I'll continue to finish my presentation so I can give you an understanding that the situation is so tough for me. I am a victim of this. I lost some of my family members.
I'll say why Canada is needed in the Congo.
We said Canada has been maintaining its longstanding presence in the Congo, particularly in the Kivu region. As a co-chair country, Canada is a friend and a member of the international conference on the Great Lakes region. It has an important bilateral development assistance program with the DRC. Canada contributes, as well, to numerous multilateral initiatives in the areas of peace, good governance, poverty reduction, and humanitarian assistance.
Our recommendations today are that we would like Canada to respond to the urgent humanitarian crisis and reinforce Canada's commitment to work for peace and security in the east of the DRC in collaboration with the DRC government and local NGO partners.
We would also like Canada to provide concrete action steps to help address the challenges and the lack of security, weak governance, and lack of infrastructure in the eastern DRC.
We would also like Canada to develop tangible projects in these challenges, indicative of the range of needs that must be addressed in the Congo.
What we are trying to do, as an organization, is advance the status of women and children in the Congo and support women and children who are victims of sexual violence.
I will finish there, and I will pass to my colleague Nicole, who will address some of the issues we've been discussing.
Thank you.