Peacekeeping
in the Americas
Remarks by the Hon. David Kilgour, MP for
Edmonton Southeast
and Secretary of State for Africa and Latin
America
At the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre's Symposium
on Peacekeeping in the Americas, Bogotá,
Colombia , February 19, 2001
Ladies and
gentlemen, I am delighted to be back in Bogotá
and to be able to join you today
for an important new chapter in the progress
of Canada Colombia bilateral relations.
When President
Pastrana visited Ottawa in May 1999, I recall
his conversations with Prime Minister Chrétien
on how we might enlarge our discussions
on issues of mutual interest. Canadian experiences
in the search for peace around the world
featured prominently in these conversations.
Today, we are making our leaders' exchange
of views a reality through a discussion
of peacekeeping, a concept to which Canadians
attach great importance.
Security
Council
Let me begin
by expressing congratulations to Colombians
generally on your country's election to
the UN Security Council. Your election shows
the level of support enjoyed by Colombia
internationally, and the important contributions
you have made to peace and security.
Canada completed
a two year Security Council term on December
31, 2000. We worked hard to ensure that
issues of peacekeeping and human security
were an integral part of the Council's agenda,
including specific initiatives directed
at the protection of civilians caught in
armed conflict. We are very pleased to note
the commitment of Colombia to make issues
such as stemming illegal arms sales a part
of the Security Council agenda, as these
will doubtless advance the work of the international
community in meeting the global challenge
of increased security for all our citizens.
It is a pleasure
to see such a diverse representation of
Colombian society participating in this
event. The bringing together of representatives
of the national government, civil society,
academics, business and union representatives
makes this an important forum where we can
all cooperate in examining the foundations
for improved conditions for peace and security.
This meeting
reflects the changing dynamic of global
conflict resolution efforts: all sectors
of society must work together to find appropriate,
sustainable solutions not just those who
are directly involved in conflict.
Canada and
Peacekeeping
We will be
examining an issue to which Canada's commitment
is well known. The theme of this symposium,
"Experience with Peacekeeping in the
American Hemisphere," is the product
of very close collaboration between officials
from both countries and, in particular,
the world renowned Lester B. Pearson Peacekeeping
Centre of Canada.
Over the
course of today, you will be able to review
the role that peacekeeping has had in the
resolution of conflict in the Americas and
elsewhere. Experts from Canada and across
the region will support your deliberations
and offer their perspectives on how such
actions arose in the hemisphere.
We have also
drawn on parallel experiences in Africa
and the former Yugoslavia; they too need
to be considered when reviewing modern peacekeeping
methods.
Hopefully
you will find them of value. I trust that
they will contribute in a modest way to
the principles of international peace, security
and conflict resolution that form the basis
of Colombian conflict resolution efforts.
Peacekeeping
is a major national tradition in my country.
Our involvement began with the first ever
peacekeeping initiatives organized by the
United Nations in 1956 at the time of the
Suez Crisis.
Our former
Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson, was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in creating
the international force deployed between
the Suez crisis combatants. Canada has participated
in virtually every peacekeeping mission
mounted since the 1950s, contributing to
both their military and civilian configurations.
More than
125 000 Canadian military personnel and
thousands of civilians have been deployed
in countries ranging from Ethiopia and Eritrea,
to East Timor, Kosovo, Bosnia, Cyprus, Central
America and a host of other global "hot
spots."
Colombia/Canada
Collaboration
In our peacekeeping
engagements in the Sinai and El Salvador,
as recently as the mid 1980s, we worked
closely with Colombian personnel who had
also been assigned to these duties. Canadians
fully support an active, international role
for our country in peacekeeping missions.
Last year,
a public opinion poll found that 82 percent
of Canadians support such engagements worldwide.
It is now an integral part of our national
identity or "national DNA" if
you prefer.
The Canadians
who have joined us today are here because
they believe deeply in the value of peacekeeping.
We are proud of our soldiers and civilians
who, in both official and nongovernmental
roles, contribute to initiatives in the
search for peace. The identification of
Canada as a centre of experience and knowledge
on the merits of peacekeeping owes much
to this commitment by all our citizens.
Another Canadian
contribution is the creation of the Pearson
Peacekeeping Centre. It has organized much
of the content for today's symposium, and
will offer a four day course on peacekeeping
here in Bogotá starting tomorrow.
Since 1995,
the Centre has conducted research, education
and training on peacekeeping from its campus
in Nova Scotia. There is a growing demand
for its services coming from Latin America,
including Colombia, which has recently sent
a number of officials for peacekeeping training.
Human security
Peacekeeping
is one part of a larger Canadian policy
of human security, which places a focus
on people regardless of country of residence.
It constitutes a major shift in international
relations, which has long emphasized the
security of states.
For Canada,
human security means freedom from pervasive
threats to the rights, safety or lives of
people anywhere. Canada has identified five
foreign policy priorities for advancing
human security:
• protection
of civilians, and strengthening norms and
capacity to reduce the human costs of armed
conflicts;
• peace
support operations and building UN capacities
to deploy skilled personnel, including Canadians,
to these missions;
• conflict
prevention and strengthening the capacity
of the international community to prevent
or resolve conflicts, and building local
capacity to manage conflict without violence;
• governance
and accountability and fostering improved
accountability of public and private sector
institutions in terms of established norms
of democracy and human rights; and
• public
safety and building international expertise,
capacities and instruments to counter the
growing threats posed by the rise of transnational
organized crime.
Our policy
of human security reflects Canada's understanding
of the changing dynamic of violent conflict
and the role of the international community
in its resolution. Traditionally, peacekeeping
initiatives were military operations undertaken
to two separate warring governments. The
international community provided monitoring
and verification, offering a guarantee that
the parties to an agreement complied with
their obligations.
In the post
Cold War era, the nature of armed conflict
has become more complex, requiring a different
kind of response. While the number of armed
conflicts between states has declined over
the last 25 years, the number of intrastate
conflicts has increased enormously.
Of the 108
armed conflicts since the end of the Cold
War in 1989, 101 have been fought within,
rather than between, states. Armed conflict
has become more brutal and deadly, and often
rooted in religious or ethnic discord.
Summit of
the Americas
I'd like
to say a few words about the Third Summit
of the Americas, which Canada is hosting
in Quebec City from April 20 to 22. Canada
and its hemispheric partners are shaping
the agenda for this important gathering
around three complementary and mutually
supportive themes: strengthening democracy,
creating prosperity and realizing human
potential.
We are also
considering how information and communications
technologies can help us achieve many of
the objectives on this coherent and balanced
agenda.
We are working
hard together to ensure that the Quebec
City Summit is the most substantial and
significant step yet in our ongoing and
vital work of transforming ideas and aspirations
into a better life for all citizens of the
hemisphere.
Canada believes
that progress in strengthening democratic
institutions and increasing prosperity in
the new global economy in the Americas must
go hand in hand with actions to enhance
social inclusion and access to vital services
such as quality education and health care.
And we must
achieve this in a way that respects the
value of the diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic
and religious strands that, woven together,
make up the rich tapestry that is the hemispheric
community.
We must put
people first and recognize that citizens
will be able to realize the fullness of
their capabilities only when their safety
is guaranteed, their democratic and human
rights are fully respected and their equality
of access to economic, social and cultural
opportunities is assured.
Contemporary
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
missions tend to be deployed into situations
in which a conflict has not produced a clear
victor; where there is a military stalemate.
They must respond not only to the traditional
needs for monitoring and verification, but
also to a range of issues related to the
causes and impacts of violent conflict on
society at large. As a result, peacekeepers
are challenged to contribute toward:
• mediation,
negotiation and conflict resolution between
the parties to a conflict. The objective
is usually to bring violent conflict to
a halt and create foundations for a long
term peace;
• military
peacekeeping and civilian police operations,
ensuring that agreements are implemented
in a secure environment where the compliance
of the parties can be verified; and
• a
range of long term peacebuilding activities
related to demobilization and reintegration
of former combatants; reforms to the institutions
of state responsible for governance and
security; strengthening the rule of law
and the protection and promotion of human
rights; technical assistance to democratic
development; and promoting conflict resolution
and reconciliation techniques. All of these
activities are intended to address the root
causes of violent conflict and to prevent
recurrence.
Improving
the UN's peacekeeping capacity
Canada is
committed to a robust peacekeeping capacity
that is capable of responding to such challenges.
We support the Brahimi report on improving
the UN's peacekeeping capabilities and are
working actively at the UN to achieve implementation
of the report. In particular, we contend:
• UN
missions must have clear achievable mandates.
• There
must be a firm commitment of members of
the international community, i.e. the commitment
of resources and political will must be
equal to the mandate.
• There
must be better integration of civilian police,
humanitarian and other civilian personnel
in peacekeeping operations.
• The
UN needs a rapid deployment capacity for
timely response.
• There
must be enhanced cooperation and coordination
among all involved, including the full involvement
of national actors.
The symposium
The emerging
principles and issues in peacekeeping have
been taken into account in the design of
this symposium. The morning sessions will
consider the role of the international community
in conflict resolution.
The first
panel includes a delegation from Guatemala,
comprising individuals who were involved
in negotiations leading to the signing of
the 1996 peace accords in that country.
The second will discuss conflict resolution
issues from the perspective of the United
Nations, the Organization of American States
[OAS], and of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre.
In the afternoon,
four panels will cover various aspects of
peacekeeping missions as implemented in
a post conflict situation. Issues will include:
• the
role of the military and civilian police;
• disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration of former
combatants;
• reform
to the security sector undertaken within
the context of a peace process; and
• a
review of processes used in Guatemala, South
Africa and elsewhere to promote reconciliation
and resolve matters related to past human
rights abuses.
Conclusion
Today's symposium
is by no means the definitive view of global
peacekeeping or its complexities. I hope
that you will, however, take away from these
sessions a sense of the breadth of experiences
that can be brought to bear in these initiatives.
I hope they will encourage further consideration
and debate among Colombian interlocutors
and society.
Canada, a
"Pais Amigo" firmly committed
to the search for peace around the world,
stands ready to help Colombia - a country
with the longest democratic tradition in
South America.
Thank you
very much. Merci beaucoup. Muchas gracias.
|
