue:
influence
through constructive dialogue and engagement
advocacy based on example: We do not expect
others to do what we do not.
support, primarily through CIDA programming,
human rights training and strengthening
of institutions that protect and promote
human rights, including in Africa.
Multilateral tools:
Canada works
effectively through a number of multilateral
fora to influence other governments to respect
human rights: United Nations, Commonwealth,
Francophonie, Organisation of American States
(OAS), the Organization on Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the International
Labour Organization.
UN is the preeminent body through which
we work for the promotion and protection
of human rights; however, in Africa the
Commonwealth and the Francophonie provide
important and increasingly useful fora and
mechanisms for moving the human rights agenda
forward.
Multilateral mechanisms allow us to deliver
hard messages and increase our leverage.
United Nations
Canada supports
the office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights, which is engaged in building
up human rights structures and institutions
in Africa, and also the UN bodies and mechanisms
for implementation and monitoring of human
rights.
Canada makes statements in UN fora, including
on country-specific situations at the UN
General Assembly and Commission on Human
Rights, in which we publicly criticize or
encourage countries on their human rights
records.
Every year at the UN General Assembly and
at the Commission on Human Rights, Canada
leads a number of resolutions on human rights
themes (including on impunity, violence
against women, freedom of opinion and expression,
mass exodus of people due to human rights
violations, indigenous peoples). We also
cosponsor a number of thematic and country
resolutions on issues such as the death
penalty, Rwanda, Iran, Sudan, DRC.
Canada has provided strong support for the
work of International War Crimes Tribunals
and the recent adoption of the statute to
establish an International Criminal Court.
NGO consultations:
An important
element of Canada’s approach to the
international promotion of human rights
is the ongoing dialogue between Government
and human rights NGOs. In addition to ongoing
contacts with the NGOs involved in international
human rights work, every year, prior to
the Commission on Human Rights session,
the Department of Foreign Affairs holds
in depth consultations which facilitate
NGO input into the establishment of Canadian
priorities for the CHR.
CANADA’S
HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY IN AFRICA
In the African
context, protection and promotion of human
rights is a major preoccupation. Regrettably we have not seen a trend to
improvements in the human rights situation.
Indeed, with the notable exceptions of South
Africa and more recently Nigeria, the human
rights situation in many countries of Africa
has deteriorated. Canada has been active on human rights in
Sierra Leone and the Sudan, but as these
will be discussed in detail by my fellow
panellists, I will not raise them. Rather, I will talk first about Canada’s
pressure on Nigeria to return to democracy,
using a Commonwealth mechanism which was
an initiative of Prime Minister Chrétien;
secondly, I shall touch on a region of continued
instability, the Great Lakes region, specifically
the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi;
and finally, I shall comment on Canadian
activities in Africa on three issues which
relate directly to human rights: war-affected
children, landmines and small arms.
A: NIGERIA:
The case
of Nigeria illustrates how the international
community, with solidarity and commitment,
can bring pressure to bear on a regime guilty
of human rights violations.
During the 1995 Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM), despite representations
led by Prime Minister Chrétien and
President Mandela, the Nigerian military
regime executed writer Ken Saro Wiwa and
others. This precipitated Commonwealth action
against Nigeria.
Prime Minister Chrétien proposed
the establishment of Commonwealth mechanisms
to respond to grave governance problems.
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group
(CMAG), of which Canada is a member, was
established to investigate serious, persistent
violations of the Harare Principles, adopted
at the Harare CHOGM in 1991. Nigeria was
suspended from the Commonwealth "pending
return to compliance with the principles
of the Harare Declaration".
Since its establishment, Canada has played
a leadership role in CMAG. At the first
CMAG meeting, my predecessor Christine Stewart,
in the face of stiff opposition, convinced
the Group that both positive and negative
measures should be used to bring about change
in Nigeria.. Canada also convinced CMAG
to hear oral representations from Nigerian
civil society and from NGOs.
At the Edinburgh CHOGM, CMAG presented its
report on Nigeria’s violation of the
Harare principles of democratic government,
rule of law and independence of the judiciary,
and respect for human rights. Heads of Government
agreed that if Nigeria did not present a
credible programme for the restoration of
democracy, expulsion from the Commonwealth
would be considered.
In June 1998 the Nigerian dictator, Sani
Abacha, died and Nigeria’s transition
to elected civilian rule, in line with the
Harare Principles, was hastened.
Throughout the CMAG process, Canada maintained
a firm line based on the objective of bringing
the Nigerian government back to observance
of the Harare Principles. I am happy to
report that the present Nigerian leadership
appears determined to make Nigeria a model
of good governance and respect for human
rights.
B: THE GREAT LAKES
If Nigeria
can be considered a success in the international
promotion of human rights and good governance,
the African Great Lakes region can be considered
an area of considerable concern and instability.
I preface my comments on the region with
two general remarks:
First, Canada
believes that perpetrators of genocide,
crimes against humanity and other grave
violations of international law must be
brought to justice. To have peace we must
put an end to the culture of impunity.
Second, Canada is deeply concerned about
the instability of the African Great Lakes
region. Accordingly we continue to underline
to all signatories of the Lusaka Accord
the importance of respecting the terms of
that Accord in order to achieve peace in
the region.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Canada is
deeply concerned by the human rights situation
in the DRC. The UN Special Rapporteur on
the DRC has reported ongoing and serious
violations of human rights including harassment,
arrest and detention of members of human
rights organizations; cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment of detainees; violations
of rights to freedom of expression and opinion
and of movement. Canada calls on all parties
to put an end to the systematic and massive
violations of human rights in the DRC.
Canada co-sponsored a resolution in the
UN General Assembly calling on all belligerents
in the DRC to respect the terms of the Lusaka
Accord and to respect the human rights of
the people of DRC.
Canada wishes to play a more active role
in Central Africa, especially in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC). In support of the
Lusaka Agreement, we have announced a $500,000
contribution to the Joint Military Commission
(JMC), established to oversee the implementation
of the Agreement, $1 million in support
of the Intercongolese Dialogue and $1 million
in support of the National Commission for
Demobilization and Re-integration of Child
Soldiers.
Restoring peace to the DRC will be a long
and drawn out process which will tax the
resolve of the international community.
Burundi
Canada has
welcomed the nomination of Nelson Mandela
as Facilitator of the Arusha Peace Process
and has contributed $1.275 million to this
process in the belief that a negotiated
political solution is the only means of
achieving a durable peace and the resumption
of long-term, sustainable development in
Burundi.
Through bilateral dialogue with the Government
of Burundi and interventions in UN fora,
Canada continues to raise its concerns regarding
the continuing violence against the civilian
population, perpetrated by all parties,
and attacks on humanitarian workers.
By the same means, Canada urges all parties
to the conflict in Burundi, including the
armed groups, to conclude a cease-fire agreement
as soon as possible; to ensure safe and
unhindered humanitarian access to affected
populations; to ensure that refugees and
internally displaced persons are protected
and enabled to return in safety to their
homes; and to provide guarantees for the
safety, security and freedom of movement
of United Nations and associated personnel.
Canada insists that all perpetrators of
human rights and humanitarian law violations
be held accountable for their actions.
Canada also urges the Government of Burundi
to abide by its decision to dismantle the
regroupment camps, in which it is estimated
that over 850,000 persons are confined without
access to the most basic of human needs.
Furthermore, soldiers have been looting
abandoned properties and killing individuals
found outside these camps. Canada calls
for full access to these camps by humanitarian
workers and human rights observers.
These comments outline our concerns for
human rights in this troubled region and
detail some of the action Canada has and
is taking in support of human rights in
these countries. But Canada is active also
on a number of issues which cut across geographical
boundaries.
THEMES
1. WAR AFFECTED
CHILDREN
The plight
of war-affected children, in particular
the emerging trend of targeting children
both as fighters and as victims, is one
of the most disturbing human security issues
facing the world at the beginning of the
21st Century.
The issue of war-affected children is one
of the priorities on Canada’s human
security agenda. Through existing bilateral,
regional and multilateral networks, Canada
is an active player amongst a growing number
of countries committed to war-affected children.
Canada’s over-arching objective is
to promote and protect the welfare and rights
of war-affected children. This includes
:
-
preventing the targeting of children in
times of war;
-
raising the minimum age for recruitment
in armed forces and participation in combat;
-
the demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration
of war-affected children into their families
and communities.
To this end, Canada has positioned itself
to play a leadership role on the issue of
war-affected children in two central ways:
1. This April
in Accra, Canada will co-host with the Government
of Ghana a regional conference on war-affected
children. The meeting will consider concrete
measures with relevance for West Africa
and undoubtedly for the DRC and the Great
Lakes region. The lessons learned from these
measures will be shared and built upon at
a global conference to be hosted in Canada
in September 2000;
2. The September
conference in Canada will address the full
range of problems of all war-affected children
and aims at producing a global plan of action
to consolidate political and programmatic
commitments to protect children.
2. LANDMINES
As you know,
Canada led the world in the fight against
the use of landmines, which resulted in
the Ottawa conference in December 1998.
However, the Ottawa Treaty is not Canada's
achievement alone. I wish to pay special
tribute to the African NGOs and diplomats
who assisted in this undertaking.
Africa has been at the forefront of the
issue since the beginning of the Ottawa
Process, from the leadership role that South
Africa undertook in the negotiation and
drafting of the treaty to Mozambique’s
hosting of the First Meeting of States Parties.
Our shared pride in this achievement does
not blind us to the fact that much remains
to be done to bring the Convention into
force, and to ensure implementation. Canada
and our African partners cannot wait for
these objectives to implement themselves,
and we are not waiting.
There are now 137 signatories to the Ottawa
Treaty and 91 ratifications. We hope to
achieve 100 ratifications by 1 March, 2000,
the first anniversary of the Convention.
We urge all African countries to join those
who have already acceded to the treaty.
In the meantime, work must continue on the
removal of the millions landmines which
still lie in the ground after decades of
war and thousands of victims. Canada has
pledged $100 million to this urgent humanitarian
effort, including $2 million committed the
United Nations. Significant portions of
this budget will go to Africa where over
thirty million landmines, indiscriminately
laid in rural fields and paths, kill and
maim hundreds of innocent victims in 18
countries.
3. ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN SMALL ARMS
The
increasing illicit traffic
in small arms is a major
human security issue facing
our modern world and one
which Canada has raised
in several international fora.
In 2001, the UN will hold
a major international conference
on the illicit traffic in
small arms and light weapons
in all its aspects.
The Organization of African
Unity (OAU) is formally
coordinating the African
input to the UN-sponsored
conference. Kenya will host
a sub-regional small arms
conference, in advance of
the OAU planned sub-regional
process. As there has been
no previous activity on
arms proliferation from
a sub-regional perspective,
this conference will allow
countries of the sub-region
to meet and begin to frame
a perspective. Outcomes
of this meeting will feed
into the OAU preparatory
process.
The objective of the Kenyan
conference is to provide
a forum to negotiate a common
approach to combat the accumulation
and circulation of small
arms that is currently evident
in the African sub-region.
It is also hoped that the
conference will contribute
in a practical way to the
search for peaceful resolutions
to the conflicts in the
sub-region, and to the international
initiatives underway on
the issue of small arms.
Canada is working with the
Government of Kenya on this
issue and has provided support
in the form of expert advise
and on-the-ground participation
in the preparation of this
conference. Of course, we
will be officially represented
at the Conference itself.
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