Evidence of meeting #114 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sudan.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Do you have a model that you could give as an example?
Director, Global Programs and Impact, International Operations and Programs, CARE Canada
Yes, we have a number of models. The one that we focus on, particularly with regard to humanitarian assistance, is for women to lead in emergencies.
When we look at emergency response around the world, we see it's traditionally planned by the people who are locally in power. In a place like South Sudan, those traditional leaders are primarily men, so our focus is on trying to get conflict-affected women involved in the planning and delivery of humanitarian assistance. We believe that if you're involved from the start in the planning, in playing a leadership role in that food distribution, in the delivery of sex and reproductive health services, those services are going to better meet the needs of women and girls.
At the same time, we're investing in local women leaders, which is then going to put them in a different position, one where they are able to influence local traditional powers. We're doing that in a number of countries: South Sudan, Bangladesh, DRC. That's our goal there.
Liberal
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Thank you.
Mr. Chambers, I'd like to come back to one of your points and this culture of impunity.
You talked about accountability. Obviously, using sexual violence as a tool of war is widespread. I understand that scores of humanitarian workers have been killed and that many themselves were victims of this sort of sexual violence.
How do you envision the accountability? Have any processes begun to bring people to account?
Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children Canada
One of the key things is to ensure that in the budgets of the United Nations monitoring mechanisms there is enough funding for child- and gender-related expertise, and that this funding, particularly in places like South Sudan, leads to proper investigations with proper compiling of evidence and data so that prosecution can be pursued.
Without that, you're basically hooped, unless you have people investigating. As Kevin says, the voice of the child and the woman is extremely important, so you need to have people trained to deal with how to speak to the children so that we don't further traumatize children. That requires special training. That requires funding, and people to be dispatched to the field to do that. You need child protection officers and child protection advisers, and you need the budget to support them.
Liberal
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Have any of these types of investigations begun in the cases of those who came as protectors—the humanitarian workers who've been victims of this sort of violence?
Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children Canada
The UN is really the institution charged with the monitoring of that kind of crime. Humanitarian workers report, but in order to compile and to create investigative evidence that will stand up, you need formal systems. The UN Secretary General did conduct a large study, and we hope that it will be followed up with the appointment of sufficient people on the ground to gather evidence to pursue prosecution.
Mr. Michael Levitt (York Centre, Lib.)
Thank you very much.
We're now going to move to Madame Laverdière.
NDP
Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank both witnesses for their presentations today and all the work they do over there and elsewhere.
Mr. Chambers, I would like to come back to one of your comments. You said we had to change
the political and local fabric.
That could be done if women were given more power to participate in humanitarian aid. That is a good example. It also has to do with empowerment, which is a very important aspect.
To that end, you mentioned a crucial word: funding. Is our current funding level sufficient? Is this an area in which Canada could do more?
Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children Canada
Overall, the funding levels are not sufficient. There is not enough expertise, not enough experts on the ground. That is true around the world, not only in South Sudan.
In fact, Canada could pressure the United Nations to increase that expertise.
NDP
Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
I will finish with a question that has to do with children more specifically.
We know that a certain member of child soldiers were recruited. Does the peace agreement contain specific provisions about those child soldiers?
Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children Canada
The agreement contains provisions on demobilizing the army's child soldiers, but to my knowledge, there are no specific provisions about their transition to a life of peace.
Mrs. Bodmer-Roy, do you have that information?
Annie Bodmer-Roy Head of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Save the Children Canada
We can check.
Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children Canada
To my knowledge, I don't believe there are any.
NDP
Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Okay.
This is an issue that concerns us all, especially as Canadians, given all the work that has been done in that area.
You both mentioned the problem of access to humanitarian assistance, a problem that is often denied. How could Canada better help to overcome this problem, or even simply resolve it?
Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children Canada
First of all, the agreement, as such, would have to apply to the whole country. I am sure you are aware that several military groups are moving around the country, groups from various political or ethnic backgrounds. The agreement was negotiated between the main parties, but the whole country would have to be subject to the same standards if there is to be any hope of putting a stop to the violence completely.
The agreement stipulates a
submission of all of those smaller groups.
It provides for a return to normal civilian life and an end to the war. We shall see how things unfold.
Director, Global Programs and Impact, International Operations and Programs, CARE Canada
I apologize, my French is not very good.
Director, Global Programs and Impact, International Operations and Programs, CARE Canada
I think that ultimately it refers to the need for hostilities and active conflict to come to an end. I think that's one of the biggest challenges for humanitarian access. Humanitarian access, an end to attacks on aid workers and humanitarian workers and the culture of accountability need to change, and I think that needs to be a measure of the success of the peace process.
I think that's an area where our Canadian diplomatic efforts can say that we want to see access improving, we want to see reports on access improving and we want some accountability for those attacks. That's a measure of our engagement in the belief that the peace process is improving.
I know that Canadian diplomats in South Sudan have been really engaged with humanitarian organizations for a long time, and they have played a really active role in trying to negotiate both with the government and with different parties of the conflict to ensure access and try to unblock some of those issues, and I would encourage Canada's diplomatic mission to continue that. At my last meeting there, it was really clear that it was a continued focus, but that is an area where Canada can really play a leadership role.
NDP
Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Canada covers South Sudan from which mission? We don't have a direct mission.
November 5th, 2018 / 5:05 p.m.
Director, Global Programs and Impact, International Operations and Programs, CARE Canada
There is one in Juba, yes.
Director, Global Programs and Impact, International Operations and Programs, CARE Canada
It has an ambassador now. There wasn't one when I was first there, but now we have an ambassador.
NDP
Director, Global Programs and Impact, International Operations and Programs, CARE Canada
Exactly. They live in a little bunker, but it's nice.
NDP