November 18, 2014 - Ottawa, Ontario
Check Against Delivery
Good afternoon.
I am honoured to recognize an organization that has gone above and beyond in championing human rights around the world.
Canada’s 13th Prime Minister, John Diefenbaker, became known for his unwavering commitment to human rights and justice for all.
And our country continues to act according to its founding values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
These values, by definition, should not be reserved for a select few, but enjoyed by all.
Unfortunately, while these values are universal in application, they are not universally applied. Many people around the world continue to struggle and face oppression in pursuing their beliefs.
Women in particular are too often victims of this oppression.
From Iran’s inhumane execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari to Boko Haram’s callous kidnapping of young girls and forcing them into marriage, we must now more than ever support those who defend the rights of the afflicted and give a voice to those that do not have one.
After watching this introductory video on the Diefenbaker award, I am reminded of another famous line uttered by “Dief the Chief,” as many called him.
He said that “freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong.” He said this 60 years ago, and his words continue to be relevant today.
They are especially relevant for girls and young women who are victims of child, early and forced marriage. Their freedom, and their potential, is being restricted by others.
So today, I am proud to present the John Diefenbaker Defender of Human Rights and Freedom Award to an organization that embodies John Diefenbaker’s vision—Girls Not Brides.
Girls Not Brides represents over 400 civil society organizations from more than 60 countries around the world that have united to end child, early and forced marriage.
This includes, I am very proud to say, a number of Canadian organizations present here today.
In the four short years since the organization’s creation, they have become the leading global advocacy organization on ending child marriage.
Her Royal Highness Princess Mabel van Oranje spearheaded the creation of Girls Not Brides. It was a spin-off of The Elders Foundation, which was founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007 to bring together global leaders to work together for peace and human rights.
The wise and inspiring leaders of that organization recognized child marriage as one of the most pressing development challenges of our time.
In all parts of the world, Girls Not Brides gives a voice to those who are silenced by child marriage. They do this by calling for new laws, sharing best practices and engaging with communities.
Mabel is joined today by two colleagues representing some of these organizations.
Dr. Ashok Dyalchand is the Director of the Institute for Health Management-Pachod in India, the country with the highest number of child brides in the world.
His organization provides support to adolescent girls, particularly in the critical area of health, in an effort to prevent child marriages and to support girls who are already married.
We are also joined by Amina Hanga, who is the Executive Secretary of Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative. This organization is dedicated to empowering women and girls in Nigeria, in a region where three out of four girls are married before turning 18.
Through this event this afternoon, we will learn about the challenging work of our three guests, their tremendous courage and what inspired them to become involved in the movement to end child marriage.
Currently, 700 million girls and women alive today were married as children.
This isn’t a cultural nuance or a women’s issue—the impact on health and freedom of so many young girls adds up to a human tragedy.
Global efforts to reduce the practice are having an impact, but change has not been fast enough.
We are running against the treadmill of population growth.
So unless we increase the rate of decline even more, the absolute number of young girls and women affected by child marriage will stay the same between now and 2050.
This is why Canada has made ending child, early and forced marriage a foreign policy and development priority.
Canada spearheaded the creation of the International Day of the Girl Child, which focused on child, early and forced marriage in its first year.
We were also leaders on the first stand-alone resolutions on this issue at the Human Rights Council and United Nations General Assembly last year. This year, Canada and Zambia are co-leading a resolution on the same issue in New York, which we expect will be adopted in the coming days with significant support. This is yet another signal of the international community’s recognition of the importance of this issue.
Canada has also intensified programming efforts to end child, early and forced marriage, both through our commitment to maternal, newborn and child health, and through targeted projects, like our $20-million contribution to UNICEF in July.
I can also announce today that Canada will commit an additional $10 million towards these efforts.
This new funding will be provided to CARE Canada for projects in Mali and Benin, to Save the Children Canada for projects in Pakistan and Nigeria, to Plan Canada for projects in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and to Girls Not Brides toward institutional support.
Moving forward, we are also committed to ensuring that this issue is meaningfully included in the post-2015 development agenda as a priority.
Overall I think we’ve come a long way on this in the last few years, but we are all conscious of how much road lies ahead.
So on behalf of all Canadians, I congratulate Girls Not Brides for its leadership in helping girls around the world.
The success of your organization and the global movement it has sparked shows that partnership and collective action are powerful and that real change is possible for millions of girls around the world if we work together.
Please join me in welcoming Mabel van Oranje, Dr. Ashok Dyalchand, and Amina Hanga to accept the award on behalf of Girls Not Brides.
