Minister Sajjan concludes productive visit to the UN

March 28, 2018, New York City — National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Canada is committed to innovative approaches to peacekeeping and providing the specialized capacities that the UN needs to deliver sustainable peace and security to areas affected by conflict.

Today, Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan wrapped up a productive visit to the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York City, where he delivered Canada’s statement to the UN Security Council Open Debate on peacekeeping.  He also delivered a statement on behalf of the 53 Member States of the Group of Friends on Women, Peace and Security.

In his statement, the Minister reaffirmed the Group’s support to increase the number of uniformed and civilian women in peacekeeping, urging members to redouble efforts to resolve persistent gaps and structural barriers to the meaningful participation and leadership of women in peacekeeping. Minister Sajjan also spoke to Canada’s Elsie Initiative on Women in Peace Operations, an innovative and multilateral pilot initiative to design, implement and evaluate a combination of measures to overcome barriers to women’s deployment to UN peace operations in military and policing roles.

The statement also included a call to action to the UN and Member States to do more and adopt a collective approach to better prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse while also providing support to survivors.

Minister Sajjan met with UN Under-Secretaries General Khare and Lacroix and with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, who serves as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and as Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN.