Address by Minister Dion to the United Nations Security Council

Speech

June 10, 2016 - New York City, New York

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with the Government of Canada’s communications policy.

I would like to thank France, as president of the Security Council, for giving me this opportunity to address the Security Council regarding the protection of civilians in United Nations peacekeeping operations. This initiative of France is necessary, given the alarming situation of civilians in armed conflicts.

It was a little more than 15 years ago that the Security Council took the pioneering step of making the protection of civilians a central element of its mandate. Yet, since then, the situation for civilians in conflicts has only deteriorated. In January 2015, here before the Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave a horrifying overview of the situation. In effect, in 2014 alone, humanitarian organizations reported that the number of people in need of urgent assistance and protection increased from 52 million to 76 million. That’s a huge number.

It is therefore urgent to find solutions. It is equally urgent for the Council to continue its work to tangibly implement the civilian protection declarations and principles.

That is why, at the General Assembly last May, Canada adhered to the Kigali Principles on the Protection of Civilians. These principles reflect the clear desire of African nations to protect civilians.

Today, I am announcing that Canada is throwing its support behind two important initiatives aimed directly at addressing the need for timely and decisive action by the Security Council in responding to cases of mass violations of human rights.

First, Canada joins the political declaration on the suspension of the veto in cases of mass atrocity, presented by France and Mexico.

Second, Canada respects the code of conduct put forward by the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group on actions against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In its letter of invitation to this meeting, France gave us four key issues on the protection of civilians. In fact, this involves no more and no less than four fundamental responsibilities that we must take on.

Our first responsibility is to properly evaluate the implementation of civilian protection mandates in peacekeeping operations.

We have to build on what has already been done. So the adoption by the United Nations of more rigorous performance and accountability mechanisms is a step in the right direction. The same goes for the Secretary-General’s commitment to reporting failures in civilian protection to the Security Council. These are measures that support the UN’s objective of combatting the scourge of sexual exploitation and violence.

Our second responsibility is to ensure that peacekeepers have a full and clear understanding of their civilian protection responsibilities. Too often, instructions are ambiguous. The civilian protection mandates drafted by the Council must be clear. Based on peacekeepers’ experiences in the area of civilian protection, the Council will have to clarify the mandates to ensure they are understandable while also reflecting the complexity of the missions.

This full understanding of the peacekeepers’ mandates is required for the success of every facet of the missions: using innovative strategies for protecting civilians, bringing together all the resources on the ground, assessing and classifying threats with regard to the civilian population and providing a rapid response in threatened communities, as well as taking into account the specific needs of the most vulnerable groups, such as displaced persons, refugees, women and children.

Our third responsibility is to favour deeper cooperation between the UN and regional and international organizations, such as the African Union, in order to promote the idea of taking the protection of civilians into account.

Also, we must implement the lessons learned from our experiences in Mali and the Central African Republic to ensure that the African Union receives better support in taking into account the protection of civilians.

Our fourth responsibility is to make sure that protecting civilians is an integral part of the training that peacekeepers receive before their deployment on the ground. Every country that contributes troops and contingents of police officers has an individual responsibility here that is essential. The richest countries must assist the less-fortunate contributing countries by funding the peacekeeping training centres.

These are the corrective measures that must be taken so that UN peacekeeping missions can better protect civilians. We must adhere to the Kigali Principles. We must support the political declaration by France and Mexico on the suspension of the Security Council’s veto powers in cases of mass atrocity. And we must also endorse the code of conduct put forward by the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group.

We must shoulder the four responsibilities put forward by France: the fair assessment of the implementation of the mandates, the full understanding by peacekeepers of their mandates, an improved cooperation between the UN and regional and international organizations, and the protection of civilians as an integral part of peacekeepers’ training. These four improvements are required if our peacekeepers are to continue to protect civilians.

However, these improvements will have little effect without political will. Look at what has happened over the past few weeks in Syria: there have been flagrant violations of international law, including attacks against medical facilities and their staff, as well as the blockage of humanitarian aid to communities under siege. Canada reiterates its full support for the measures taken by the Security Council to put an end to such violations.

There are many of us seeking peace in that region. Canada is doing its part within the Coalition [Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] to help Syria and Iraq, responding to humanitarian appeals, supporting UN organizations in strengthening emergency measures, protecting civilians―particularly the most vulnerable populations―as well as reducing food insecurity.

That said, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and our government want to do more. Canada is back, and that includes its peace missions. We are committed to increasing our support for United Nations peacekeeping operations and supporting its mediation efforts, preventing conflicts and engaging in post-conflict reconstruction. This commitment reflects our deep desire to be a determined peacebuilder and to make a genuine and useful contribution to building a more peaceful and prosperous world. 

Canada is confident that if this initiative of France that brings us together today is followed by practical and decisive action inspired by responsible conviction, our peace missions will truly protect civilians. Let us mobilize ourselves so that, one day, there will be fewer civilians requiring our protection.

Thank you.

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