Evidence of meeting #11 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was countries.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Andrew P.W. Bennett  Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

3:30 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Dean Allison

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the orders of the day are our briefing on the office of religious freedom. We'll get started in just one moment.

Ms. Laverdière, did you have a question?

3:30 p.m.

NDP

Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Thank you Mr. Chairman, and before we begin I would like to table a motion. I had an opportunity to speak about the issue in question with some of my colleagues opposite.

The motion is the following:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development undertake a study on the Millennium development goals and the post-2015 development agenda; and that the committee report back its findings to the House of Commons.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

3:30 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Dean Allison

Okay. Thank you very much. That motion has been put on order.

3:30 p.m.

NDP

Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Chairman, I believe there is general agreement on this motion. Can we agree to go forward with this study?

3:30 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Dean Allison

We'll deal with that in committee business when we have a chance. It has now been brought forward so I'll have a look at it when we have a chance.

Ambassador Bennett, thank you very much for taking the time to be here today. We're looking forward to hearing what you have to say. You are the ambassador for the office of religious freedom. You have been in that role a little while. We're happy to hear what has been going on. I want to turn the floor over to you and get some opening comments, and then we'll go around the room as members of Parliament ask some questions.

Ambassador Bennett, the floor is yours. I believe you have about 15 minutes for your remarks, so we'll let you give those to us now.

3:30 p.m.

Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, Vice-Chairs, and distinguished members of the committee, it's a true honour to have the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to speak about the work that I have been doing as Canada's first ambassador for religious freedom.

I'll begin by giving a bit of a background on the state of religious freedom in the world today, to provide context for the work in which my team and I are involved. I will then speak to the office of religious freedom's mandate, and how we are using policy, advocacy, and programming to meet the office's objectives.

By way of background, worldwide there is a deteriorating trend in the state of freedom of religion. According to a report by the Pew Research Center, the share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religion rose from 37% in the year ending in mid-2010, to 40% in 2011, a five-year high. Because some of the most restrictive countries are very populous, more than 5.1 billion people in the world, roughly 74% of the global population, were living in countries with high government restrictions on religion, or high social hostilities involving religion, the brunt of which fell on smaller religious communities.

The creation of the office of religious freedom comes at a particularly important time. Thankfully, the office can rely on the cooperation of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other like-minded countries, as well as solid legal principles that are found in both Canadian and international law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines in article 18 the right of every person to freedom of religion. Numerous other human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, also established this individual right within an international human rights framework.

I will now speak more concretely about the office and its work.

The mandate of the office has three broad components: first, defend religious communities and monitor religious freedom through country strategies and analysis, interventions in support of communities at risk, and strengthening the capacity to monitor and promote religious freedom through specialized training; second, promote religious freedom as a key objective of Canadian foreign policy through domestic advocacy and outreach, international advocacy and outreach, and whole-of-government coordination; and third, advance policies and programs that support religious freedom and promote pluralism through policies that support the goals of the office, effective programming, and partnership with like-minded governments and international organizations.

I should add that I spoke about the international framework for what we're doing, but it also goes without saying that the Canadian Constitution also enshrines freedom of conscience and religion as the first fundamental freedom entrenched in section 2(a) of the 1982 Constitution Act.

Since my appointment on February 19, 2013, I have undertaken broad outreach and spoken publicly, both domestically and abroad, with literally hundreds of groups to raise awareness of the importance of religious freedom and to call attention to its violation internationally. At a conference on anti-Semitism in contemporary Europe in Budapest in October of last year, I drew attention to the legislation in certain countries that limits the rights of some people to fully practise their faith. We will continue to use every opportunity to raise Canada's concerns on violations of religious freedom. The office has a dynamic communications plan that will ensure that Canada's position remains in the spotlight on these important issues, either by me or by the foreign minister. We will continue to support resolutions that protect religious freedom at a variety of multilateral forums, including through formal statements in these bodies on emerging events and incidences of religious persecution.

As I mentioned earlier in conjunction with the advocacy program, I continue to engage in extensive domestic and international outreach to build a solid network of contacts to contribute to policy development and identify areas of potential collaboration.

This engagement includes the foreign diplomatic community in Ottawa, Canadian faith communities, civil society groups, and bilateral and multilateral interlocutors abroad. In mid-October 2013, the office also launched a seminar series, the Religious Freedom Forum, for government officials and various interlocutors to discuss themes of importance regarding the protection and promotion of religious freedom. We were pleased to welcome former British prime minister, Tony Blair, at our first seminar here in Ottawa.

The importance of this outreach is to assure Canadians that we hear their views on the plight or discrimination of their fellow citizens. It is also important for my office to engage with civil society and community groups who can partner with my office in different fashions. This outreach has proved extremely useful and I will continue to make efforts to speak to Canadians about the work of the office.

The office, in collaboration with our network of embassies and high commissions abroad, draws on leading research from key partners such as the Pew Forum, which I referenced earlier, to inform our policy, programming, and advocacy approach to combat religious freedom violations around the world. The office and colleagues at the department produce internal reports on particularly troubling situations such as the ongoing turmoil in Egypt and sectarian conflict in the Middle East more broadly. We are also in the process of developing country strategies for countries of concern.

In support of the advocacy, analysis, and reporting functions of the office and to raise awareness and understanding across Canada's foreign service, the office has been engaged in a series of briefing sessions for outgoing officers and heads of mission regarding the importance of promoting and defending religious freedom. Furthermore, a module of specialized training on religious freedom is being developed for Canadian diplomats. This will include training on related issues and on country-specific themes.

I'd like to speak a bit about our programming activities. Most of the funding allocated to the office—$4.25 million per year—is dedicated to programming activities in support of the office's objectives. The office manages the funding for the delivery of effective targeted programming in support of its mandate. Programming includes providing funding directly to selected civil society partners, especially in countries where there are serious religious cleavages and where government is supportive of constructive solutions to promote religious freedom. Funding can also be used to assist groups in critical situations or be granted to human rights defenders working on behalf of persecuted groups.

Programming also supports interfaith dialogue, engages governments on religious tolerance, and provides funding for the preparation and dissemination of documentation in support of religious freedom in targeted countries.

In August of last year, Minister Baird announced the first three religious freedom projects. In Nigeria we are funding a two-year and roughly $553,000 project to promote interfaith dialogue and conflict mediation between different communities, specifically Christian and Muslim communities. With the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the OSCE, we are launching a three-year project worth just over $670,000 with the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, to promote international standards on freedom of religion, focusing on recognition of religious or belief communities in eastern Europe, central Asia, and the south Caucasus. In Indonesia we are launching a $260,000 project with the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace to produce annual reports on freedom of religion and belief, increase understanding by religious communities of their constitutional rights, provide advocacy and networking tools to religious communities, and provide training for teachers on religious tolerance and pluralism.

I was asked by the committee to speak specifically to the situation in Syria, which I'm happy to do. The situation in Syria is a humanitarian catastrophe and the source of countless human rights violations including, but certainly not limited to, religious freedom. Approximately 130,000 people have been killed, over one third of whom were civilians, 6.5 million are internally displaced, and 2.4 million Syrians have fled as refugees to countries in the region. These figures continue to rise on a daily basis due to the vicious and increasingly sectarian nature of the conflict.

Regarding violations of religious freedom, religious divides in Syria have been manifested in a litany of attacks and counterattacks on religious communities and holy sites.

In January of this year, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that since the outbreak of the war over 1,000 mosques and 90 Christian churches, monasteries, shrines, and buildings around the country have been destroyed, with many more vandalized. In addition, both the regime and extremist elements of the opposition have targeted religious leaders including Sunni clerics who support the opposition as well as Christian leaders and worshippers. For example, two senior clerics, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boulos Yazigi and the Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Aleppo Yohanna Ibrahim, remain missing after being kidnapped by rebels in April of last year.

Canada continues to believe that the only way to end the crisis in Syria is through a Syrian-led political transition leading to the emergence of a free, democratic, and pluralist Syria. In Minister Baird's speech before the delegations at the Geneva II peace conference on Syria he made reference to building the country “that Syria's people—whatever their religion, sect, or ethnicity—deserve”. That has been Canada's position from the beginning.

A future Syria must have a place for all Syrians regardless of faith or ethnicity. Canada has been amongst the strongest advocates for pressuring the opposition to ensure they become more representative of Syria's diverse fabric as well as renounce the use of terrorism and distance themselves from these entities. Meanwhile Canada has also led the effort to help those fleeing Assad's violence and to date has committed over $630 million in humanitarian development and security assistance in response to the Syria crisis.

In 2013 I spoke to religious freedom issues in Syria quite publicly. On April 25 I condemned the abduction of the two Christian archbishops from Aleppo, as previously mentioned, and demanded their immediate release. On July 1 Minister Baird stated that Canada was appalled by reports of the killing of Roman Catholic priest Father François Murad, a Franciscan friar, and others near Gassanieh in northern Syria.

On September 9 the minister and I jointly condemned the forced conversion of Christians to Islam in the village of Maaloula near Damascus by al-Qaeda-linked rebels. On December 5 I called for the release of 12 nuns who had been reportedly abducted in Maaloula. I should say that I remain in regular contact with several bishops and clergy here in the Canadian Antiochian Orthodox community and Syriac Orthodox community about these issues facing Syria.

My office and the Government of Canada more broadly will continue to shine the international spotlight on violations of freedom of religion in Syria through advocacy efforts and other targeted action in concert with strategic partners whenever possible.

In closing, I hope that these brief remarks have given you an overview of the wide range of activities that the office is engaged in. Modestly speaking, though my team and I are proud of the work that we have done so far, the negative trends of recent years require a focused and sustained response from countries like Canada, which place great importance on the defence of religious freedom.

Mr. Chair, in closing I would just end with a brief story on how this office can be an effective tool for religious freedom. Last year we were advised by our high commission in Colombo of the arrest of Mr. Azad Sally, a prominent Muslim human rights activist who has spoken out in Sri Lanka against the violations of religious freedom meted out against the Muslim community in that country. He was arrested essentially under their protection against terrorism act, which has been used for all sorts of spurious investigations and prosecutions. We spoke out and demanded his immediate release. He was not being given due access to legal counsel or his family. We also démarchedthe Sri Lankan high commissioner here in Ottawa.

Mr. Sally was subsequently released a number of weeks later. His first stop upon his release was to our high commission in Colombo to thank Canada for speaking out.

Our primary objective is to position Canada as a global leader in promoting and protecting freedom of religion. Given the enormity of the task ahead for all those engaged in the fight against religious persecution and intolerance, if we are to have a measurable impact, continued work with Canadian and international partners is essential for the fulfilment of our mandate.

Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to present before the committee. I look forward to the committee's questions.

3:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Dean Allison

Thank you very much.

We are going to start with the opposition.

Mr. Dewar, seven minutes please.

3:45 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

Thank you, and thank you to our witness. It's good to see you again.

In the past couple of years we have seen a shift with the government. As you well know, since the Mulroney government there had been financing and support of about $10 million for democratic development and promotion of human rights. That was Rights and Democracy, which of course no longer exists and the funding for Rights and Democracy went back into general revenues.

Since that time your office was created with a budget of $5 million, and you did walk us through some of the things you have been doing.

I want to get a better handle, because we've had this shift to your office from this institute that was funded. I'm not suggesting that in any way, shape, or form they are equal, but certainly when we look at how we're projecting human rights defence and democratic development, it's obviously a capacity we've had, and we have a different capacity with you.

I want to better understand how your operation is working. You mentioned $4.25 million is allocated for your fund to do the kind of work you want to do on projects. We're almost at the end of the fiscal year. A lot more money hasn't been committed. Are you looking at many more projects to be committed between now and then because we're looking at about 15% of your budget that has been committed to date? Is that correct?

3:45 p.m.

Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett

We started our program activities roughly in June. We had to get a lot of the machinery up and running to put the programming into place so when I arrived in February, there was still quite a bit of stuff that had to get done to set up the programming process. At that time we established a program selection committee within the department.

So I think we were slow off the mark in the year. The fiscal year still has roughly a month in it. We do have some projects that are moving through that process so I would have to defer until the end of the fiscal year to tell you exactly how much of those project dollars we will be spending.

3:50 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

I'm a little curious as to one you mentioned, which I didn't have on my radar. I had the Nigeria project and certainly the partnership with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. I referenced the one you mentioned on Indonesia, an announcement that was made August 23. The only evidence I have of the project comes from the minister directly, but you're telling me now that was out of your office. I'm just looking here. There's no reference at all to your office on that press release.

It says that:

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today announced initiatives with Indonesia on human rights and religious freedom and to build capacity in the fights against terrorism and human smuggling.

Then he goes on with the program.

I'm curious as to why your office wouldn't be referenced to that program that we have associated with your office.

3:50 p.m.

Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett

You would have to ask the minister's office why they chose to phrase the language like that, but certainly that amount is coming from the Religious Freedom Fund.

3:50 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

Okay. It's a little surprising because....

You were telling me about how some of the projects are considered, and you go to a team within the department to look at different projects.

Mr. Ambassador, tell me how things work. Are you there to represent your office quasi-independently, or is it directly under the control of the minister?

3:50 p.m.

Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett

No. We exist within the department's bureaucracy, so I report through an assistant deputy minister. That's the normal reporting relationship.

My title is ambassador, but I act essentially as a director general within the global issues branch. That's how things function. If you want to explore the exact process of advancing projects a little more, I'm happy to do that.

3:50 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

I'm just asking because when many people saw the office created your designation as ambassador considered—and obviously you are within line of the government, every ambassador is a foreign service officer—that there would be some independence in what you're doing.

I certainly have looked carefully at all the press releases, often it's you and the minister. Sometimes it says it's from you, but there's no quote from you even though it's religious freedom oriented. It's only Minister Baird.

What I'm getting a sense of, and I can say this, is a portrayal that we have of an office created with the idea there's some independence, that it is an office with its own budget and its own characteristics and purview, but really what you're telling me is you're in an office within the context of the minister's office. I'm trying to find the distinction—other than your name—between what you're doing now and what anyone would have done if they had been given the file of religious freedom.

3:50 p.m.

Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett

I'm in the context of the departmental bureaucracy, so in that sense I'm there to serve and assist Minister Baird in his own advancing of this foreign policy priority. The office is situated, I think rightly, within the division that is looking at the broader human rights policy framework and democracy promotion. I'm regularly interacting with my colleagues who are advancing other key foreign policy priorities, such as early child and forced marriage...our relations with various multilateral partners—

3:50 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

But we don't have anyone who's called the ambassador for human rights or the ambassador for democratic development, do we?

3:50 p.m.

Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

3:50 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

Thank you.

3:50 p.m.

Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett

You would have to ask Minister Baird as to the rationale behind why they chose to establish this office.

3:50 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

No, fair enough. Thank you so much.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Dean Allison

Thank you very much.

We're going to move over to Mr. Schellenberger, please, seven minutes.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Schellenberger Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Ambassador, for being here today.

Given the ongoing sectarian violence in Syria between the Shiite and Sunni and other factions, how do we advocate for greater peace in the region?

3:50 p.m.

Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett

I think that's a very large question. There are a lot of different communities that are concerned about this sectarian violence that exists in Syria. The nature of the conflict has really evolved I think from the beginning, so we're seeing this high number of sectarian attacks that I spoke to in my remarks.

As discussed, and as Minister Baird has said a number of times, we need to work with those who would seek to advance a democratic and pluralist Syria, where Syrians of all different communities can live together. What we're seeing is the nature of the sectarian violence is particularly severe. So I think we're looking for opportunities to work with partners who can address some of those dynamics, who can address how can we advance greater pluralism and how can we assist those communities that are facing particular threats, that are facing particularly egregious human rights violations, whether it's the Shia Muslim community, the Antiochian and Greek Orthodox Christian community, the Ismaili community. There are a lot of religious, especially minority, groups that are facing very serious challenges.

The situation is so fluid and complex that we need to find the right way to ensure that we can assist these communities without also causing them greater harm, given the current situation.

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Schellenberger Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON

In your estimation, would aiding one group in Syria at the expense of another lead to abandonment of our goals for greater religious freedom and pluralism?

3:55 p.m.

Ambassador, Office of Religious Freedom, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

Dr. Andrew P.W. Bennett

Within Syria, greater religious freedom within Syria?