Foreign Affairs Committee on Nov. 5th, 2018

[The Chair, Mr. Michael Levitt (York Centre, Lib.)]

I call the meeting to order.

Good afternoon, colleagues. This is the114th meeting of the foreign affairs committee. We are continuing our work of the study on the situation in Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We are going to hear from two witnesses in the first hour. By teleconference, we have Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, senior political affairs officer, peace and security division, from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. From the United Nations Security Council, we have Renifa Madenga, humanitarian affairs expert, panel of experts on South Sudan, joining us from Washington by video conference. Thank you to you both.

Mr. Sheekh, I'm going to suggest that we begin with you because we know how fraught these phone lines can be sometimes.

Mr. Sheekh, because we can't see you, if you have a question during the discussion and the question period, please make yourself heard. Then I will know you are waiting to provide comments when we get to that point.

We will begin with your eight to 10 minutes, then we will go to Madam Madenga.

[Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, Senior Political Affairs Officer, Peace and Security Division, Intergovernmental Authority on Development]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and distinguished honourable members.

I very much welcome this opportunity to address you on the recent successfully concluded High Level Revitalization Forum on the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. The acronym I will be using for this is ARCSS.

This is my first presentation to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, and I appreciate the opportunity.

Almost one and a half years ago, the IGAD assembly mandated the High Level Revitalization Forum of the South Sudanese parties and the stakeholders to discuss concrete measures to restore a permanent ceasefire to achieve a full and inclusive implementation of the agreement, and to develop a revised and realistic timeline and implementation schedule towards a democratic election at the end of the transitional period.

The assembly further mandated the IGAD Council of Ministers to convene and facilitate this process.

I'm happy to inform you this evening, Mr. Chairman, that the IGAD member states, together with the support of the international community, have successfully come to the end of this noble process with all the South Sudan parties and stakeholders appending their signatures to the revitalized ARCSS. The agreement was signed at an IGAD summit in Addis Ababa on September 12 of this year.

Mr. Chairman, honourable members, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight our achievements, challenges and outcomes to this august House. I will make these remarks very short.

I will highlight some of the key progress made following the IGAD council decision at the 32nd extraordinary session held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 21, during which they inter alia mandated President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to facilitate the second round of face-to-face discussions between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Dr. Riek Machar Teny to discuss and resolve the outstanding issues on governance and security arrangements, including measures proposed in the revised regional proposals of the IGAD Council of Ministers.

Mr. Chairman, in accordance with the IGAD council decision above, the Khartoum round of talks was launched on June 25 of this year as a continuation of the two phases of the HLRF and the face-to-face talks held here in Addis Ababa. The Khartoum talks followed the signing of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access, signed on December 22, 2017, and the initialling of several agreed-on governance and security issues that had been accomplished here in Addis Ababa. The Khartoum talks, including a round of face-to-face meetings held in Entebbe, Uganda, quickly produced results, including an agreement between the two principals, His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit and former first vice-president, His Excellency Riek Machar Teny to work together to end the conflict.

Prior to the currently revitalized ARCSS 2018, the South Sudanese parties and the stakeholders had concluded several agreements.

First was the Khartoum Declaration of Agreement Between Parties of the Conflict of South Sudan, signed on June 27, 2018.

Second was the agreement on the outstanding transitional security arrangements, signed on July 6, 2018.

Third, the agreement on the outstanding governance issues for the transitional period was signed on July 25, 2018.

Finally, the agreement on the outstanding issues on governance was signed on August 5, 2018.

Mr. Chairman, the signing of the full text of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan on September 3 was a milestone and marks an end to formal negotiations on the HLRF.

The revitalized agreement was also preceded by the initialling of the agreement and by the development of a comprehensive implementation matrix, which were also initialled on September 2 of this year, as well as by the convening of the security arrangement workshop from September 3 to September 5, 2018. The outcome of this workshop was also initialled by the parties.

The HLRF has been an all-inclusive process that enabled all parties to the agreement on the resolution of this conflict—including the estranged groups and other South Sudanese stakeholders, faith-based groups, South Sudanese refugees, civil society organizations, women and youth—to participate in the process.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members, now briefly allow me to update you on some of the IGAD assembly decisions.

The assembly has decided that until his final status is determined at the upcoming ordinary summit of the IGAD assembly, the SPLM-IO leader, Dr. Riek Machar Teny shall be allowed to stay in a country of his choice in the region.

The assembly also resolves that IGAD shall engage the United Nations Security Council to ensure that the regional protection force is fully deployed to execute its mandate in accordance with the UN Security Council's resolutions 2304 in 2016 and 2406 in 2018, and shall request a further review of its mandate to allow Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti and Somalia as guarantors to contribute forces to enhance the protection and security throughout the implementation of this agreement.

The council further mandates the IGAD chiefs of staff to assess the operational needs and elaborate the necessary tasks of the RPF, the Regional Protection Force, in light of the current situation on the ground, and the prospective expansion as the basis for securing an endorsement from the African Union Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council.

Mr. Chairman and honourable members, as I conclude, allow me to congratulate all the South Sudanese parties for conducting their talks in good faith and for their determination and resilience.

At IGAD we will work closely with all the political stakeholders in the country as well as regional and international partners for an inclusive, impartial and honest implementation of this agreement. The signing of the agreement in September was not forced upon the parties. It shows an act of compromise and leadership.

We at IGAD are hopeful for the future, though we do not underestimate the task ahead. The announcement to release more political prisoners and the call to open humanitarian access routes and to allow free movement of people are important indicators that the parties are willing and able to make compromises.

That key opposition leaders came to Juba just last week after a long absence to share the podium in the spirit of compromise and national solidarity is a public signal that the much-needed vision of trust and inclusive implementation of the agreement is under way. The implementation of this agreement has begun in earnest, and key implementation institutions for governance, security and monitoring have been established.

We thank with our whole heart the African Union Commission, the United Nations, the European Union, Troika countries, China, Japan, Canada and IPF members for their contribution to this process.

The Government of Canada has provided generous funding to IGAD for this process and its implementation.

Mr. Chairman, finally I want to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to you for this opportunity to brief this distinguished select committee, and I look forward to closely working with you in implementing the revitalized agreement. Rebuilding South Sudan and responding to the current dire humanitarian situation and security challenges requires our collective action.

I thank you.

[The Chair]

Thank you very much, Mr. Sheekh. We're now going to move straight to Ms. Madenga.

[Renifa Madenga, Humanitarian Affairs Expert, Panels of Experts on South Sudan, United Nations Security Council, As an Individual]

Thank you.

It is an honour to address the standing committee today. I would also like to thank Mr. Sheekh, my colleague, for sharing the panel with me.

I want to indicate up front that I'm coming here not in my capacity as the humanitarian expert on the panel of South Sudan; I'm here in my personal capacity.

I thank you, Mr. Chair, for the introductory remarks. I will be referring to the humanitarian work I've done in the region in South Sudan and why I think this is a privilege and an opportunity. I want to share with the committee some of the observations on South Sudan.

I've worked in South Sudan since 2014 with a commission on fact-finding, the AU-UN Women's Committee. I have also worked with the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, in 2016. Now I'm with the panel of experts.

The views I'm sharing are the views of an ordinary person going to South Sudan. We have seen people sick and tired of the humanitarian situation in South Sudan. When I visited South Sudan in 2014, there was a crisis. When I went back in 2016, people were very tired. When I went back in October of this year, I found that the ordinary people were very weary. I'm talking about my observations on the ordinary people in South Sudan.

Our mandate as a panel of experts also gives us the privilege of talking to different categories of people. When I was talking to the most vulnerable boys and girls, men and women, people who have seen the protracted crisis in South Sudan, they made pertinent observations that I want to share with the Standing Committee today.

In the area of human rights matters, the study that the Standing Committee is working on is very important. You're undertaking a study so that all of Canada can better address the issues of conflict, peace, gender-based violence, security and justice. You are also looking at respect for human rights and at the economic development in South Sudan.

My address today will try to address some of the issues you are looking into.

I will start with the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

My colleague has already explained in detail the revitalized agreement that was signed on September 12, 2018. As we talk now, there is supposed to be peace in South Sudan. However, I want to highlight the disparity between the peace talks and the reality.

I was engaged in meetings with South Sudanese authorities, the international diplomatic community, the United Nations entities, and some ordinary people in the streets of South Sudan. The public highlighted the plight the ordinary people were going through.

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is serious. Despite the political progress, which we should all be celebrating, the ordinary South Sudanese people have been suffering since December 2013, and they continue to suffer now.

Some of the issues that are very pertinent in this crisis include conflict-related sexual violence and also gender-based violence.

From the beginning of the conflict in South Sudan, sexual violence has been a very serious issue. The crisis, protracted as it is, has been characterized by a lot of sexual violence. This has affected boys. It has affected men. It has affected women. It has affected girls. It has affected ordinary people, and it continues to affect them now.

People might relate to conflict-related sexual violence as part of the armed conflict, but even during the peace process there are incidents documented of people exposed to conflict-related sexual violence. There are also incidents of gender-based violence.

For us to carefully understand the situation in South Sudan, especially as it relates to gender-based violence, I think it is important for us to remember that even during the South Sudan conflict, there was a lot of reported and documented conflict-related sexual violence, and that with regard to South Sudan, we are looking at a society that is very militarized, a patriarchal society in which the status of women is determined by patriarchal values and other traditional values.

When I say that ordinary people who have been exposed to both conflict-related sexual violence and gender-based violence are weary, I actually mean that it goes back to what happened before 2011. It then goes to the crisis that started in 2013, and it now goes beyond the peace talks in 2015. Between those periods of peace talks, the reality is that people are still exposed to conflict-related sexual violence and also to gender-based violence in the form of early marriages and in the form of domestic violence.

Then we also come to one of the aspects that you are looking at in this study: justice. In all the visits I have made to South Sudan, civilians in particular have been calling for accountability for gross human rights violations and violations of principles of international humanitarian law and human rights law that have been perpetrated in South Sudan since 2013.

There has been a lot of impunity, but there has been very limited accountability. Recently we were celebrating the Terrain case, in which at least some people were brought to justice. However, the majority of South Sudanese have not seen justice done. They have not seen the atrocities addressed. They have not seen accountability in terms of the lives they lost—those who were near and dear to them—or the malicious injury to their properties.

Now as we talk about peace and the fact that internally displaced persons should be resettled, should be rehabilitated, should go back to their homes, the question for some of them is where they can go.

When I visited South Sudan in October, that was one of the issues raised by ordinary people I talked to—ordinary men, women and young people who actually knew that as we talked about peace, their homes in Bor, Malakal and Yei were occupied by persons, some of whom allegedly perpetrated offences against them, so the humanitarian situation is still very serious, and it is also a serious concern.

Then we also talk about respect for human rights in South Sudan. The human rights paradigm has been very problematic. In that regard, I would urge the international community, including Canada, to look at interventions that can address and redress the situation on the ground.

One aspect of the recommendations would go to supporting human rights defenders. They've been doing a lot of work. They've been documenting a lot of atrocities. They need capacity-building if accountability is going to be realized, maybe through the hybrid court, which was recommended in 2014. There has been an inordinate delay in actually bringing it into operation to implement the recommendations relating to the hybrid court.

There are certain areas that also need a lot of intervention. During the October visit we saw people who need food, so the food insecurity issue is a very serious issue in South Sudan. In that regard I urge the standing committee to look into ways of supporting the agencies on the ground, either governmental organizations or local groups that are trying to redress and address the issue on the ground.

There are other issues relating to unemployment, relating to other human rights violations, on which I would urge the international community, and Canada in particular, to take initiatives to help the local people, to empower them to stand up and address the issues that are very pertinent in the situation of South Sudan.

Thank you.

[The Chair]

Thank you very much, Ms. Madenga.

We will go straight to questions, and we will start with MP Aboultaif, please.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you very much for appearing before the committee today.

I'm quite familiar with the situation in South Sudan. I have a good-sized community from the South Sudan, but also from north Sudan. I was going to ask you the question about what can be done and what should be done, but I'm going to change the dynamic of the question a little bit.

We know that you mentioned accountability, and you mentioned there are some measures that the United Nations sanctions took under resolution 2428 in 2018, which they renewed until May 2019, and that there were also financial and travel measures under resolution 2406, which extended the mandate until July 2019. You also mentioned that a lot of things need to be done, as if we need to start all over again.

If I ask about the priority—this question is for both of you—how do we set the priorities, and where should we start to be more effective as an international community and as Canada? As I said, there are human rights violations at all levels. There's food insecurity, as you called it. There's so much that needs to be done. There are the institutions. The list goes and on and on, but what priorities are to be taken immediately in order to be able to at least be effective and try to stop what's happening there and stop the bleeding, if I could put it in that fashion?

[Nuur Mohamud Sheekh]

I can try to respond to your questions.

It is a very good question. It's also a weighty question. There are no easy answers.

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan, as has been referred to by Ms. Madenga, is dire. There are security challenges and violations that are there.

What I can say is that since the high-level revitalization forum began six months ago, there is evidence that violations, especially fighting in South Sudan, have been significantly reduced.

In our sustained engagement in South Sudan at the highest level in the region, all of the state governments who are engaged engaged the warring parties at the highest levels, putting pressure on them to abstain from violating the ceasefire arrangement. That, by and large, has also worked to a great extent.

The issue of political prisoners was a thorny issue. In the agreement they made it very clear that as a confidence-building measure, political prisoners have to be released. This has happened. On the 31st of last month, just last week, the former vice-president made a visit to Juba with President Omar al-Bashir. The Ugandan president also was in Juba, President Yoweri Museveni.

There is confidence building. I'm not saying that the task ahead is easy. What we are seeing, since we engaged in this process, is that the hostilities are diminishing. In Juba last week, all the political parties—all of them, without exception—were there.

What can be done? As regions and members of the international community, we should continue engaging these parties. Disengaging from this process is not an option. If we disengage, these parties will again relapse into conflict and violence.

It's very important, committee, that Ms. Madenga also alluded to the humanitarian situation. The situation of food insecurity in South Sudan is dire. We should continue funding those local organizations that provide food to local populations, especially in those hard-to-reach areas, with the opening up of humanitarian access.

The return of IDPs is very important. Finding proper solutions for these populations is very important. The region has graciously hosted them as hosts. They had a million plus refugees; they took a quarter of a million refugees coming in. Most of them wish to return back to their home areas. We should work hand in hand to make sure we find a durable solution for this situation.

Security arrangements in South Sudan are very important. A whole chapter of this peace agreement, chapter 2, is on security arrangements. We are talking about demobilization of the armed groups and reintegration. This is not an easy undertaking. The dialogue on this aspect is ongoing as we speak. Canada and the international community should also try to work with us in tandem. That is the only way we can stabilize South Sudan and help that country return to normalcy.

Thank you.

[The Chair]

Thank you very much, Mr. Sheekh.

We'll now move to MP Saini, please.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Thank you, both of you, for being here today and enlightening us on this very important topic.

Ms. Madenga, I want to start with you, because of some of the opening comments you made. You talked about the violence in South Sudan.

I wanted to build on that because, as you know, in July 2018 there was a UN arms embargo against South Sudan. At that time, when the embargo was announced, the first person to come forward was the President of Uganda, Mr. Museveni, who said not to worry about the sanctions—he would help skirt them. He said he would provide arms to South Sudan as needed.

There are right now eight people in the South Sudanese leadership who face UN sanctions. However, four countries—Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda—have not enforced those sanctions.

With the UN arms embargo and the violence that's happening now in South Sudan, what is the situation since you were there in October?

[Renifa Madenga]

Thank you very much for the question.

I will start by highlighting that in view of the peace processes, the priority now is the cessation of all hostilities so that all guns are actually quietened and that people start to live normally in a situation of sustainable peace. That is the way to sustainable peace.

I come now to the mandate of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan, which was extended pursuant to Security Council resolution 2428 on July 13, 2018, which you have referred to. I want to highlight that now, with the arms embargo and the other activities related to the mandate, it is our view that we will continue examining and analyzing the information on the ground. We will continue implementing the sanctions regime, making sure that those targeted by the sanction measures are actually monitored and investigated, and that resolution 2428 is applied to the situation in order to address and redress the situation on the ground.

I want to comment specifically on the area of humanitarian and human rights measures. The designation criteria of the sanctions regime also include targeting those who are targeting civilians or planning, directing or committing acts of violation. The sanctions regime is actually complementing, in a material way, all the peace processes so that there is humanitarian assistance. You referred to food insecurity, and there is access to areas where people are in need of food.

I think all those measures are actually complementing the peace process.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Sheekh, I'd like to ask you a question.

Can you hear me?

[Nuur Mohamud Sheekh]

I can hear you.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

The question I'd like to ask you is this. I know you've been involved with IGAD. In the last revitalized agreement that was signed, you signed that agreement based on the support of the Troika, the support of the President of Uganda, and also the support of the President of Sudan.

Is that true?

[Nuur Mohamud Sheekh]

That's correct, sir.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

We have a problem here because the Sudanese president, Mr. al-Bashir, has been charged with war crimes at the International Criminal Court. You know that nine ceasefires have come into place since the formation of South Sudan.

What confidence do you have that this latest peace process will actually work, especially when some of the opposition was not included in the discussions,?

[Nuur Mohamud Sheekh]

Sir, if I may correct the assumption you made that not all the opposition groups were included in the peace process, the postscript of this peace process is that all the opposition groups have been included. The South Sudan Opposition Alliance, other political parties, and SPLM-IO were all included in this peace agreement.

Second, the heads of states and governments of IGAD, in June of this year, and the chair of IGAD, together with his colleagues, asked President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to try to narrow the differences between these groups, and to his credit, he has successfully done that.

However, one thing I may say is that this conflict in South Sudan was hatching a dire situation for the economy in the region. The oil was not flowing, so it was hurting them. Uganda's economy was also relying heavily on South Sudan, because Uganda was providing goods and services to South Sudan, so it was hurting them. Also, Uganda is hosting a large number of South Sudan refugees, so the region, honourable member, as you can see, has been negatively affected, and this has brought the regional leaders to come together to address the implications and consequences of this conflict.

What we are seeing is that all the leaders are engaged in this process in good faith, in good spirit, and as an organization we have faith in the outcome of this process and the agreement and we hope that it will work. The Troika statements have been consistent that they are going to support the implementation of this process. Canada has just given us funding of $140,000 towards the implementation of this agreement.

All signs from within the region and from our intelligence are this agreement will hold.

Thank you.

[The Chair]

Thank you very much.

We will how move to Madame Laverdière, s'il vous plaît.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank both witnesses for their presentation.

Mr. Sheekh, you mentioned that all parties participated in the peace process negotiations, including women.

Our committee did a study on the role of women in peace processes. I think all committee members are convinced that the participation of women in peace processes makes peace agreements more sustainable.

Could you provide us with more information as to women's participation in the process? How was it organized? Was it done with civil society groups?

[Nuur Mohamud Sheekh]

Thank you very much for that question, Madam.

The HLRF process is different from the previous peace process of 2015. In the HLRF and council participation, we expanded participation of the various stakeholders, including adherents, eminent personalities, and women's groups. The women's groups were very active, and it's not just one women's group—there are a number of them.

Also, after the process was concluded on September 12, the agreement established institutions and mechanisms for the implementation of this agreement. We encouraged the political parties to nominate women for some of the institutions and mechanisms established by this agreement.

I wouldn't say that a good number of women were nominated by political parties, despite our encouraging them to do so, but the political parties did nominate a number of women for these institutions. I would not look at this in isolation from what is happening in the wider IGAD region, as you will all know that Ethiopia recently appointed a woman as the president of the country for the first time. She was also in Juba last week during this peace celebration, which is continuing to encourage the parties to nominate women to more positions in the government, and all the parties and the governments are very receptive.

I'd also like to thank the Government of Canada for providing funding to UN Women. UN Women have seconded a staff person to IGAD as our gender adviser. The salary of that senior official is paid by your government, and we thank you.

Thank you.

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

I have another question for you.

You mentioned demobilization efforts. We know that this is a crucial aspect of ensuring the survival or the implementation of peace processes. We also know that such agreements remain fragile. What is the current demobilization situation? How can Canada help?

[Nuur Mohamud Sheekh]

Thank you very much again for that question.

The implementation of this process has just begun. What has been happening over the last few weeks and days is, number one, confidence building between leaders of these political parties. We've had two very important meetings so far of the National Pre-Transitional Committee and the National Constitutional Amendment Committee. The past two meetings were held in Khartoum, because we all viewed the confidence as not sufficient.

I am happy to now report that next week these two committees will meet in Juba, not outside of the country.

Number two, the ceasefire monitoring group CTSAMM has been visiting some of these areas that are under the former rebel groups and also other areas that are under the control of the government. The monitoring group is doing its work monitoring the ceasefire. The ceasefire, as I said earlier, is holding.

On demobilization, this is a conversation that is ongoing. It will start with cantonment of forces and then demobilization.

As my colleague Ms. Madenga also stated earlier, South Sudan's economy is in very bad shape. Oil has started flowing, but livelihood activities and employment opportunities are limited.

We encourage our international partners, such as Canada, to make sure that this trust between political leaders is sustained and pressure is put on them. It is only then that the situation on the ground will be safe for proper demobilization of these forces.

Thank you.

[The Chair]

Thank you very much.

MP Sidhu is next.

[Jati Sidhu, Liberal, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you both for your testimony.

My question will go to Ms. Madenga. You mentioned the word “ordinary” during your opening remarks quite a few times. What are the views of Canada in South Sudan with the ordinary people on the ground?

Did you get the question?

[Renifa Madenga]

No. I didn't get the question.

[Jati Sidhu, Liberal, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

You said “ordinary” a few times. I was wondering how they view Canada in their ordinary life in Sudan, or, to ask a two-tier question, how does the Sudanese government see the Canadian government working with it to combat the unrest, or the civil war, in South Sudan?