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Willson House, Chelsea, Québec, Friday, 8 May 1998
Introduction
The Department of Foreign Affairs
and International Trade (DFAIT) in collaboration with the United Nations
Association in Canada (UNA-Canada), organized a one-day round-table
on international security issues, particularly the new human security
agenda. Participants included senior Canadian officials from DFAIT,
CIDA and National Defence, some Canadian university academics, and a
number of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations who are also
accredited representatives to Canada.
Following introductory comments by Canadian
officials, the subsequent discussions among the participants were free-wheeling
exchanges of ideas, without any intention of taking decisions or reaching
specific conclusions.
David Malone, Director General, Global
and Human Issues Bureau, DFAIT, welcomed the participants and gave a
brief overview to Canada’s approach to foreign policy. It was
noted that, currently, both our Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs take an activist approach (as shown by the Prime Ministers’
recent trip to Cuba). The Foreign Minister, Lloyd Axworthy, is moving
the Ministry towards a) a greater use of soft power and cooperation
with civil society (the recent landmines treaty, for example, could
not have occurred without the role played by civil society); and b)
a broader concept of human security. Through its Global and Human Issues
Bureau, the Ministry is also emphasizing issues such as the environment;
population and migration; immigration (Canada has one of the highest
level of immigration per capita in the world, at approximately 1% of
the population per year); human rights; the specific rights of women
and children; crime, terrorism and drugs; conflict prevention; aboriginal
issues, including the circumpolar aspect; and development. In all of
these issues, Canada works through the United Nations (UN) and other
international fora. Canada consistently supports these institutions,
through fiscal and other means, to assist in their effectiveness.
In recent years, the Canadian government
has been forced by the reality of a huge debt and high interest payments
to focus on radical debt and deficit reduction. All government programmes,
including those that involved foreign policy and international development,
shrank and suffered. Domestic programmes also shrank, strongly impacting
on the Canadian public. During this period, however, Canada has still
done its best to preserve its international programmes. Now that the
government has the fiscal situation under control and is running a surplus,
it can explore areas in which to increase spending, and, as the fiscal
situation permits, work towards the ODA goal of 0.7% of GDP. Recent
commitments to new areas of spending include the issues of landmines
and climate change, and it is expected that other issues will also receive
government commitments in the future.
Ken Calder, Assistant Deputy Minister,
Department of National Defence and Joel Sokolsky, Professor at The Royal
Military College of Canada set the stage by providing a Canadian perspective.
Canada’s commitment to international
peace and security stretches Retour, at least, to the creation of the
United Nations. Canada has a willingness to be engaged, a belief in
a multilateral approach to global concerns, and a desire to conduct
a principled foreign policy in support of Canadian values. Canadian
experience during and since the two world wars has led to the realization
that it would be less costly, in lives and dollars, to prevent aggression
rather than to stop it once under way.
The UN offered Canada a multilateral
mechanism through which to remain engaged in promoting international
peace and security. Believing strongly in collective security, Canada
has taken a leading role in peace-keeping, having been involved in 45
UN missions, to which it has contributed tens of thousands of troops.
Over 100 Canadians have died, and hundreds more have been injured. In
a recent poll, 75% of Canadians supported the participation of Canadian
forces in multinational assistance operations, even when such missions
are dangerous. Her current defence policy reflects these values —
the 1994 Defence White Paper states that "Canada will retain the capability
to make a significant and responsible contribution to international
peace and stability within a UN framework."
Indeed, despite a decrease in the defence
budget, despite the lack of threats to national security, despite the
end of the Cold War and despite the higher costs of international missions,
Canada’s level of involvement in international peace-making has
increased, not only through the UN but through other fora. For example,
Canada sees NATO’s Partnership for Peace as a way to strengthen
and complement the UN. While she rarely make a commitment without considering
logistical capacity and the views of traditional allies, if there is
a major international threat, Canada will likely be there to face it,
for both domestic and international reasons. Peace-keeping is part of
Canada’s national identity, reflecting its moral values.
The nature of peace-keeping is changing
and Canada is adjusting to the new requirements through such things
as increased training, operational links between the military and the
aid communities and the creation of a civilian police officer pool.
One of the main problems facing UN peace-keeping is the inability to
deploy forces rapidly. Canada responded to this challenge by submitting
a study to the UN entitled Towards a Rapid Reaction Capability for
the UN. Many of its recommendations are being pursued, including
the creation of a rapidly deployable mission headquarters which was
approved by the General Assembly and supported by the Secretary General.
Canada will continue to be an important
contributor to international peace and security missions by making its
forces available to serve under the UN. Canadian willingness to send
people overseas into potentially dangerous situations demonstrates a
continuing commitment to global security.
While participants acknowledged Canadian
Government perspectives and contributions, the discussion identified
several issues that are either ongoing concerns and/or open up new areas
for action and definition.
- For small countries, which often face external aggression from
which they can not defend themselves (including threats from terrorism,
criminals and other states), collective security, organized through
an international organization such as the UN, is essential. UN responses
to acts of aggression such as Cambodia and the Gulf set an example
and model. It has also become clear through events such as the UN’s
experience in Somalia that effective peace-keeping will not work
without a clear knowledge on the part of peace-keepers of the people
and culture in the area.
- In the new circumstances of today’s international system,
where one state - or at most a handful of states - predominate,
how does the UN or concerned countries address conflicts which powerful
states either do not recognize as serious, or refuse to bring to
the table? While the Security Council remains the only universal
internationally sanctioned body, various approaches have begun to
open new avenues for conflict resolution. These new approaches emphasize
mediation, and the role of neighbouring counties or groups of "friends
of" in the promotion of dialogue.
- There has been an evolution in the concepts of peace-keeping and
peace-making. Canada is among those which have been involved with
non-military peace-building efforts, focusing on human security.
Peace-keepers need to be trained in conflict resolution skills,
negotiation skills, international law, cultural sensitivity, and
other areas to ensure they are prepared to handle situations effectively.
As only one example, Canada’s experience in Afghanistan highlights
the success of Canadian women soldiers training local woman in landmine
dangers and removal in accordance with cultural sensitivity.
- The end of the Cold War has created new circumstances which have
not always been good for poorer countries. Former allies have dropped
or shifted their support and extreme poverty, itself a cause of
conflict, is often forgotten when discussing international security.
Canada understands the devastating role of poverty and has tried
to play a positive role in development assistance, in spite of fiscal
constraints.
- Issues such as disarmament and arms trafficking continue to be
of vital importance to international security. Many conflicts would
not take place if it were not for the immense global trade in arms
of all kinds.
- There is a growing focus on regional organizations for peace-keeping
responsibilities, especially as the ability of the UN to meet requests
is hampered by a lack of appropriate funding. Linked to this is
the question of NATO expansion - an expansion Canada supports, but
recognizes must be handled in such a way so as not to alienate Russia
and to convince Russians and others that NATO is not a threat. While
Canada is prepared to assist regional endeavours (indeed the new
peace-keeping for Central Africa was planned by the Canadian Department
of National Defence) the Canadian Government believes strongly in
the need for global authority and legitimacy, and in multilateral
action through an internationally recognized institution such as
the UN. Global security is the responsibility of all, and peace-keeping
should not be entirely downloaded to regional organizations.
- That said, and in terms of effective UN action on such issues,
few countries support the idea of a standing UN army to engage such
issues or crisis situations. The reality is that the UN is not,
nor does it aspire to be, a world government.
- As global consequences of national actions become increasingly
clear, so too has the realization of inter-connectiveness and mutual
dependence. As only one example, while Canada has successfully protected
massive over-fishing of the Grand Banks by taking action against
foreign fishing fleets, the fleets unfortunately simply went to
other coasts, where the countries in question could not take similar
action. Canada has helped some Caribbean countries deal with this
type of problem through coast guard training, but there is a need
to develop more effective ways by which the UN can protect international
agreements and enforce international law. As normative ideas change,
developing an increasing impetus to respond and adapt, there is
an increasing need to coordinate national activities with international
activities.
- In a similar respect the establishment of an International Criminal
Court could be an important development for international security,
as sanctions have proved an unsuccessful method for maintaining
peace. The current international tribunals are seeing positive results.
- The question of reform and expansion of the Security Council has
various perspectives. For some, the UN is seen as a product of the
victors of the Second World War, and some reform proposals seem
intended simply to raise the vanquished states of that war to the
Security Council, with a veto. Other proposals to add countries
to the Council based on their economic power will further institutionalize
the North-South divide. Such action would further perpetuate the
inequality of the UN, where some 178 states would not have a veto
power.
- For the UN to be successful, and even to survive, it must understand
the global power structure. There is some risk that we are currently
moving towards a global model where, if the big powers consider
something to be important, they act on it unilaterally. If it is
not seen as important to them then they may allow that the UN is
capable to act in such a situation. However, when a problem is between
these poles, nothing may be accomplished due to veto, stalemate,
political disagreement etc. The UN is in trouble and care must be
taken to avoid a repeat of what happened to the League of Nations.
If it is dying, it is largely because the countries with the power
to make it work do not seem to believe in it. The key to effective
international security is for countries to invest in those activities
that build respect, tolerance and positive long-term relationships.
Huguette Labelle, President of the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) outlined the current Canadian approach and
priorities in the field of development. She began by noting that Canada
believes strongly in multilateralism. Canada recognizes that while globalization
has many positive aspects, it has many unforeseen negative consequences.
In looking at the UN, Canada is a strong supporter of reform to ensure
that the institution remains strong. Like every other area of the Canadian
government, CIDA was subject to funding cuts, but with the fiscal situation
now under control, it is expected that its ODA programme will grow towards
the goal of 0.7% of GDP.
Canada is active in many international fora, and engaged
in multilateral and bilateral assistance. With respect to action through
the UN, Canada would bring a broader definition of human security to
the Security Council. Canada also wants all countries in the UN, both
large and small, to play an active role in the institution. As a principle
Canada believes strongly in taking preventative action wherever possible
in order to avoid costly damage control after a crisis takes place.
As with the earlier session, a wide-ranging discussion
period identified several issues that are either ongoing or emerging
concerns.
- Concern was expressed with regard to changing approaches to development
cooperation. There was a general agreement that increased capital
flows to developing countries does not imply that development assistance
can be reduced without severe implications on poverty reduction.
Currently, private capital flows only reach a minority of developing
countries, typically bypassing the less developed. Canadian officials
expressed Canada’s commitment to helping interested countries
attract foreign investment, and indicated that private capital investment
should not be seen as a replacement for official development assistance.
- There was a wide-spread consensus that security and development
are fundamentally inter-dependent. It was agreed that security is
a multifaceted and complex process in which "human security", and
the involvement of people in the relevant region, are key features.
A number of Ambassadors highlighted the critical importance of this
broader concept of human security and expressed a desire that Canada,
if elected to the Security Council, would bring this dimension to
the Council.
- The Canadian tradition of working in cooperation with Canadian
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local civil society partners
around the world was discussed in some detail. Canadian officials
expressed a desire to expand recent trilateral cooperation initiatives,
whereby Canadian organizations and recipients are joined by a third
country with experience in the field and willing to share their
expertise.
- The greatest burden on developing countries is debt obligations,
and the corresponding need for programmes of debt relief . In this
area Canada ended its loan programme for poor countries in 1989
and replaced it with grants. It has forgiven substantial debt for
Sub-Saharan Africa and many poor countries in Latin America and
has gained credibility in the development debate.
- Solutions to development problems must be adapted to individual
cases, as different states have different situations and priorities.
Canada’s investments in Haiti are a case in point. While the
peace-building process has been slower than many expected, the work
must continue. In this particular case, police training is deemed
to be vital to the future security of Haiti and, while it will not
happen overnight, Canada will persist with such training.
- In poorer countries the priority has to be basic needs, such as
housing, education, food, local roads etc. Investment in local needs
creates local wealth and stronger human security. Training that
is given to the benefit of local populations ensures the sustainability
of the Projets. During a major foreign policy review, Canada committed
itself to increasing the basic human needs component of its aid
budget from 20% to 25%, believing that food, shelter and health
should take precedence over everything except the massive abuse
of life. In fact, humanitarian assistance makes up 38% of the budget.
Only after providing for basic human needs, do other things become
more important.
- The environmental aspect of development needs to be incorporated
into the broader concept of human security. While this is not a
traditional area for the Security Council, it came before the Council
due to the oil fires following the Gulf War. Other examples include
global warming and nuclear testing. The environmental elements and
consequences of development must not be overlooked. It was noted
that the environment is one of six priorities on which Canada is
focusing. Canada strongly advocates the need for industrialized
countries to support those nations moving towards faster industrialization
through shared technology, experience and expertise and has helped
several countries to improve energy efficiency, undertake environmental
audits, and achieve cleaner production processes.
Throughout the discussion there was a general appreciation
for Canada’s role in the United Nations and, generally, in the
international system. There was special appreciation for Canada’s
leadership role in so many peace-keeping operations and the respect
with which the Canadian Government approaches collaborative field operations
As a general rule other countries are attracted when there is Canadian
involvement.
Canada’s leadership role in negotiations regarding
such global issues as a ban on the use of anti-personnel landmines and
the establishment of an International Criminal are recognized and appreciated.
Similarly Canada’s strong interest in fighting organized crime
at the international level is very welcome. By and large the South sees
Canada as a balanced country and appreciates its contributions to initiatives
through the UN.
H.E. Robert Fowler, Canadian Permanent Representative
to the United Nations noted that, should Canada be elected to a term
as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, the government would,
first and foremost, act in ways that would serve all Member States.
Looking at a couple of specific concerns he noted that:
- There is a perceived need to get the Council out of the Retour rooms
in order to ensure more transparency. Canada would bring both a
morality and an accountability to the table.
- Canada would continue, and indeed increase, its pressure to change
the standard global conceptualization of security to one of human
security.
