I hope that I will be able to provide you with a satisfactory answer. I am sometimes very surprised by Canada's decision not to intervene in certain countries. Let us take the example of Africa. In the 1990s, in light of the global context, particularly what was happening in Europe, democracy began to surface in Africa. Although some countries have experienced setbacks, others have progressed to the next level of the democratic process.
Where was Canada when Benin reverted to democracy? We were not there and I have never understood why. What about Mauritania? Where is Canada? Mauritania is in the process of becoming a democracy, yet Canada is absent. That worries me. Any time that a society... Morocco is also moving towards democracy. Where is Canada when the citizens of a country, civil society and politicians alike, out of a common desire for democracy, create democratic institutions allowing debate to flourish? This ought to be an absolute priority.
At some other time, I would also like us to discuss Islam and China. Today, however, I would like to focus on the fact that democracy should be considered as a fundamental need for Latin America, Africa and some South Asian countries. We have all seen the polls on Latin America; what strikes me is that although the tangible benefits of democracy have been slow in coming, people's faith in it has not faltered. People need our help. They want democracy to continue to flourish in their countries even if it presents huge challenges on both social and economic fronts. Lastly, Ms. McDonough, we have interns.
We have those interns you referred to. We have eleven of them, I think, all over the world. We value this program highly. The young people are also of this opinion. They come from all parts of Canada, and we have them in institutions in all parts of the world.
We're sure that we will have a discussion with the government and that they will look at it again. It's a very significant program for young Canadians. More than 150 have been beneficiaries of this program. More than that, we have young Canadians in the UN Commission on Human Rights. We have others in the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and they are doing a tremendous job in institutions that are poor, some of them at least. They can provide a very significant amount to those institutions.