Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My thanks to Ms. Ducros and her colleagues for being here today.
When this committee visited Afghanistan last year, I was impressed with the work that CIDA and all of its staff and associates were doing. Canadians know quite a bit about what the military is doing there, but I don't think they know enough about the good work that CIDA is doing. I was proud of the work that I saw your colleagues doing in difficult circumstances. And I think Canadians need to know more about it.
I would like to pass on a message, through you, to CIDA: please do more to communicate to the Canadian people the success of the many programs and good work that Canada has undertaken in Afghanistan. They need to know how we're making positive changes in their lives. It's partly the responsibility of all members of Parliament to do that. I've been trying to get that message across when I speak in my riding and elsewhere, and I encourage all of my colleagues to do likewise. We need to get that message out, because Canada is taking a leadership role in bringing about a positive change for the people of Afghanistan, a change that will benefit the people in that region and further the cause of world peace for many years to come. So thank you for that.
You mentioned in your opening comments that one of our priorities is the rule of law and human rights. I'd like to explore the justice system in Afghanistan and what we're doing to further its development.
We heard from a number of commentators when we were in Afghanistan that one of the few things the local population actually liked about the old Taliban regime was the justice system, which they found impartial and not corrupt. If you had a land dispute between two farmers, they felt that they could get a decision and that the decision would not be based on who bribed the judge with the most money. We're doing a lot to train the Afghan police to make sure that they're the front line of the justice system and that they're using proper investigative techniques. I think our Canadian police officers there are doing a wonderful job in that regard.
Is CIDA or any other branch of the government doing any training or mentoring of judges, prosecutors, or other personnel in the court system there? If not, should we be doing that? What would you suggest?