Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to our guests.
As the chair mentioned, this is the first time the committee has met and, I might add, the first time the foreign affairs committee has actually been formally seized with this issue. There have been briefings, and as members of the committee and our guests will know, before the election we passed a motion on participation and in support of UN resolution 1973; however, we have not had a chance--and this comment is without prejudice--to actually meet, so first of all, thank you to our guests for being here. I think it's important that we meet today since, as I mentioned, as a government and a country we signed on to participate in resolution 1973, but we have yet to meet formally to evaluate it.
I will start with a question for you, Ambassador.
As we have been viewing the mission and as things have been going on, we have heard from our spokespersons from the military side with regard to NATO's Berlin goals. We are seized--and certainly this is reflected in the amendments to the motion in the House--with UN resolution 1973. The goals of that included, of course, protection of civilians as well as a ceasefire and some form of political settlement.
There have been changes recently. As you mentioned in your comments, our allies have gone from initially saying that Gadhafi had to go to saying that we need to find some form of negotiation so that we can end what seems to be an ongoing conflict and find a political solution. You made reference to the contact group.
Through the chair, could you please update us on Canada's role in being seized with this UN resolution and in working with the UN rapporteur who is also seized with it? Is there sufficient coordination with the UN rapporteur and the contact group? Is Canada involved in that process with the UN rapporteur, and, if so, how closely?