Canada's
Role in the Americas and Africa
Notes for a Speech to the 1999 Annual
General Meeting of the United Nations Association
of Canada
by Hon. David Kilgour, Secretary of State
(Latin America & Africa)
Faculty Club, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
June 12, 1999
I am delighted to have this opportunity
to participate in the annual general assembly
of the UN Association of Canada. I am particularly
pleased that you have chosen Edmonton as
the venue for your assembly this year.
For decades, the UN Association of Canada
has played a central role in stimulating
informed debate among Canadians about the
UN and its role in promoting international
peace and security. It is no secret that
the UN has faced enormous challenges in
recent years. This has made the outreach
and advocacy functions of the UN Association
of Canada and similar institutions even
more important. This is why we have worked
closely with Harry Qualman and his team
to ensure for the association a vigorous
place in the national debate in support
of a dynamic and effective UN -- one that
is responsive to the needs of the rapidly
evolving global community. I would like
to pay tribute to harry and his team for
their important contributions.
I understand that you heard an interesting
presentation earlier today by Ambassador
Michel Duval on Canada’s experience
on the UN Security Council since our term
began in January. I’m also told that
you have had stimulating discussions on
Canada’s human security agenda including
how elements of that agenda can be advanced
through the United Nations. Permit me to
share with you some thoughts on Canada’s
relations with the regions that have been
my focus over the last two years -- Latin
America and Africa.
La
Gran Familia
Canada’s relations with Latin America
have undergone a real sea change over the
past decade. We have become a member of
"la gran familia," in
Prime Minister Chrétien’s words. Over
the next two years, Canada will host an
unprecedented series of high-profile hemispheric
events. These include the Pan-American Games
in Winnipeg this summer; the Conference
of Spouses of Hemispheric Leaders in Ottawa
in September; and the Americas Business
Forum and the FTAA Trade Ministerial in
Toronto in November. Next June, on the 10th
anniversary of our joining the Organization
of American States, Canada will host the
OAS General Assembly for the first time
in Windsor. Finally, the Third Summit of
the Americas will be held in Quebec City
in 2001.
The turning point in our relationship with
the hemisphere was the decision in January
1990 to join the Organization of American
States, the region’s premier political
club. This served as formal recognition
that Canada was indeed a nation of the Americas.
Since then, we have expanded our diplomatic
presence, built commercial alliances through
free trade agreements with Mexico and Chile,
and through framework agreements with
MERCOSUR,
Central America and the Andean Community.
We have increased our high-level contacts
and strengthened our cultural and academic
ties. This level of activity is unprecedented
-- and it is more than a series of unconnected
meetings.
It says a great deal about Canada’s
commitment to this region and reflects major
and positive change in the Americas. Hemispheric
integration has been gathering momentum,
and there is no going back. Democracy and
economic liberalization are here to stay.
Governments have been transformed, regional
institutions are being revamped, and new
mechanisms are being created to meet today’s
challenges.
One of those mechanisms is the summit process.
It started with the Miami summit in 1994
and was followed by the Santiago summit
in 1998. As I said, Canada will host the
third in Quebec City. The fact that hemispheric
leaders are meeting on a regular basis is
important, but what happens in between is
equally significant because it provides
the substance of what is do-able and what
leaders can eventually endorse. This is
the glue of hemispheric integration. Today
Canada and our hemispheric partners are
discussing issues that would have been unthinkable
just a few years ago -- good governance,
corruption, human rights, civil society,
and landmines, to mention a few.
The other significant movement driving
the integration process is the Free Trade
Area of the Americas. Negotiations are reasonably
on track for completion in 2005. The sheer
magnitude of this undertaking is daunting:
34 countries in a region that will have
a population of over 800 million and a combined
GDP of some $10 trillion by the time negotiations
are finished.
There will be challenges to overcome. One
of them is that the United States does not
yet have "fast-track" authority
to conclude an agreement. Another is the
sheer complexity of negotiating a comprehensive
agreement among countries of widely varying
size, historical experience and level of
economic development.
Human
Security is Priority
A third engine driving hemispheric integration
is the regional security framework -- not
the old, Cold-War model designed to protect
the hemisphere from external aggression,
but new mechanisms such as the OAS Unit
for the Promotion of Democracy and the Committee
on Hemispheric Security.
As you know, the promotion of human security
is a priority of this government’s
foreign policy. In the Latin American context,
an important element of our human security
agenda is the illicit drug trade and its
associated criminal activity. Canada is
promoting a dialogue among hemispheric foreign
ministers on this issue. Some of us have
been actively involved, travelling to Latin
America and the Caribbean to meet with foreign
ministers and others concerned about the
drug problem. This initiative, along with
the broad concept of human security, has
been very well received throughout the region,
given the threat that the illegal drug trade
poses to the very stability of some of the
nations in our hemisphere.
Africa, my second area of responsibility,
faces a different set of challenges but
also offers opportunities for strengthened
ties with Canada.
Recent developments in Nigeria, Africa’s
most populous state, inspire hope for the
future of a continent that too often has
attracted attention for its conflicts rather
than its progress. I had the honour of representing
Canada at the ceremony in Abuja last month,
in which the military administration transferred
power to an elected civilian, President
Obasanjo. The ceremony, attended by thousands
of people, was an important event for Nigerians,
marking as it did the end of 15 years of
authoritarian military rule. The new president
expressed firmly and clearly his intention
to provide Nigeria with transparent, honest
government and his first days seem to indicate
that he will carry through with this commitment.
Canada’s traditional approach to Africa
has been through the development program
of CIDA, responding to the humanitarian
impulse of many Canadians. We have projected
our values by seeking to alleviate poverty
and promote human rights and development
in the world’s poorest region. CIDA
has built for Canada an impressive reputation
over the last 30 years for generous and
intelligent aid. Africa accounts for 45%
of Canadian bilateral development assistance
and close to half of our humanitarian relief.
But we have come to realize that aid is
not a panacea and that trade/investment
can be equally important instruments both
for promoting development in Africa and
for consolidating a stronger relationship
with African countries. At the behest of
many African leaders, we have been working
more actively in the area of economic relations.
In practice, this has meant that in stable
countries where there is potential for growth,
we have been encouraging Canadian involvement.
For example, the Canadian government has
been trying to interest business people
to engage in trade, investment and joint
ventures in Africa. In March of 1998, I
travelled to six countries in west Africa,
and led a small delegation of Canadian business
people to look, talk and consider becoming
engaged. I have just returned from another
trek, this time to four countries in central
Africa on a trip which combined political,
security and economic issues.
Opening
Doors
At the end of the day, business people
will make their own decisions but I feel
that it is my responsibility to try to open
some doors, to the benefit of Canadians
and also of Africans.
We have also come to realize that Africa’s
security is important to Canadians. In those
parts of Africa where war or near-war conditions
prevail, Canada has worked, mostly through
the multilateral system, to try to return
these countries to stability and help them
move forward. Peacebuilding, democratic
development, conflict prevention and conflict
response mechanisms are all requirements
for Africa’s sustainable prosperity
in the 21st century.
For example, Canada has participated in
the United Nations mission to the Central
African Republic (MINURCA) since April 1998.
One of the elements of the mandate was to
provide limited advice and technical support
for the legislative elections, which took
place in December 1998. The Secretary General
has declared that MINURCA played an important
role in these free, fair and peaceful elections,
ensuring that UN voting materials were properly
distributed throughout the country and providing
transportation and security for international
observers.
Presidential elections should be held during
the fall. On my recent trip to Bangui,
I met with President Patassé who assured
me of his commitment to having the elections
pass in transparency, serenity, with a spirit
of national unity and with a respect for
the institutions of the republic. I encouraged
him to continue with much needed political,
economic and social reforms.
Building
Capacity
Let me give you another example of how
we are pursuing our security agenda in Africa.
It is our view that the best way to deal
with Africa’s complicated conflicts
is to build the capacity of African institutions
to lead, with western support. But these
organizations themselves often need support.
And that is just what Canada has been doing
for the past years -- trying to build the
capacity of such institutions as the Organization
of African Unity, the OAU.
For example, Canada has contributed
Cdn$
2.5 million to establish an OAU mechanism
for conflict prevention and resolution,
which is also becoming an incipient African
security council. In addition, we support
other regional security organizations, such
as SADC (Southern Africa Development Community)
in southern Africa, and ECOWAS (Economic
Community of West African States) in west
Africa. As a member of the Security Council,
we also see the critical need for the regional
organizations of Africa to coordinate and
work smoothly with the UN.
The importance of these organizations is
demonstrated in the nearly year-long intermittent
border conflict between two former friendly
neighbours, Eritrea and Ethiopia where the
OAU has been a critical actor and where
Canada has urged the UN Security Council
to become engaged.
Following an initial USA and Rwandan effort
at mediation, the OAU sent a delegation
of ambassadors last June, who managed to
work out a peace plan, which has continued
to be the baseline for everyone. Although
the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have
not yet agreed to lay down arms, the OAU
has returned again and again, using the
good offices of the Secretary General and
various African leaders, to try to achieve
a cease-fire and to begin to find a resolution
to the territorial dispute.
Secretary General Annan has sent his special
envoy to the region several times to exert
international pressure, in coordination
with the OAU, on the belligerents to stop
fighting. Last week the foreign minister
of Burkina Faso (which currently chairs
the OAU) came to New York to debrief the
Security Council about the state of negotiations
for a cease-fire. We hope that the OAU and
the UN will continue to work closely together
and manage to convince the governments of
Eritrea and Ethiopia to stop fighting and
to re-direct their energy toward development.
Canada is also playing a leadership role
in seeking to address the deteriorating
situation in Angola, a country that has
seen its considerable potential squandered
by ruinous civil war that has taken an appalling
toll on civilians. Canada is lobbying hard
to restore a UN presence in Angola, including
a human rights component, following the
demise of the UN peacekeeping mission in
February. Ambassador Robert Fowler chairs
the UN Security Council committee on sanctions
against UNITA, the rebel forces in Angola.
He has just returned from a three-week trip
to southern Africa on a fact-finding mission
and has presented 14 recommendations to
the council on ways to improve the effectiveness
of the sanctions regime. Additionally, at
Canada’s suggestion, two expert panels
will be struck to look at the key issues
of how UNITA obtains its weapons of war,
and how the illegal diamond trade helps
to finance the purchases. The panels will
take the 14 recommendations as their point
of reference. The Angola sanctions committee
has been reinvigorated under Canadian leadership,
and we hope to be able to make real progress
in limiting UNITA’s ability to wage
war.
Fragile
Democratic Government
Another country in crisis where Canada
is working through multilateral organizations
is Sierra Leone. Canada is deeply concerned
about the situation in that country. Unimaginable
atrocities have been inflicted upon innocent
civilians. Gross human rights abuses, including
torture, amputation, rape, mutilation and
the forcible recruitment of children as
combatants has torn the social fabric of
this country apart. Minister Lloyd Axworthy
appointed my colleague, David Pratt, M.P.
to travel to Sierra Leone in March. His
report provides a vivid
account of his findings. It reinforces the
need for countries such as Canada to assist
the restoration of peace, the beginnings
of national reconciliation and the reconstruction
of the country. The negotiations currently
taking place between the rebel commanders
and the fragile democratic government are
signs of hope. Both in the UN Security Council
and in the Commonwealth Ministerial Action
Group, Canada has encouraged sustained international
attention to the problems of Sierra Leone
as well as financial, military and moral
support to its fragile democratic government.
I believe that Canada’s enhanced presence
in Latin America and Africa demonstrates
our commitment to strengthen our partnership
with the countries and people of both of
these regions. This partnership offers significant
benefits to Latin America and to Africa
as well as to Canada and Canadians. The
UN system is an important vehicle for Canadian
cooperation with many states, particularly
in Africa, and Canada remains very determined
to ensure that the UN fulfils its essential
role in support of peace, security and development.
Thank you.
|
