Just to clarify, to start off with, I don't see the plan of action or UN Security Council resolutions related to women, peace, and security as band-aid solutions. I see them as integral. I don't see them as enough. I see our current action plan as a starting point that we can work with to improve. I think we need these types of commitments at international levels.
But what I'm saying is that there is a lack of what's happening at the macro level with what's happening locally. We need both, essentially, to better understand what happens at the intersections of both and to actually have some effect.
Yes, there is a lack of strategic direction, but I do think, having worked with Government of Canada officials, that there is genuine will in making this happen and of course in improving the lives of women and girls on the ground. The plan is well-conceived. For me, it's weak, but we need to put resources and political will into it. We need to have people appointed to make it happen and to evaluate its results and to have consultation with civil society organizations on an ongoing basis to make sure we're attaining the results. Right now, as far as I know, we don't even have benchmarks to measure our progress. These have to be established as well.
On resources, yes, I was very vague. I mean two things. I mean Canadian mining companies, certainly, operating in the Great Lakes region, but I also referred to artisanal mining, which is a lot more shady. It happens at a local level, and it has many intermediaries and subsidiaries between who eventually buys those minerals and who is digging them out. So I'm referring to the extractive industry as a whole, and both of these have certain elements that are less than glamorous or positive, I think.
I don't know if you've been following closely, but Global Witness and the Canadian Centre for International Justice launched a civil suit in Quebec against Anvil, I think, about two weeks ago, precisely for its alleged involvement in violence that occurred in southern DRC. Questions are raised about other companies as well--and certainly local articulations of concerns. I think the Anvil case will be interesting to follow because of the concerns that are being articulated. It's not always known where to hang those concerns, because the law internationally, of course.... I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that it's very difficult to pursue a transnational corporation to hold them accountable. So yes, I mean both.
Then you asked about independent funding. When I worked at Peacebuild previously and was involved in the consultations, the funding certainly was not independent. The money came from DFAIT to conduct these consultations. Currently, the centre for human rights, where I'm the coordinator of the POWER project, is funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario.