Foreign Affairs Committee on May 22nd, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I'd like to call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 108 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

Before we begin, I'd like to ask all members and other in-person participants to consult the cards on the table for guidelines to prevent audio feedback incidents.

Please take note of the following preventive measures in place to protect the health and safety of all participants, including, most significantly, the interpreters.

Only use a black, approved earpiece. Keep your earpiece away from all microphones at all times. When you are not using your earpiece, place it face down on the sticker placed on the table for this purpose. The room layout has been adjusted to increase the distance between microphones and to reduce the chance of feedback from an ambient earpiece.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format. I'd like to make a few comments for the benefit of members and witnesses.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name.

For members in the room, please raise your hand if you wish to speak. For members on Zoom, please use the “raise hand” function.

You may speak in the official language of your choice. Interpretation services are available. You have the choice of floor, English or French.

I'll remind you that all comments should be made through the chair.

In accordance with the committee's routine motion concerning connection tests for witnesses, I'm informed by our extraordinary clerk that all witnesses have completed the required connection tests in advance of our meeting.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Monday, January 29, the committee will now resume its study of Canada's approach to Africa.

I'd like to welcome our witnesses. I'd like to highlight for all the members that we were scheduled to hear from these witnesses earlier, but because of a vote previously, we were unable to hear from them.

Thank you so much for joining us this evening. I understand it's very late in your local time, so we are doubly grateful that you are kindly connecting with us today.

We have, from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Benjamin Sultan, who is the director of research.

From the International Rescue Committee, we are grateful to have Modou Diaw, who is the regional vice-president for West Africa.

Finally, we're grateful to have with us today Edith Heines, who is the director of program policy and guidance for the United Nations World Food Programme.

Each of you will be provided five minutes for your opening remarks, after which we will open the floor to questions from the members.

Mr. Sultan, the floor is yours.

[Benjamin Sultan, Director of Research, French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development]

Thank you very much.

I will speak in French, my mother tongue.

I would like to begin by talking to you about Africa and global warming.

Africa is one of the regions of the world that has contributed the least to the historical greenhouse gas emissions that are responsible for human-induced climate change. Per capita emissions are the lowest in the world there. However, the effects of climate change that are being observed there are very significant, and they are likely to get worse in the future.

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, includes an entire chapter on Africa. It shows that an increase in average and extreme temperatures, more frequent heat waves and prolonged droughts, particularly in southern Africa, have already been observed. Even though there are fewer observations than for other parts of the world, many of those changes can be attributed to the human effect on the climate.

It is projected that global warming will lead to an intensification of these changes, which in turn will have consequences such as more extensive flooding, the risk of worsening drought in some regions, such as southern Africa, northern Africa and the western Sahel, as well as tropical cyclones, which may become more intense. Heat waves are also expected that could expose populations to potentially deadly conditions.

All of these current and future changes pose a serious threat not only to these countries' economies, infrastructure, food security and health, but also to African ecosystems.

I'll give you a few examples.

On the economic front, it is estimated that climate change has led to a reduction in economic growth in Africa and an increase in income inequality, not only among African countries, but also between northern African countries and the rest of the continent.

In terms of food systems, it is estimated that climate change has already led to a decrease in animal productivity, which is likely to intensify in the future.

Climate change has also negatively impacted the health of millions of Africans owing to warming temperatures, extreme weather and the spread of infectious diseases.

In African cities, rapid urbanization and the lack of infrastructure adapted to population growth contribute to increasing the exposure of populations to climate risks, especially in coastal areas. All these risks lead to climate migration, which is a reality today, even though most climate-related migration in Africa occurs within countries, such as rural-to-urban migration, or between neighbouring countries, rather than to higher-income countries.

All these observations really underscore the urgency of implementing adaptation measures on the continent to reduce those risks today. The most effective measures include adaptation approaches that integrate gender, equity, and African indigenous knowledge and local knowledge, as well as the development of early warning systems, agroecology and agricultural planning.

However, Africa has a feasibility problem in terms of adaptation measures. The continent faces numerous technological, institutional, cultural and financial obstacles, as well as obstacles related to certain countries' security. Moreover, if global warming becomes too intense in Africa, adaptation conditions could quickly be exceeded.

Despite the high risk of global warming on the continent, there are ultimately many gaps in our knowledge and research on adaptation effects and strategies in Africa. This lack of knowledge is linked not only to a lack of weather and ecosystem data available in this region, but also to very little funding for African research.

For example, from 1990 to 2020, only 3.8% of global climate-related research funding was allocated to Africa. And yet there are initiatives, in Canada as in France, aimed at research.

In Canada, I'm thinking of the climate adaptation and resilience initiative, or CLARE, a partnership between Canada and the United Kingdom. This initiative aims to promote sustainable and socially inclusive action to build resilience in Africa, particularly for the populations most vulnerable to climate change.

France has the Institut de recherche pour le développement, an interdisciplinary scientific institute that operates in partnership with the tropical zone and the Mediterranean zone. It is active in many African countries. It focuses on the science of sustainability, serving society stakeholders, and it tries to offer solutions.

This concludes my presentation.

Thank you again for the invitation to appear today. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Mr. Sultan.

Next we go to Mr. Diaw from the International Rescue Committee.

You have five minutes for your opening remarks.

[Modou Diaw, Regional Vice-President for West Africa, International Rescue Committee]

Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you.

I will try to be brief. A note that provides many details was distributed before the meeting.

I would like to focus my remarks on the humanitarian situation. Mr. Sultan talked a lot about the climate situation, but in addition to that, many African countries are currently facing a political crisis and armed conflicts, as well as an increasingly difficult economic situation. Therefore, we are proud to testify alongside other colleagues on this panel today to emphasize the need for a comprehensive agenda for countries facing the worst humanitarian deterioration across Africa.

The number of people in humanitarian need globally increased fourfold between 2014 and 2023. Their lives are often marked by extreme danger, continuing insecurity, and very high levels of poverty. Eight of the top 10 countries that the International Rescue Committee, or IRC, has assessed as being at greatest risk of new humanitarian emergencies are in Africa. For the second year in a row, an African country—this time, Sudan—tops the list.

At the moment, we are seeing that humanitarian crises are erupting mostly in the most vulnerable countries, mainly owing to factors such as an increase in violent coups, non-compliance with international humanitarian law, vulnerability to climate risks, as well as an increase in public debt. At the same time, there has been a decrease in international aid.

While these crisis spheres used to be separate, they are now part of a Venn diagram with a growing area of intersection. Thirty years ago, 44% of conflicts occurred in climate-vulnerable states. Today, that figure is 67%.

The intensity of conflicts in climate-sensitive contexts in Africa requires clear and decisive action. If the structures and systems put in place to eliminate poverty, build resilience and respond to humanitarian needs do not meet the demand in the most severe emergencies, they are ineffective. This must be rectified or entire regions may be left behind. International humanitarian needs are vastly underfunded, and the situation is getting worse.

The funding gaps between the amounts requested and the commitments in humanitarian assistance have increased from $4.6 billion in 2013 to $32.5 billion in 2023. We are particularly grateful for Canada's humanitarian initiatives, including the new commitment of $350 million for international humanitarian assistance in budget 2024. It is essential that the humanitarian system innovate and do things differently to meet the overwhelming needs. This includes investing in interventions and approaches that can deliver the greatest impact for the most people in need within limited budgets.

One of the most impactful things we can do to scale our services is understand and improve the per unit cost of our programs, and the IRC is a leader in that respect.

The IRC’s experience demonstrates that with the right approaches, we can change the lives of communities even in the most complex crises. The following are our six first-order priorities for action.

The IRC's first recommendation is to save lives in fragile and conflict-affected states by investing in climate adaptation, climate resilience and anticipatory action. I think that, today, many funding measures are focused on mitigating climate change, but Africa is already experiencing the consequences of these changes. Therefore, it is urgent and important to invest in adapting to these changes.

The second recommendation is to tackle extreme poverty and economic drivers of rising humanitarian needs. So we need to see an increased investment in social safety nets and cash responses.

The third recommendation is to prioritize gender equality in crisis responses, and shift resources and decision-making power to women-led organizations. This recommendation is very important because we know that, in most countries that are in crisis, it is women who suffer the most.

The IRC's fourth recommendation is to promote shared prosperity by increasing aid and tackling the debt crisis.

The fifth recommendation is to support and protect forcibly displaced people.

Finally, the last recommendation is to stem impunity and reinforce international humanitarian law. With respect to this sixth recommendation, I would like to emphasize that the solutions I have outlined are necessary, but alone they are insufficient if steps are not taken to reduce the impacts of conflict on civilians.

Violations of international humanitarian law are increasingly normalized. We must oppose attacks on hospitals, schools and homes, as well as denial of access to critical life‑saving aid, and mass killings with impunity. Without accountability, these trends will continue.

Faith in the international system needs to be restored. The use of people as a human shield and the denial of humanitarian access must be given increased diplomatic attention, alongside other violations of international law.

I'll stop here. I am available to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you very much, Mr. Diaw.

Next, we'll go to Ms. Heines, who is from the United Nations World Food Programme.

You have five minutes, Ms. Heines.

[Edith Heines, Director of Programme, Policy and Guidance, United Nations World Food Programme]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.

I'm honoured to appear before you this afternoon to speak about Africa and the role the World Food Programme plays in addressing extensive food insecurity, which continues to impact the continent.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian organization. We work across many of the world's most fragile settings to save lives during emergencies and to contribute to building sustainable solutions to food insecurity that can help change the lives of the people we serve over the long term.

Unfortunately, hunger is on the rise in Africa, where already more than half of the world's food-insecure people live. This increase in hunger is largely driven by three things: conflict, weather extremes and economic shocks.

We have a large footprint in Africa, which means we witness first-hand the challenges that African countries face, especially when it comes to hunger and malnutrition. Africa is home to more food crises than anywhere else in the world. Three out of WFP's four corporate-level emergencies in 2023 were in Africa: in Sudan and Sudan's neighbours Chad, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In Sudan, the ongoing conflict has decimated the country's ability to feed itself. More than one-third of the country—18 million people—is now acutely food insecure. We know that this will worsen this month as Sudan's lean season begins, and WFP continues to face substantial challenges in gaining cross-border access needed to reach those most affected by the conflict.

This conflict has also impacted neighbouring Chad, which now hosts more than one million Sudanese refugees, making it home to one of the largest and fastest-growing refugee populations in Africa and the world. We assist on average half a million people per month with emergency food rations in Chad alone, in some of the harshest and most remote regions. We are racing against time to pre-position food in the hardest-to-reach areas before the rainy season cuts off our road access in June. This is why we need predictable funding to purchase supplies early and get food staples to rural and remote locations that do not have local food supply routes.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third major crisis we are responding to right now on the continent. About one-quarter of the population, or 23.5 million people, is facing emergency levels of hunger. Due to escalating conflict in the eastern part of the country, six million people have had to leave their homes and livelihoods.

The situation is particularly catastrophic for women and girls, especially those living in camps for displaced people. They face a constant threat of sexual violence during their daily activities. When we place food assistance decisions in the hands of women and facilitate a safe environment for income opportunities, they are less likely to be exposed to such risks.

As well as conflict, we can also see increasing damage caused by climate shocks throughout the African continent, which are disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable countries. The southern region is currently experiencing the most severe El Niño impact since the 1980s, resulting in drought and crop failures. The governments of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have all officially declared national states of emergency.

We are working with these governments to provide cash transfers to the most vulnerable, facilitate international food procurement and provide logistic support. Also, in anticipation of El Niño, we launched early warning and anticipatory action programs to ensure that people receive cash and other support before the climate shock hits. WFP reached over 230,000 people in southern Africa with $14 million U.S. in anticipatory cash and support, which helps individuals to prepare and thus increases their resilience in time of crisis.

Additionally, many countries continue to face chronic seasonal food security challenges. In west Africa and the Sahel, the May-to-August lean season has begun.

Due to persistently high food prices and market instability, we predict that there will be about 55 million people who will struggle to feed themselves.

Mr. Chair, during my own 25 years with WFP, I have seen first-hand how food crises have become more complex, more severe and more protracted. Despite the rising needs across Africa and the world, shrinking resources and funding cuts have forced WFP to drastically reduce assistance in almost every country in which we work. In Somalia, for example, we had to reduce the number of people we serve by half. However, we will continue to work on the front lines of hunger and to prioritize the most vulnerable people by addressing their nutritional needs.

In a world of rising needs and limited funds, it's critical that we simultaneously work to change lives while also saving lives, working across the humanitarian, development, peace nexus to reduce—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Ms. Heines, I'm afraid that you're considerably over your time, so we're going to have to proceed with the questions. I hope you can cover what remains through your responses to the members.

[Edith Heines]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

First, we'll start off with Mr. Aboultaif.

You have three minutes.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you.

Thank you to the witnesses.

Ms. Heines, everything in a big part of Africa is on the rise—the cost of living, the cost of food, the conflicts. How is Canada doing as far as approaching these conflicts and the food insecurity situation?

[Edith Heines]

Canada has been a very steady donor to the World Food Programme, and this is on the two sides that we support or that are within our mandate: addressing humanitarian needs but also more working towards the longer-term solutions. We know that, while addressing the needs that are very high, we also have to work on reducing the humanitarian needs, and Canada has been helping in that mandate as well.

It can additionally help us with, as I mentioned, humanitarian access, which is becoming more and more difficult. Conflicts are becoming more and more complex, so this is where Canada and our other members can help with political and diplomatic support to influence national partners and national governments and actors in conflict to ensure that we have humanitarian access and a humanitarian space to actually work and provide the assistance that we need to do, so humanitarian diplomacy is a very important part.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you.

In the case of Sudan specifically—and it's a very devastating situation—can we count on the neighbours? Where can Canada be most effective regarding the neighbours of Sudan to be able to get access to areas where food and everything are needed?

[Edith Heines]

For Sudan specifically, there's a lot of movement of Sudanese who become refugees and move into other countries. Chad, I mentioned, is a big one where we have a big influx. We still have a lot of issues with negotiating cross-border movements so that we can actually move our resources and our support to those refugees. While we do have support from neighbouring countries, as well, because we set up kind of a regional operation—and this is not just WFP but the whole humanitarian community—for the Sudan crisis, so we're working both from the Chad side, as well as from the Sudan side, there are different parties in a conflict and—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I'm afraid that, again, we're out of time. Thank you for your response.

Next we go to Ms. Vandenbeld.

You have three minutes.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Heines, I believe that Canada right now is the fourth-largest global donor to the World Food Programme. Could you confirm that?

Our framework, of course, is around the feminist international assistance policy, FIAP, which guides everything that we do in development. You specifically mentioned the impact of food insecurity and conflict on women and girls. Therefore, I wonder if you could comment on how Canada's contributions are helping, and also on how that feminist framework is making a difference.

[Edith Heines]

Gender inclusion and gender protection are cross-cutting across all the work we do, but specifically in conflict, we look at how conflict affects women differently. We see that very often they have a higher vulnerability, so we have been including in our humanitarian access an analysis with a gender lens. How are women differently and, very often, more, impacted by limited access? We have conflict analysts in each of our regions to make sure that we have very context-specific analysis that goes into the planning of the operations. On conflict analysis specifically, but also by ensuring different protection in how we provide our assistance, we take women's issues and women's vulnerability into account.

We also do that for other vulnerable groups, which might be, depending on the context, indigenous groups or people with disabilities. Women and girls are extremely vulnerable and we do take that into account in our programming and planning, very much in line with Canada.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you so much.

I do want to direct a quick question to Mr. Diaw, specifically around climate resilience. You mentioned the link between the political and economic crises and the climate crisis. I wonder if, in 30 seconds, you could perhaps elaborate on that.

[Modou Diaw]

Yes, I will say that most of African countries have been suffering from climate vulnerability for years. We do know that now the conflict.... If I just take a quick concrete example of Mali, we did some surveys in some parts of northern Mali and we found that 67% of community-level conflicts are due to conflicts like land or resource control. What we are seeing is that these countries have been suffering from climate change, but now with the conflict, the situation has been exacerbated. The population, already very vulnerable because of climate vulnerability, is now suffering from conflict in addition to that. This is actually putting more and more people into extreme poverty and extreme vulnerability. That's what I can say in 30 seconds, but I would have developed more.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you. Very grateful.

We next go to Mr. Bergeron.

You have three minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would also like to thank the witnesses, especially given the late hour for some of them.

We know that a number of western countries have slowly withdrawn from Africa in recent decades. As a result, others quickly swooped in to fill the vacuum, as politics abhors a vacuum. China and Russia, among other countries, have rushed in. That has led to the known consequences. Canada is one potential investor, and an attempt is being made to convince the Government of Canada that Africa is a land of opportunity and that it must be reinvested in massively.

However, the three witnesses have painted a rather bleak picture of the situation in Africa. We are talking about a reduction in economic growth. We are also talking about an increase in crises potentially stemming from climate change, such as population movements, political crises and food crises.

Mr. Sultan, how can the government be convinced given such a bleak picture?

Then I'll ask Mr. Diaw and Ms. Heines the same question.

[Benjamin Sultan]

Thank you very much for the question.

I think you have to look at two things. The first, and probably the most important, is that we have a moral duty to help African countries. They are especially vulnerable to global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, for which developed countries such as Canada and France are responsible.

The second is that there are still huge opportunities in Africa. It is the place in the world where the difference between the maximum yield that could be achieved by farmers and their observed yield is the most significant. That means there could be a huge return on investment.

So I think Africa is also a land of opportunity that can be very important for Canada.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Mr. Diaw, do you want to add anything?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I'm afraid your time is up.

[Modou Diaw]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

We're going to have to go to the next question.