Mr. Chair, I would like to thank you for your invitation and the committee for its interest in Africa.
Africa is a much neglected continent that in previous centuries was subject to great abuse by western countries. Even now there are external forces that prey upon the vulnerabilities of the continent. There is a one-sided race for Africa, but we in Canada seem to be oblivious to it. It echoes the scramble for Africa that took place in the second half of the 19th century.
China, using its powerful business and financial clout, is seeking to control Africa's vast mineral resources, and as we have just heard, Russia is preying upon Africa's democratic deficit by supporting coup plotters, dictators and naive leaders. I have seen first-hand the Wagner forces, which provide close protection to the president of the Central African Republic. I've seen Chinese soldiers building roads in the DR Congo, and I've seen Chinese-built stadiums in various African cities as part of China's hearts and minds campaign.
As an operational professor who tries to get to field operations frequently, I focus on what must be done to improve peace and security. One of the key solutions is a Canadian invention: the peacekeeping forces first proposed by Lester B. Pearson. UN missions, despite all of their flaws, are still the best way to provide a benevolent presence over a wide area to give Africans more security. The positive record, though unsung, is impressive, including stopping the breakup of the Congo in the 1960s; Namibia's gaining independence in 1989; fostering the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994; helping end civil wars in Mozambique, Liberia and Sierra Leone; moving Angola towards democracy; and restoring democracy, including by using force, in Côte d'Ivoire. Also, I was delighted to witness first-hand former dictator Charles Taylor being tried in the UN special court for Sierra Leone.
Even peacekeeping's failures in Africa highlight its importance. The UN's mission in Rwanda, led by your former colleague, parliamentarian Roméo Dallaire, managed to save 20,000 to 30,000 lives with a reduced force of just 300 peacekeepers.
By learning from the past, Canada can do much more to help the cause of peacekeeping in Africa. For example, it could provide the long-promised quick reaction force to the UN's mission in the Central African Republic. It could respond to the call from the Congolese people for protection, helping neutralize once again the M23. Canada could increase its support for the UN mission in South Sudan, the world's newest country. So many other places will need UN peacekeeping forces, including Sudan, Cameroon and Libya.
Canada was once the master of working within the UN system for human security in Africa and around the world. Canada was the leading peacekeeping nation for decades. We had nine leaders of UN forces in the 1990s. Four of them were in Africa, but we've had none since then.
Canada has zero troops or units deployed in UN peace operations in Africa, and in the handout that I have provided, you will see that the number of deployed military personnel on UN peacekeeping operations is only 17, and the number of Canadian women military personnel deployed to Africa under the UN is two, despite the Elsie initiative.
Africa matters, and resolving Africa's conflicts is important. These conflicts are open wounds on the world body. They hemorrhage blood, they spread disease, they create child soldiers, they diminish democracy, they promote dictatorship and they cause major refugee flows.
At the same time, Africa has much to offer. It has natural resources that will help power the future. It has human resources that can help solve the problems of aging western populations. Africans have shown courage in the face of adversity, happiness in the midst of poverty and steadfast hope despite the blows to their body politic, but they need help.
Canada can do much more for African peace and security.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak.