First, Canada could contribute in the area of justice. We know that a justice system must be established, even before decisions on the parliamentary system that would be most appropriate in any democratization. The justice system would have to give people some assurance that crimes are not being hidden and that, for example, sectarian groups are not seeking revenge.
Canada has already contributed to justice in the matter of evidence gathering. The UN system had what I would call an investigative body known as the UNIIIC. It was not part of the Security Council, but it was a somewhat parallel structure. A lot of Canadian jurists took part. Some wonder whether that might work. It's happened before, and the parallel processes for such investigative bodies do exist. In a process of establishing justice for Syria's future, that could be a credible path.
The work has already been done. A number of legal experts are working in international institutions. They already have roles, they are already hired and they believe in the system. They want to work with a country like Canada, which is seen to be legitimate. That's the first thing.
Second, Canada could play a role with women in Syria. We talked about the White Helmets. The White Helmets have had female units. Canada has also supported the roles of female mediators in Syria, when there was still a process in Geneva. My colleague Mr. Tepper mentioned Ms. Kabawat. In Montreal, we also have Ms. Muzna Dureid. She has won several awards for her leadership in the Syrian refugee crisis. Today, she is back in Damascus. I could name twenty or so such women. They are all Canadian now, or they have ties to Canada. They are known here. We have to listen to them, to bring them together. I am sure that they have ideas.
We have had dialogue days on Syria. They were half-days, actually, but they could have gone on for three days. If we had had more than a half-day, we would have added value by inviting more Kurdish groups, more women. Starting processes seems simple, and at the moment, simplicity is the key: it will set a course for the next decades in the country.
To conclude, I would say that we must not just look away. We must continue to gather information, and from good sources. Historically, in fact, during the war, Canada supported organizations that had a good picture of things on the ground. We know that access for journalists is not easy and that Syria is a dangerous country. We must continue the work that you have started in this committee, so that we know what is really happening in Suwayda and the Kurdish areas. The regime in Syria has to understand that no one is looking away and that international attention is on them. That attention is often where regimes find the greatest path forward.