Foreign Affairs Committee on Oct. 16th, 2012

[Leslie Norton]

Within Syria itself, we have five key partners at this time. We have the World Food Programme. We have the High Commissioner for Refugees. We have the International Committee of the Red Cross. We have the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. And we have the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs .

The majority of the humanitarian response in country is undertaken by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. They are a respected partner of the Red Cross movement and of our UN agency partners. The access shifts day to day, as we see on television, so depending on where the violence is, you might not have access in Homs in certain neighbourhoods on a certain day. However, our partners are able, grosso modo, to carry out field visits and do quick needs assessments when the violence has ended. This way they can assess the needs and then see about provision of humanitarian assistance.

I understand that in early September President al-Assad committed to the Red Cross movement that Syria would improve access of humanitarian actors in the country. Since then, there have been reports that the regime is meeting those conditions. However, it changes day to day. It's war, so it can be very difficult for our partners. The humanitarian workers are putting themselves at risk on a daily basis, and this is something that we're keeping a very close eye on and monitoring.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much. That's all the time we have.

We're going to move back to Madame Laverdière for five minutes.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you.

First off, I would like something clarified. It may have been mentioned already, but I didn't hear it.

How much money did Canada spend to support the first mission of UN Secretary-General envoy Kofi Annan?

[Mark Bailey]

The contribution was $250,000.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I assume that most of our allies contributed at least as much, if not more.

[Mark Bailey]

I don't know. I can check how much their contributions were. To some extent, it depends on the mission budget. If half the budget was provided, perhaps only one other country contributed the same amount. I will check.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Thank you.

On another issue, we've had reports that some cluster munitions have been used at the border of Syria and Turkey. Could you comment on those reports?

[Mark Bailey]

I've heard of cluster munitions being used, but not at that particular place on the border with Turkey.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

If cluster munitions are used widely, this is another issue that will make it even more complex, eventually, to plan the after-Assad regime.

On this specific after-regime fall, is the international community starting to work on some sort of road map of what we can do if ever—I don't know—Assad flees the country or the regime falls? I know it's difficult to do so because nobody has any idea of if and when it will happen and what the situation will be on the ground, but still, has there been some work done on that?

[Mark Bailey]

Yes, indeed, there has been. In fact, this is one of the main strands of work of the Friends of the Syrian People grouping, in which Canada is participating, along with quite a large number of countries. One of the working groups of the Friends of the Syrian People.... The Friends of the Syrian People is a sort of ministerial conference, and then it has a number of working groups that meet at the level of officials, one of them being the sanctions group I mentioned, which met in the Hague.

There is another one on economic reconstruction and development, which indeed is looking at exactly the questions you mention about what's going to be needed in Syria when the day comes when Assad is gone and it's time to start rebuilding the country. It is chaired by German and United Arab Emirates officials. Canada has been participating in that group as long as we've participated in all the other working groups.

In addition, there has been the beginning of some thinking about going beyond the pure economic scope. There is also thinking about bigger issues of constitution-writing and of accountability. There is another working group, actually—or project—under the Friends of the Syrian People on the issue of accountability, documenting the crimes against humanity that are being committed, especially by the regime forces but not exclusively and only by regime forces. There is an effort under way to try to document these with the idea that some day some kind of process will be mounted in which these folks will be held accountable for the crimes they have committed.

Your question is quite well taken. Indeed, considerable work is being undertaken on this score, but I do have to mention that it's not, at this point, being undertaken in the United Nations. This is a reflection, of course, of the fact that there's no Security Council agreement, and therefore no agreement that the UN Secretariat shall start undertaking this. It's being undertaken in this other grouping—the Friends of the Syrian People—on a kind of ad hoc basis.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

You have 30 seconds.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

I will give it to my friend.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

I will keep it brief.

Women and children in refugee camps often fall victim to violence. Could you give us a general sense of where things stand? For instance, what is the scope of Canada's mission in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq or Turkey, all countries that deal with the majority of refugees?

[Mark Bailey]

I don't have any information on that specifically, but I can ask my colleagues to prepare a report, if you like.

Leslie has some information.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Very briefly. We're over time here.

[Leslie Norton]

We know that women and children in camps have seen and experienced extreme hardship. In Lebanon, for example, 75% of the refugees are women and children, with children making up more than 50%. As a result, our partners such as UNICEF and UNHCR work to address the psychological and psychosocial needs of these children. They also ensure that programs are available to women and children targeting sexual violence and gender-based violence, in particular.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much.

We'll finish off this round with Mr. Van Kesteren for five minutes.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Ms. Norton, in answer to some of the questions my colleague asked, you provided us with some information on what CIDA was doing to help. Obviously, there's going to be some real need for medical attention and things like water and sanitation. How have we responded to that?

[Leslie Norton]

Are you asking in-country, in Syria itself, or in the refugee camps?

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Syria and refugee camps, yes, the situation there.

[Leslie Norton]

Okay. The partners we are working with are actually addressing these needs. UNICEF is working to meet the water and sanitation needs in the countries where the refugee camps are. They're working in close collaboration with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. In this context, what will happen is the UN organizations will come together, they will have a clear delineation of who has the lead on what sector, and in this case, UNICEF has the lead on delivering elements in water and sanitation and the psycho-social support for kids as well, as has been mentioned.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Has CIDA been able to provide funds for that?

[Leslie Norton]

Give me one minute. I have to double-check something for you. My apologies.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

While you're looking—and it's a quick answer—I do want to get a question in to Mr. Bailey.

I think most Canadians are probably wondering, when they think about the Middle East and the problems we've seen there, what in the world is going on. What is the root of all this? I wonder if you could give this committee, and Canadians, a history lesson as to where the turmoil and the struggles are coming from. I would think the average Syrian is content to simply live his life. What are the pressures that are pushing this turmoil in this region?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

That would be a history lesson on the Middle East in three minutes, right?