Foreign Affairs Committee on June 9th, 2016

[The Chair (Hon. Robert Nault (Kenora, Lib.)), Liberal, Bob Nault]

I'd like to bring this meeting to order.

As you know, we are in the process of doing a major study of countries of focus and women, peace, and security. In that discussion, we've looked at two case studies that we would like to do, one in Colombia and one in Guatemala. Before we wander off to those two destinations, I wanted to take this opportunity to get the officials in front of us so we could have a discussion and in particular, get a briefing about what's going on in those two particular countries on the ground.

In front of us today is Isabelle Bérard, director general, Latin America.

I welcome you to the committee again, with your colleagues. I'll let you introduce them. I understand that you'll be making the presentation. I'll turn it over to you, Ms. Bérard. After that, I'm sure there will be questions by the members. The floor is yours.

[Isabelle Bérard, Director General, Latin America (Development), Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for giving us the opportunity to appear before you today.

It is a pleasure to address the committee on behalf of Global Affairs Canada. I am joined by Sylvia Cesaratto, Director-South America and Mylène Paradis, Deputy Director-Central America. Sylvia looks after Colombia and Mylène looks after Guatemala.

My objective today is to provide you with an overview of the situation and of our development co-operation in Guatemala and Colombia, two countries that you will visit in August and in September, and where Canada has been providing assistance for about 40 years.

I will start with Guatemala, a country that went through a peace process about 20 years ago to end a 36-year armed conflict, and then talk about Colombia, which appears set to conclude, hopefully, its own peace process to end the last armed conflict in the Americas.

Guatemala is Central America's largest country in terms of population and economy, and an important partner for Canada in the promotion of security and stability in the region. The trauma of Guatemala's internal armed conflict has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on all spheres of Guatemalan society, which must deal with a legacy of a deeply entrenched culture of violence, impunity and discrimination. Despite being the largest economy in Central America, nearly 60% of its population lives in poverty, almost a quarter of its population lives in extreme poverty, and great social and economic inequalities persist.

Guatemala also has the largest indigenous population in Central America, representing more than 40% of the country's total population, and some of the most vulnerable communities in the country.

Guatemala has made initial progress in the fight against corruption and impunity. However, as we approach the 20th anniversary of the peace accords, it is clear that space remains for improvement in many areas, particularly in addressing social and economic inequalities, which were among the root causes of the conflict.

Guatemala remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. Guatemala ranks third in the killing of women worldwide, with a femicide rate of 9.7 per 100,000 people. Our embassy reports that from 2012 to date, almost 3,000 women have been murdered, while only 381 cases resulted in a judicial decision.

During the conflict, atrocities were committed against women, including torture, slavery, forced disappearance and the use of rape as a weapon of war. Processes of transitional justice have however barely started. The first criminal trial, pertaining specifically to sexual violence, has only recently been heard in court and resulted in a landmark conviction. This case helped raise awareness about the systematic violation of indigenous women's rights and the verdict was an important step toward reducing impunity for sexual and gender-based violence. It also brought attention to the ongoing efforts of activists fighting for justice.

Some of the most palpable problems that Guatemalan women and girls face are a lack of education opportunities, poor access to health, economic exclusion, inaccessibility of political positions, inequality of wages, limited access to family planning and violence. The plights affecting the region, such as insecurity, impunity, food insecurity, and natural disasters, also have a disproportionate effect on the most vulnerable populations, including women in particular. Guatemalan women face extremely high rates of mortality related to pregnancy, violence, and other preventable causes of death.

Global Affairs Canada's programming in Guatemala seeks to address these challenges. It focuses on strengthening democracy, governance, and security, while protecting and supporting the most vulnerable: women and girls, and indigenous and rural populations. This support is provided through various programs. Guatemala received just over $9 million in financing in 2014-15.

I am very pleased that you will have the opportunity to visit several projects and witness the contributions we made in addressing the many challenges Guatemalans, and especially Guatemalan women, face today. You will hear of course about the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, CICIG, a United Nations-backed, independent investigatory commission supported by Canada and other donors. Global Affairs Canada's support to CICIG has contributed to strengthening the rule of law and increasing the government's capacity to investigate and prosecute crimes as well as to improvements in the country's legislative framework.

You will visit the town of Rabinal, the location of many grave human rights abuses during the armed conflict. You will meet with women who continue to fight for justice for the crimes they and their families suffered as well as the organization that supports them, Lawyers Without Borders. The local legal clinic has received capacity building for strategic litigation, allowing it to provide effective representation for the plaintiffs and psychological and support services to survivors.

You will also learn more about the work of the Canadian Tula Foundation working to help the ministry of health and others to improve health services for rural populations using an innovative concept. The work started in 2004 with a project supported by the Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA, and the Centre for Nursing Studies in Newfoundland. Guatemalan officials have been so satisfied with the results that they have asked Tula Foundation to scale up its work to several other departments of the country. In response, Global Affairs Canada recently awarded $7.6 million to that foundation to do so.

You will witness the results of a long-standing agricultural co-operative initiative providing economic alternatives and allowing Q'eqchi' indigenous populations to benefit from sustainable agricultural practices offering quality products to internal and external markets. The initiative has also expanded to include community tourism where many young women are being employed. The co-operative, which includes the leadership of women in decision-making positions, is now a multi-million dollar business.

You will also meet with girls who have received scholarships, which have enabled them to continue their studies. In impoverished communities, girls are the first to leave school, most often around the age of 12, when schooling is no longer free. The longer they remain in school, the better their future prospects are for health and employment, and for having their rights respected.

In Guatemala City, you will meet with members of congress and other government representatives to hear of the government's approach to issues broadly relevant to women, peace, and security, including the preparation of legislative initiatives and amendments.

Finally, you will visit Memory House in Guatemala City, which memorializes the history of the armed conflict. It will provide important insights into the causes and effects of the conflict and the efforts of Guatemalan organizations to ensure these events are never forgotten or repeated. You will meet with women leaders from civil society to hear of their achievements in fighting for an equal and just society as well as the many challenges that remain.

I will now continue with some observations on Canada's role in supporting women, peace and security in Colombia.

Colombia is an ambitious, middle-income country with a population of over 44 million and is currently the fastest-growing economy in South America.

It is a key partner for Canada in the Americas as it shares our values of democracy, human rights, environmental sustainability, economic integration, and international security. It also seeks to play a greater role in the region and on the world stage. Colombia's stability and trajectory matter, particularly as we witness the deterioration of neighbouring Venezuela. Colombians represent our largest Latino diaspora community in Canada.

Our commercial relationship with Colombia is also very important. We were the first G7 country to sign a free trade agreement with Colombia, in effect since 2011. Our embassy estimates that we now have over $10 billion in cumulative Canadian investment in Colombia.

At the same time, Colombia is home to the last war in the Americas: a complex internal armed conflict between the government, guerrilla movements, and a host of armed criminal groups, which has lasted over 50 years. It has claimed over 220,000 lives, 80% of them civilians. It has forced more than 6 million people from their homes, such that Colombia long held the record for the highest number of internally displaced people in the world; it is now second after Syria. Colombia also has the second highest number of landmine victims in the world after Afghanistan.

Colombia's income distribution is one of the most unequal in the world, comparable to Zimbabwe. The relationship between inequality and the armed conflict is clear: tensions emerged to challenge the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the elites.

The good news is that Colombia is changing. Its government is currently concluding peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, the largest guerrilla group. Initial agreements have been reached on four of the key items: rural development, political participation, drug trafficking and illegal crops, and transitional justice. We expect agreements on the remaining two, a ceasefire and disarmament, to come shortly. Official negotiations with the second guerrilla movement, the National Liberation Army, are also expected to begin soon.

A UN Security Council political mission for Colombia was approved earlier this year. The mission is planned to be comprised of unarmed observers from Latin American countries responsible for monitoring and verifying a bilateral ceasefire with the FARC and the laying down of arms. Our Prime Minister met recently with Colombian President Santos and expressed Canada's commitment to peace building in Colombia.

The conflict has subjected the civilian population to widespread human rights abuses, ranging from targeted assassinations, forced disappearances, forced displacement, rape, and recruitment of child soldiers. Women and children have been the victims of violence, exploitation, and abuse by armed actors. Teenage pregnancy is extremely high. One in five Colombian women age 15 to 19 are or have been pregnant and 64% of the pregnancies are unplanned.

Global Affairs Canada's support to Colombia totalled close to $40 million in 2014-15, with a focus on human rights, child protection, education, conflict victims, inclusive economic growth, rural economic development, and peace and security, such as, for example, justice, land mine action, and sexual and gender-based violence. This support also includes international humanitarian assistance contributions delivered by organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Canada's response has been an integrated one precisely because these issues are interrelated. Lack of development in rural areas is both the cause and the result of weak rule of law and limited government presence. While Colombia certainly has stronger state capacity than many other conflict-affected countries, international presence, expertise, and resources are required to help bring a meaningful state presence to lawless regions that have been the epicentres of conflict for decades.

One area where Canada continues to make a meaningful difference is our leadership in supporting child protection and education. Our programming, executed by organizations like Plan International and Save the Children, and situated in the most conflict-affected departments of the country, helps the most vulnerable children and youth develop life options and resist recruitment by illegal groups.

Our projects emphasize gender equality, empowering young women to become community leaders and agents of change. Our inclusive growth programming, executed by organizations such as the Canadian Co-operative Association, Socodevi, and Développement international Desjardins, helps develop co-operative rural businesses, empowering women as participants and leaders. Our peace and security programming and our support to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has helped provide justice for women victims of sexual violence and armed conflict.

I also want to highlight the advocacy work of our embassy in Bogota, which leads donor coordination groups on human rights and on gender equality. Together with UN Women, our ambassador and director of co-operation are leading the dialogue between the international community and the government on the inclusion of gender in peace negotiations. Our reference point for this work is of course UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security. The gender equality group has already succeeded in convincing the government to create a national gender subcommission to provide input to the peace negotiations.

During your visit to Colombia, you will meet with key interlocutors, including Colombian ministers, the presidential adviser on gender equality, and UN Women to learn about women and gender issues in the peace process.

We are planning for you to travel to Meta department, where you will meet with local authorities, conflict victims, demobilized former combatants, land mine victims, and women's groups. You will have a chance to hear first-hand how women have been impacted by the conflict and how they seek to build a new era of peace.

Let me conclude with three key messages from our Guatemala and Colombia experience, which will hopefully inform your study. First, in Guatemala and Colombia, inequality has generated violent armed conflict, and vice versa. Second, women continue to disproportionately suffer the effects of this violence across generations. Third, women must lead the planning and implementation of peace on the ground. A truly lasting peace is not possible without the leadership and the full participation of women.

Canada has made a difference for women in Guatemala and Colombia, and there is much more that we can do to help them usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.

Thank you for your attention. I will be happy, of course, to answer any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Thank you very much.

Now we'll go straight to questions.

Mr. Kent.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you all for your attendance, for your advice, and for foreshadowing what should be a very interesting couple of visits.

I'll ask three very short questions.

I'm just wondering, with regard to Guatemala, what the balance of program spending is between programs protecting women and girls and indigenous and rural populations and the actual costs of the security to safely deliver those programs.

[Isabelle Bérard]

I would have to get back to you with more specific data on this. I do not have this handy, I must admit.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Okay.

It is shocking, the notoriety Guatemala has as a place for femicide, not only among the domestic population but also because husbands across the region, across Central America, with murderous intent, very often take their spouses to Guatemala because they know they will be safe from prosecution after murder.

Canada did fund, when I was engaged in the area with the department, an anti-corruption and anti-violence program. I'm just wondering what the status of that is. At the time, we found that corruption existed at the highest levels of the supreme court, in government, and among bureaucracies.

[Isabelle Bérard]

Actually, if you allow me, I will refer to the maps that have been circulated. There's one for Guatemala, and one for Colombia of course. You will find on this piece of paper all the operational projects that are currently being funded by Global Affairs Canada.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that these are operational projects. This doesn't, of course, include some of the projects that were completed in the last couple of years, which, for instance, have been implemented by START. I believe Tamara Guttman appeared here. She is the director general responsible for that program.

The program is in the process of being renewed. There were quite a number of initiatives put forward to address a number of the issues you talked about. It's in the process of being renewed.

There are no operational projects, but we're perfectly conscious that projects have been put forward to address the issue. Of course, we'd be happy to provide you with more information.

On the ground, you will be visiting some of those projects that were completed and that achieved, actually, quite a lot.

CICIG, the UN-backed investigation commission, is something we've been supporting for a number of years, since 2004, if I'm right. The commission worked on identifying the crimes and the corruption being spread throughout the country.

The anti-crime capacity program did complement the activities of CICIG. Actually, all the initiatives, be they from development, the anti-crime capacity-building program, or START, work together to address all the issues from various perspectives. In terms of the anti-crime capacity-building program, there are still quite a number of initiatives going on, and they do appear here on this.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

That'll be fascinating to see.

I have one question with regard to Colombia. What is the status of the program that Canada was sponsoring for the restoration of property to the victims of the armed conflict, particularly the women and children of victims murdered during the conflict, whose lands were dispossessed by a variety of people in government and otherwise?

[Isabelle Bérard]

I'm afraid I will have to come back to you on this one.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Thank you.

Mr. Fragiskatos, go ahead, please.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you very much for appearing today.

Colombia has been on the countries-of-focus list since 2009.

Madam Bérard, when you addressed the committee some weeks ago, you left us with a sense of how the countries-of-focus policy works, the criteria involved. One thing we've seen since in the testimonials that have been provided by witnesses, particularly from NGOs, is that there is a lack of clarity insofar as how countries are added to the list and how countries are taken off of it. Is there consultation?

In the case of Colombia, for example, how was Colombia added to the list? Can you also speak about other states? When they're added to the list or taken off of it, to what extent have consultations been carried out?

[Isabelle Bérard]

If I remember correctly, because we did appear a couple of weeks ago, my colleague Deirdre Kent did mention the criteria that were used in 2009 to actually select the countries. The criteria linked to Canadian interests at the time had been put forward, and in that context Colombia did meet those criteria. Was there consultation? At the time, I was working on a geographic program, so from a policy perspective, I guess you should be asking some people who were involved in the process itself to get a better sense of whether or not there were consultations or what type of consultations were led then.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

You're saying the decision was more in line with Canadian strategic interests or policy priorities—

[Isabelle Bérard]

When I appeared, I did mention that the 10 countries we were in 20 years ago were exactly the same ones as those in 2014-15. Of course, the balance was slightly different in terms of the amount of money that was granted to those countries. We have been in Colombia for quite a number of years.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Okay.

Since you mentioned criteria, I would be remiss not to follow up on that point. When you testified, you told us about needs, capacity to benefit from development assistance, and alignment with Canadian policy priorities. That is how the country-of-focus criteria are rolled out. That's basically been the policy. Each of these factors is taken into account on an equal basis. Since that time, as I say, we've spoken to many witnesses who have a very difficult time understanding how each of these factors could be weighed equally.

Could you tell the committee, now that we have you back, whether or not it's possible to weigh each of these criteria equally? For me, it seems impossible, but perhaps I'm missing something.

[Isabelle Bérard]

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn't within the team that was working on the policy work that was being led to identify the countries. Lots of analysis was done to make sure that proper weighting was given to each of the criteria. I'm afraid I will have to leave it at that, because this is the extent of the knowledge I have about the process at the time.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Okay. I'm just saying that it's all a bit mysterious, because if you have these three criteria, which one wins out, or are they all, on a one-third basis, I suppose, weighed equally? It's just very unclear. It's been unclear to the witnesses who have testified, so I just wanted to follow up on that.

This is my final question. To what extent has the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala reached out to local women's advocacy organizations as a way of including them and allowing them to have a voice in policy direction? It's very interesting considering that we looked at women, peace, and security as our first study. I'd be very intrigued by what you could tell us on that front.

Anyone could answer, for that matter.

[Isabelle Bérard]

I will say a couple of words, but Mylène, maybe you can jump in here.

As I said, the commission worked at identifying what was going on in terms of corruption and what needed to be addressed in terms of investigation. Through various supports from our program, we actually tried to make sure that the issues of women were going to be addressed.

The START program I mentioned earlier did have a very specific initiative to support. It was done through Lawyers Without Borders to help groups actually raise the awareness of the violations against women, and they actually succeeded in making sure that women knew their voices were being heard.

There may be other initiatives that you might be aware of, Mylène.

[Mylène Paradis, Deputy Director, Central America, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Yes, thank you.

To address your question, which is very relevant, I believe, I think CICIG, as part of its mandate, has to consult with NGOs, and especially NGOs who work with women. I don't know if you are aware of the following fact.

When Thelma Aldana, the new attorney general, was appointed to her position in May 2014, one of her major mandates was to combat violence against women. She is working very closely with Commissioner Iván Velásquez Gómez. They are working hard to ensure that organizations committed to women's issues are heard and that their demands are incorporated into the commission's policies.

I do not know if you have noticed, but, recently, the commission has also submitted a report on the trafficking of young women in Guatemala, which is a situation that causes great concern. This is the international commission against impunity in Guatemala, or CICIG, which insisted that a report on the trafficking of young women be published in Guatemala.

A few weeks ago, we went to Guatemala for consultations, accompanying David Morrison, the assistant deputy minister. We met Commissioner Velásquez and Attorney General Aldana. The major problem in Guatemala, actually, is access to the regions. Even the CICIG and the public safety ministry barely cover 10% of Guatemalan territory. So women's issues in the regions are a significant problem. In Guatemala, both nationally and regionally, women's issues are very close to the hearts of the attorney general and Commissioner Velásquez.

I would like to go back to a point I raised earlier. My attention lapsed for a moment, because the CICIG was established in 2007 and Canada provided support in 2008. Since 2008, then, we have given $18 million to the commission, which is doing extraordinary work on the ground, as I am sure you are aware.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Nault]

Thank you.

Ms. Laverdière, the floor is yours.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much for that really interesting presentation, ladies. I appreciate it a great deal and I am going to keep my copy so that I can read it again.

I am going to use your presence here as an opportunity to ask you for your assessment of the situation in Venezuela and what is being done about Venezuela at the Organization of American States.

[Isabelle Bérard]

I am going to ask my colleague Ms. Cesaratto to answer that.

[Sylvia Cesaratto, Director, South America, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

My colleague gives me the hard questions to answer.

Thank you for the question, Ms. Laverdière.

We are monitoring the situation in Venezuela very closely. We are certainly concerned with what we observe in economic, political and humanitarian terms.

Politically and diplomatically, we would like the two parties involved in the situation, the government and the opposition, to sit down at the same table to have a real discussion and to find a solution in the interests of the citizens of Venezuela.

We have again communicated our approach to senior officials from their ministry of foreign affairs, who were in Canada last week, actually. We also did so a few weeks ago to opposition members of the Venezuelan Parliament, who were also visiting Ottawa.

In addition, our ambassador to the OAS and her successor made the same comments last week at an extraordinary session on Venezuela organized by the chair of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, Argentina.

We support the initiatives and the statement issued by the OAS, which calls for dialogue.

We also support the efforts of former presidents of Spain, the Dominican Republic and Panama who have acted as facilitators and mediators in this situation. Our concern, of course, is for the people. If a solution is not found, it is going to make the everyday situation worse for them.

I hope that answers your question.

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

It does answer my question. Thank you very much.

Two things have also occurred to me and I will quickly bring up one of them.

You said that there was a legislative initiative in Guatemala about women, peace and security. If so, would it be possible to send us more details about it?

You are indicating that it is possible. Thank you.

I have another question.

At one point, Lawyers Without Borders Canada was working with Guatemalan organizations on the lawsuit against General Montt. I believe its funding was interrupted. Have we started to fund Lawyers Without Borders Canada again?