Address
to Organization of American States
Notes for an address by the Honourable David
Kilgour, Secretary of State
(Latin America & Africa)
To the Permanent Council of the Organization
of American States
Washington, D.C., November 20, 1997
It is a great
honour for me to be here today in this meeting
of the Permanent Council. I would also like
to express my gratitude for the opportunity
to provide a Canadian perspective on the future
of our continent.
As the new
Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa),
I have already travelled to some countries
of the hemisphere (Bolivia, Chile, Peru
and Colombia), and I am impressed by the
growing political will in governments and
civil society, including my own, to work
together in regional intergovernmental institutions
toward solutions to problems that have no
borders. At a time when multilateral institutions
are called into question, it is opportune
to take stock of our record of achievement
and clarify the challenge ahead.
For more
than 50 years Canada has made multilateralism
a centrepiece of our foreign policy. Multilateralism
serves us with weight and balance when extraordinary
or difficult measures are called for. Over
the next few days, Canadian ministers will
meet with their Asian counterparts, as well
as representatives from Chile and Mexico,
as Canada hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation Forum in Vancouver. Again, Canada
seeks the balance and the opportunity for
collective action presented by this transpacific
forum. This is the fundamental reason for
our active participation in the OAS [Organization
of American States] since 1990.
Canadians
believe that joint action among member nations
of the hemisphere ensures lasting solutions
to the challenging problems confronting
all nations of the Americas. This includes
growing poverty, increasing environmental
degradation, the scourge of the drug trade
and its consequent criminal behaviour, the
continuing discrimination against the more
vulnerable members of our societies, and
the insufficient protection of basic human
rights. All these issues are in the final
analysis challenges to the very souls, if
you like, of democracies in the hemisphere.
Canada is
a country of the Americas. This is a fact
created by geography and now confirmed by
history. Our economic ties have been enhanced
by the growing number of Canadians, now
in the hundreds of thousands, originating
from virtually every country in Latin America
and the Caribbean. Their presence has enriched
our national fabric, forged unbreakable
bonds and sensitized our country to the
promise and the richness of the Americas.
The Chrétien government, of which
I am proud to be a member, is committed
to promoting awareness of the OAS and the
benefits it brings to Canadian society.
The question I'd pose here today is: how
can the OAS make a difference in the lives
of the citizens of this hemisphere?
Canada has
built a multifaceted presence in the hemisphere
in recent years. We intend to build on this
presence in activities that reflect our
common values. This will entail in my view
three major challenges confronting all our
nations:
ensuring
that economic integration leads to prosperity
with social justice, thus aiding in the
enhancement and preservation of democracy;
strengthening democratic institutions and
practices and enshrining the principle of
sustainable development in the region; and
promoting human security, particularly for
the most vulnerable groups of society, as
a key concept in policy making in the hemisphere.
In our view, the OAS is the foremost multilateral
institution that can pioneer the policies
and programs to deal with these challenges.
Prosperity
with Equity
Economic
integration is a growing trend in the region,
buttressed by growing evidence of its beneficial
net impact on job creation and income levels.
As a government, we are firm believers in
establishing rules-based trade regimes with
effective dispute tribunals to foster an
open and predictable free-trading environment.
This is a crucial element in enhancing prosperity,
including our own. This is why Canada is
a strong supporter of a Free Trade Area
of the Americas [FTAA], a concept that we
can realize together by 2005. The work of
the OAS Trade Unit in generating the vital
research, analysis and momentum sorely needed
by governments for these FTAA negotiations
should be commended. Here is an example
of how the OAS is preparing to serve the
hemisphere in the future, and not merely
delivering programs designed in the past.
Of course,
the evidence is less conclusive on whether
integration necessarily leads to the narrowing
of income disparities. This is a particularly
serious issue in most of this hemisphere,
where the uneven distribution of incomes
is a major problem. This, in turn, is a
most formidable challenge to the very existence
of democratic governments in the region
for the foreseeable future. As a firm believer
in the principles of responsible productivity
and shared prosperity, Canada continues
to advocate poverty reduction as a key component
of international cooperation in the region.
We will continue to transfer expertise,
skills and technology in support of socially
oriented governance. Our development assistance
programs contribute $800 million yearly
to the region. They aim at fostering political,
economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Our programs place particular importance
on traditionally marginalized groups, such
as women and indigenous people, recognizing
that their integration into the full economic
life of a country is an important prerequisite
for development and preservation of democracy
and security. The newly reformed Inter-American
Council for Integral Development [CIDI],
along with specific programs run by other
OAS bodies, such as the Drug Abuse Control
Commission [CICAD] and the Commission on
Women [CIM], will contribute to poverty
reduction, and to the improvement of social
conditions of the more vulnerable individuals
of the region. We welcome, in particular,
the focus being placed on this challenge
by leaders at the Summit of the Americas,
and we are encouraged by the ongoing efforts
to better coordinate the activities of the
Pan-American Health Organization, the Inter-American
Development Bank and the OAS Committee on
Sustainable Development.
A new priority
is emerging with respect to the emphasis
on the social and economic integration of
persons with disabilities. As we are well
aware, disability cuts across all countries
and communities; it affects all cultures,
all age groups, all economic levels and
all backgrounds. The number of persons with
disabilities is increasing throughout the
world, in part because of civil strife,
declining preventive health programs and
inadequate education programs. Full participation
and integration into the workforce and full
productivity are goals yet to be achieved.
Thus, Canada welcomes the idea of an Inter-American
Convention for the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination for Reasons of Disability,
and hopes that the eventual OAS Convention
can set enforceable and achievable standards
for the equitable treatment of persons with
disabilities. For Canadians, civil society
includes and values the contribution of
people with disabilities and it protects
their right to a productive life with dignity.
Democracy
and Sustainable Development
One of the
first initiatives that Canada advanced on
joining the OAS was a proposal to create
a Unit for the Promotion of Democracy [UPD],
a unique mechanism for the enhancement of
democratic culture and practices across
the hemisphere. The universal acceptance
that the UPD enjoys today among all OAS
member states shows that democracy in the
hemisphere is now considered as more than
an exclusively domestic issue. This is why
the governments of Colombia and Guyana have
called for OAS election observers. Canada
also commends the work of the UPD's De-mining
Program, which deals with issues that will
remain long after the signing of the Land
Mines treaty -- again, another example of
the OAS taking on cross-cutting complex
issues that can only be solved through collective
action.
My country
has also been a leader in advancing the
concept of sustainable development and of
integrating economic, social and environmental
objectives. This Canadian approach was reflected
in the Bolivia Summit on Sustainable Development,
where governments agreed on 65 initiatives
in five areas: health and education; sustainable
agriculture and forests; sustainable cities
and communities; water resources and coastal
areas; and energy and minerals. Governments
of this hemisphere are looking to the Council
on Sustainable Development and the OAS Unit
on Sustainable Development to maintain the
momentum coming out of Santa Cruz and to
achieve measurable regional progress on
the Bolivia Action Plan.
Human Security
As my colleague
the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, Canada's
Minister of Foreign Affairs, noted in his
recent speech to the United Nations General
Assembly, the concept of human security
means tackling other severe menaces besides
the scourge of war. Threats such as poverty,
human rights violations, crime and terrorism,
and depletion or pollution of natural resources
are far too common throughout the world.
Canada has much to offer in addressing,
in innovative ways, issues that cut across
traditional boundaries. Examples include
the campaign to ban landmines, identifying
and addressing the root causes of conflict,
and improving our ability to respond to
crises when we cannot prevent them.
The countries
of this hemisphere have been most supportive
of the Ottawa Process to seek a total ban
on the production, stockpile and transfer
of anti-personnel landmines. The role of
the OAS working group on de-mining under
the Committee on Hemispheric Security must
be applauded, and I feel proud to reaffirm
Canada's commitment to free the Americas
of the scourge of landmines by the year
2000. We look forward to seeing representatives
from your nations next month in Ottawa.
One of the
most distressing developments in the region
in recent years has been the explosion of
social violence, particularly among urban
populations.
This problem
is directly tied to the increase in narco-trafficking
across our borders, and the related crimes
of corruption and money laundering. All
these trends have a deeply destabilizing
effect on democratic governments and lead
to increased violations of human rights
by police forces. Working together, we can
reduce the level of violence and the impact
of organized crime, both of which affect
the quality of life of many peoples and
threaten democracy in our hemisphere. The
signature of the OAS Convention Against
the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking
in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and
Other Related Material last week is proof
positive of our political will to begin
taking collective action against crime and
violence in the hemisphere. The Convention
is a vivid illustration of regional action
in the field of human security. Its implementation
will enhance our capacity to meet our shared
objectives in the hemisphere: the consolidation
of democratic values, the fostering of greater
respect for human rights, the promotion
of a rules-based system governing relations
between states. The Hemispheric Anti-Drug
Strategy and the steady progress in its
implementation by member states as coordinated
by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control
Commission (CICAD), along with the Inter-American
Convention Against Corruption, constitute
ground-breaking multilateral cooperation.
We must strive for the highest common standards
in treaty negotiations, and ensure that
future legal instruments are practical,
enforceable and universally acceptable.
The new era
of hemispheric cooperation exemplified by
the revitalization of intergovernmental
institutions such as the OAS, and the flourishing
of the Summit of the Americas process, which
is taking place in this decade, provides
Canadians with an unprecedented opportunity
to assist in addressing these three main
challenges, not only bilaterally, but increasingly,
multilaterally. Canada is committed to seeing
greater integration between the OAS and
the Summit of the Americas agenda. We must
make it a common goal to avoid duplication
where feasible, and to cooperate where practical,
integrating mandates and objectives collectively.
The challenge facing all multilateral organizations
— and the OAS is not excluded from
this — is to set priorities, develop
innovative mechanisms and provide rapid
responses as needed. As leaders of our governments
set new strategic directions for collective
action at the Santiago Summit, the OAS should
take on the implementation responsibility
for those declarations and plans of action.
No government can risk the cynicism of its
citizens; the Summit Plans of Action must
be implemented in practical ways for the
people of our continents.
We know that
our institutions will only be as strong
as the commitment of their member states.
Reform will only be realized with our active
and unconditional support. This includes
giving the multilateral institutions of
the hemisphere the resources to do what
we ask of them — particularly the resources
that the terms of our memberships oblige
us to provide.
One way for
the OAS to respond to the needs of the future
is to increase the participation of civil
society in its programs and activities.
This engagement — an ongoing commitment
of the Canadian government — in all
spheres of action is a sine qua non. That
is how our actions and decisions will have
real and lasting impact on the lives of
the people of the hemisphere. As many countries
engage in the re-engineering of their governments,
economies and civil societies, the opportunity
for international cooperation amongst non-governmental
organizations [NGOs] has grown exponentially;
the sharing of expertise and the development
of common positions in support of common
values are vital contributions that NGOs
make in support of our overall multilateral
objectives. Canadians see NGOs as significant
marketplace participants with unique qualifications
for linking and advancing our social and
economic agenda.
This hemisphere
is, without question, one of the most promising,
exciting regions on earth. We have overcome
immense difficulties in the closing years
of the 20th century: the guns are largely
silent; peace prevails. The next century
belongs, in large measure, to the Americas.
We are confident that the OAS, with the
support of its member states, can direct
its energies to respond to the challenges
of the new millennium. Canada will be there
to usher in that new era, when we welcome
the Americas to our country for the 1999
Pan-American Games in Winnipeg and the 30th
General Assembly in the year 2000.
I would like
to borrow a phrase from an indigenous people's
group in Canada to convey the concepts of
collaboration and cooperation reflected
in my words today. As the Mohawk people
say, tay-wah-gay-gwah: let's meet the future
"together as one."
Thank you.
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