Securing
a place for human security -- La Tribuna
By David Kilgour, Secretary of State (Latin
America & Africa)
(The following
article was published in Spanish in the
July 15, 1999 issue of La Tribuna, an Edmonton-based,
Spanish-language newspaper)
Since the
end of the Cold War, the international community
has been confronted by a set of security
challenges that threaten the security of
people and do not respect political borders.
The effects of problems such as economic
crises, transnational organized crime, disease,
mass migration, drug trafficking and environmental
degradation have an impact on individuals
in many countries. Placing the interest
of the individual at the centre of policies
to deal with these threats is what we call
"human security." Over the past
two years, Canada has made human security
a foreign policy priority and has effectively
brought the concept to the table in our
multilateral and bilateral relationships.
The international
response to Canada’s efforts in promoting
human security has been encouraging. The
Ottawa Convention on Anti-personnel Landmines
and the Rome Treaty creating an International
Criminal Court have attracted international
interest. In Latin America, through our
membership in the Organization of American
States (OAS), Canada has been successful
in placing human security on the hemispheric
agenda.
OAS General
Assembly
In June, I attended the OAS General Assembly
in Guatemala on behalf of Minister
Axworthy.
I led the discussion among Foreign Ministers
on the problem of illegal drugs in the hemisphere.
Canada views the drug problem as a quintessential
human security issue; a problem that demands
comprehensive, integrated responses to be
effectively combatted. No single aspect
of the drug problem -- the impact on the
health of individuals, the distortions the
drug trade causes to economies, the associated
problem of illegal firearms- can be dealt
with in isolation from the broad social,
political and economic circumstances in
which the issue is rooted. Cooperation is
the key. Canada, therefore, intends to work
with its hemispheric partners to develop
strategies to deal with drugs and other
human security issues in the region.
At the OAS
General Assembly, Canada signed two Conventions
that will enhance the security of citizens
in the hemisphere. The Inter-American Convention
on Transparency in Conventional Weapons
Acquisitions requires member states to submit
data on exports and imports of conventional
weapons while the OAS Convention Against
Corruption promotes cooperation among OAS
members to combat the corruption, including
bribery, of public officials.
The Canadian
delegation in Guatemala took advantage of
the opportunity provided by the General
Assembly to distribute to hemispheric Foreign
Ministers and civil society representatives
a pamphlet entitled "Human Security:
Safety for People in Changing World."
This document, which was produced by Canada’s
Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, provides a Canadian Perspective on
the concept of human security and describes
its foreign policy implications.
The favourable
response to Canada’s human security
approach at the Guatemala General Assembly
indicates that the concept of human security
is gaining momentum internationally. Canada
intends to sustain this momentum by making
human security the focus of the OAS General
Assembly, which will be held in Windsor,
Ontario in June 2000.
The publication
"Human Security: Safety for People
in a Changing World" is available on
the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Internet Site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/foreignp/HumanSecurity/menu-e.htm
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