Minister Joly concludes visit to Europe as Canada and its partners stand more united than ever

News release

December 1, 2022 - Łódź, Poland - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today concluded her visit to the Netherlands, Romania and Poland, where she met with partners to engage on peace and security challenges, as well as other shared foreign policy priorities.

In The Hague, Netherlands, Minister Joly met with her counterparts from the Netherlands and Ecuador for a high-level round table discussion during which the ministers committed to work together on fighting corruption to strengthen resilient democracies and promote human rights.

At the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Bucharest, Romania, Minister Joly reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to the Alliance and to working with allies to support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unjustifiable invasion, and to address global peace and security threats as well as challenges posed by China. She also participated in a meeting of G7 foreign ministers and other partners during which they discussed the importance of rehabilitating Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

The minister concluded her visit in Łódź, Poland, where she met with other participating states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). During her meetings, Minister Joly highlighted Canada’s efforts to safeguard democracy and defend human rights in the region. During a side event on accountability for Ukraine, she announced Canada’s additional funding of $1 million to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) Office of the Prosecutor Trust Fund to increase the ICC’s capacity for looking into conflict-related sexual violence and crimes against children in all of its investigations, including in Ukraine. This announcement supplements previous funding of the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor Trust Fund, bringing Canada’s total contribution to $2 million and making Canada one of the ICC’s top contributors.

Throughout her visit, Minister Joly also engaged in bilateral meetings with her European counterparts to discuss strengthened partnerships on mutual priorities, Canada’s unwavering support of Ukraine and the ongoing protests in Iran. She also highlighted Canada’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy throughout her visit.

Quotes

“Canada and its partners stand more united than ever in the face of increasing global threats to security, democracy and human rights. My engagements this week reaffirm the fact that multilateralism is the sustainable path to achieve global solutions to global issues and build lasting peace.”

- Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Quick facts

  • Canada was a co-founder of NATO in 1949. Today, the Alliance consists of 30 member states united in their commitment to transatlantic security and defence. Canada ranks sixth in NATO with respect to defence spending in terms of real dollars.

  • Canada is a participating state of the OSCE, the world’s largest regional security organization, and one of the original signatories of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, which led to the creation of the OSCE. The organization comprises 57 participating states and several partner states.

  • Canada is the sixth-largest financial contributor to OSCE operations.

  • Canada’s funding to the ICC, along with the deployment of 10 police and civilian investigators to the ICC, makes Canada one of the top contributors to the ICC.

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Contacts

Adrien Blanchard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Adrien.Blanchard@international.gc.ca

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media@international.gc.ca
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