Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 17th, 2015

[Bart Witteveen]

Let's keep it simple. I think the starting point is to make that clear distinction and to recognize, as Martin said, the primacy of the humanitarian imperative: the delivery of impartial, neutral, and independent aid.

Now, this is not a silver bullet that's going to allows us to operate without problems—it's obviously much more complicated than that—but it is a key element to allow us to position ourselves as humanitarian agencies, and where possible, to negotiate access, managing the perceptions of the belligerents on the ground. In that sense, this is very much the starting point for us in terms of getting our operations going and allowing us access to the very most vulnerable.

On a broader, more political level, I think the Canadian voice, in advocating for humanitarian access, advocating on behalf of the humanitarian principles, and advocating on behalf of a sustainable peace process wherever those opportunities and avenues may exist, is critical in moving this forward.

We have a humanitarian engagement on the ground; there are military operations taking place. There has to be a political platform as well, at the right moment—I'm not saying it can be achieved tomorrow or in the short term, but we have to bear it in mind—to take us to a sustained solution to this very dramatic crisis.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

How much time do I have left?

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

You have two minutes remaining.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

In his testimony, Mr. Fischer talked about a humanitarian crisis at an unprecedented scale, one not seen since World War II. I agree with him. As for Ms. Pearce, she said that mass displacements in Iraq would continue in 2015.

My first question is for Mr. Gignac.

What priorities should countries have when faced with a situation like this? In terms of resources other than financial ones, of course, has the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees identified any other needs?

[Emmanuel Gignac]

Thank you very much for your question, Mr. Saganash.

We are indeed facing an extremely complex situation not only in Iraq, but also in the entire region, and that further complicates matters. The situation in Syria is extremely difficult. We can't see the end of the tunnel or how the situation could be resolved. We see no end to the humanitarian crisis.

That crisis gives the Islamic State an opportunity to interfere in Iraq. It has become a destabilising force that is capitalizing on the weaknesses of Iraq's political process.

The consequences we saw in 2014 are clear. The humanitarian consequences are absolutely tragic in a country that also produces oil. You may think that the country would have the means to meet the needs of its population.

This isn't just an Iraqi problem, as an economic crisis has also been caused by the drop in oil prices and major liquidity issues. Iraq is having huge problems in terms of management and governance. That country has been in transition since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. That's the context in which we are operating. There are also community tensions that probably existed during the regime and simply came to light after its collapse.

Iraq is a very complex country, as it is a mosaic of very old religious and ethnic communities, and tensions have always existed there. Iraq is currently lacking political stability and a political framework. The tensions will persist until a political framework has been implemented. The Islamic State is obviously exploiting this situation to further its own growth. That's why the response is complex. A humanitarian response is self-evident. We have to continue to support Iraq through resources, but also through assistance in terms of governance and the political process.

Kurdistan's case is unique in the sense that the region receives 80% of its budget from Baghdad through budget transfers. Owing to disputes, discussions, disagreements or political wrangling over the sale of oil, those transfers have been suspended. An agreement was recently negotiated, but it has not yet been implemented. That's why we have had to take over when Kurdish authorities requested our assistance in areas such as the construction of temples and distribution of essential goods. Kurdish authorities have officially approached United Nations and asked for assistance because they did not have the means to handle the situation. Baghdad has kept out of the Kurdistan crisis, and this remains a contentious issue. That's why I think we can work with a number of vectors for which Canada can receive support by participating in various political, security and humanitarian actions. I think it's very important for Canada to maintain its commitment to humanitarian action.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Mr. Gignac.

The completion of the second round will be shared by Mr. Goldring and Mr. Schellenberger.

[Gary Schellenberger, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Thank you. I'll go first.

Are any refugees moving to Saudi Arabia?

[Jane Pearce]

I have not heard of that happening. That is probably something UNHCR could speak to better than I can for the World Food Programme. I have never heard of that, but I bow to Emmanuel on that one.

[Emmanuel Gignac]

The information I have is that there are no refugees getting into Saudi Arabia from Iraq. The border as far as I know is completely closed and sealed for security reasons.

There were refugees in the past at the time of Saddam Hussein. There was a camp in Saudi Arabia for quite some time, Rafha camp, if I remember. It was hosting essentially Iraqis from the south, from Basra, mainly Shia, who were at the time fleeing persecution by the regime. These people returned home in 2003. Now since we left, I would say, and specifically with the situation that is unfolding, we don't have any reports of refugees crossing into.... There is less need for refugees to go in that direction because we could have people from Anbar, but it's a long way. But I believe the Saudis are keeping the door closed.

Thank you.

[Gary Schellenberger, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Does the Saudi government supply humanitarian assistance—food and housing—to the refugee camps that are in Iraq?

[Emmanuel Gignac]

I can take that question also.

The answer is yes, definitely Saudi Arabia has provided a huge contribution to the UN. Back in July, half a billion U.S. dollars were given to the UN and were allocated to the different agencies. This contribution proved to be extremely timely and regarded.... I think the situation would have been much worse than it has been in terms of the ability of the international organizations to respond to the needs of the people. Regarding refugees, I don't have the details, but I believe that Saudi Arabia has also contributed to the Syrian refugee plan, not only in Iraq but also in Jordan and...[Inaudible—Editor].

Thank you.

[Gary Schellenberger, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Thank you.

[Jane Pearce]

The contribution from Saudi Arabia was $500 million, which was made for only Iraqi IDPs, and only for Iraqis inside Iraq. So we could not use it for the small number of Iraqis who had crossed the border and become refugees. I think that's quite an important distinction to make. It was made predominantly to stabilize the situation with the country, and it did enable us as a humanitarian community—because a lot of the money filtered down to our partners—to stabilize the situation and respond. The very big lesson there was that having enough money at the beginning of an operation saves lives.

In terms of the refugee operations, Saudi Arabia has contributed to the World Food Programme, to our regional emergency operation that covers Syrian refugees, but that's a much smaller contribution. I think it's around $20 million.

Thank you.

[Gary Schellenberger, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Ms. Pearce, you recently stated that structures have not yet been put in place to cater to displaced Iraqi nationals fleeing into the three southern provinces of Najaf, Karbala, and Babylon. Would you be able to expand on what has been done in that region and what remains to be done?

[Jane Pearce]

That was the result of an assessment mission that we sent through these three southern governorates.

When we said that the structures were not in place, I think Emmanuel made it very clear earlier that most of the displaced people are not in camps. They're dispersed amongst family members, within their tribes, or within host communities.

In these southern governorates, we found that not a lot of assistance was being provided to people. People were left. Government does not necessarily have the capacity to help these people, and we've been very clear about that. Part of what we are pushing for is to get more partners to go down into the southern governorates, so we can provide more assistance. The issue there is that the focus has been so much on the Kurdish areas and not on the southern governorates where there is a lot of need. We actually find that people have more need there, where there is nobody to provide them assistance, than there is in the north, where there is so much focus.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you.

That completes the second round.

We will begin the third round with Mr. Trottier, who has five minutes.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, to our witnesses today, for your testimony.

The first question I had was about agriculture and food and their relationship.

Ms. Pearce, you commented on the sensitivity, when you're distributing food parcels and vouchers, and on how you need to work with local producers and different agents of the agriculture industry within Iraq.

How do you work with local Iraqis—the farmers and food distributors—to make sure, if you're putting a lot of food aid into the market, that it doesn't depress prices for their goods in the markets, and then on the other side, when it's a question of vouchers, that you don't create some form of inflation within a market? How do you consult with local stakeholders to make sure you're sensitive to the balance that needs to be struck?

[Jane Pearce]

Thank you very much.

We work very closely with the Food and Agriculture Organization. We are both within the food security cluster. That is, we rely heavily on FAO, particularly for the agriculture.

Iraq is mainly a cereal-growing area; it's wheat. Most of the wheat goes into the government silos and into the public distribution system. A lot of the wheat that you find on the market will be imported wheat anyway. A certain amount of wheat has to be imported because the local wheat is not of a quality to make the local bread, so there is always a push-pull in the market.

Prices tend to be slightly inflated with the national produce. There's a little bit of an incentive for farmers to stay on the land, for reasons of curbing urbanization, but also of the importance of keeping people on the land to keep the dust down and to keep the salination of the plains at a reasonable level.

We monitor the markets with the ministries of planning in the KRG areas and also in the government. We go slowly. This is something that WFP does in all the countries of the world in which we work. We know how quickly we can manage. We watch whether or not prices are going too high; then we will slow up our implementation if we think it is not conducive to the local market.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Would you comment on longer-term prospects for agriculture in the region? This is one of the cradles of global agriculture, so at some point Iraq will be more self-sufficient in food. What are the prospects, if we're able to make the situation on the ground more secure and safe?

I imagine Iraq would be fully self-sufficient in food—obviously trading for goods and such things, but in terms of basic, staple foods it would be self-sufficient, would it not?

[Jane Pearce]

I'm not sure it will be entirely self-sufficient. It is a very hot climate, as any of you who have been there in the summer know.

They are large wheat and rice producers. I don't expect the rice production to be impacted, because that takes place in the southern governorates, but there is enormous concern for the wheat harvest going forward. FAO is distributing seeds to people. They're also distributing seeds in Nineveh and Salah al-Din, which are the two governorates with the most agricultural production.

I honestly cannot tell you what the prospects look like for this year, because we don't know what the situation is going to be like. We know that the seeds are there ready for planting, but we also know that there could be a lot of violence in those areas in the coming months that may impact upon agricultural production.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Thank you.

My next question is for Mr. Fischer and Mr. Witteveen, having to do with health.

I know there are some critical challenges with respect to sanitation and potable drinking water. What are the other main health challenges right now within the camps? Are there any diseases running rampant through some of the camps? Are there vaccination requirements? Is there a shortage of front-line practitioners, doctors and nurses?

What are the main priorities and challenges right now within the camps?

[Martin Fischer]

Thank you very much for the question.

As you've heard before, I think it's important to distinguish between the two general settings of where people have moved to: one is formal camps and the other is informal settlements. Those two situations present distinct health challenges. I can give you the World Vision example.

We operate in the Sulaymaniyah governorate in the Kurdish region of Iraq through a World Health Organization grant that allows us to provide front-line health services both to IDPs who are in informal settlements or who have taken over a hospital—where I was on Sunday—or within camps.

In camps the key concern is overcrowding. A key concern is that you have tents meant to be for one family, and now because of the rapid influx you have two, three, or four families in very confined spaces. That in itself presents an increased risk of transmission of diseases, hygiene. Out of that comes building of latrines as a key concern.

But also a key concern is that with this influx of this large number of people, you have a shortage of qualified staff within the Kurdish region. There are struggles as displaced people out of other regions of Iraq have moved into Kurdistan and are having difficulties practising. For example, World Vision's front-line staff have made a very targeted effort of employing internally displaced people who have medical qualifications. That's a very concrete...we hear this often in Canada around accreditation of credentials.

I can give you the story of a hospital that I went to in a town called Qalat Dizah, which is up over two mountain passes away from the main city, where around 800 individuals have taken over an abandoned hospital. You have rooms that were essentially former hospital rooms where there are only washroom facilities to the floor, and now you have children sleeping on the floor because there hasn't been an initial impact.

It was really heartbreaking to see up to eight, 10, or 12 children in a space that is meant for three or four individual beds. Children often come to those places with pre-existing conditions. Those people are difficult to register so we can provide them with health care. World Vision is able to go there three times a week with a small mobile clinic. You need to be very versatile as a service provider to be able to get to those people on a very quick mechanism, because often they move unannounced, if you will, from one place to another, so tracking down these folks is very difficult.

I think that's all the time I have.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you.

To even things out, Mr. Saganash and Ms. Michaud will have the floor for seven minutes.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have a quick question for Madam Pearce before I hand it over to Madam Michaud.

You obviously work in—how would I put it?—a challenging environment, to say the least. I'd like to know more about the challenges your organization faces in achieving its mandate on the ground. I think you spoke about moving lines of combat being a challenge, and Mr. Witteveen talked about a dynamic situation on the ground. I'd like to know more about that and how governments like ours can help in achieving your mandate on the ground.

[Jane Pearce]

I think we are all in agreement that the biggest challenge we have is getting access to the people who need us the most. I've been very concerned about the situation of the people in the governorates controlled partially or fully by ISIL.

This is a country that has two or three generations who expect to get their food. If you give them cash, they don't buy food; they buy other things. There is a social conditioning that leads them to expect. There has been no public distribution system distributions in these governorates in some places for 12 months.

We talk a lot to the truck drivers who go into these areas. Trade continues, so there is some food going down there, but we don't know how much, and we don't know what the situation is actually like when you get off the main arteries. Where there are markets, the trucks go in. We're looking at doing this remote monitoring, as I mentioned to you.

The other challenge is reaching the people we need to reach and making sure our assistance continues to go to them. Funding is something I'm going to begin to worry about now. We have sufficient finances to keep our cash and voucher programs going only until May of this year. For people who receive a voucher, the imperative is not to have the cash now. But for people who don't have access to markets and who need food, I need three months in order to put these parcels together and bring them in. So money is an issue. Of course, it always is.

These are the things Canada can do. You are one of our biggest partners. You partner with us in a number of ways. Yesterday when I was talking to my counterparts here, we also talked about the possibility of Canada coming in and giving us experts. We need to start targeting and doing some assessments. Then we can bring in Canadian partners to help us with that. It makes our credibility better when we have our donor partners. It gives us different perspectives. I think it is very important for Canada to keep a high level of conversation regarding the humanitarian situation when we are talking about political and potentially military conflict. It is very important—as Ms. Amos, the emergency relief coordinator, has said—that politicians remember that there are people on the ground who are impacted by their actions. If that is something that Canada can do, we are certainly very grateful for that.

Thank you.