Thank you very much for that question.
I think that, by bringing this up today, we have told ourselves that, when you are a member state of the United Nations that has ratified agreements and undertaken commitments, you are in fact responsible.
The current problem in the DRC goes beyond national responsibility. It becomes a question of international responsibility. Under international humanitarian law, we think that it is high time Canada took some leadership in protecting civilians who are being massacred in the east of the DRC as we speak.
This is an international responsibility. Human rights are universal. Every country is affected by this. This is not about a right of interference. It is about protecting civilians in a war, in a period of armed conflict. There are documents on which Canada can base its actions.
That is why we are asking the Parliament of Canada to use all the means at its disposal and all its power to urge our government to take concrete steps to protect the people who are being slaughtered in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We have demonstrated to you here that we are living in an lawless state where anyone can come, plunder our mining resources and leave, and where people can move in without us knowing who they are.
The Democratic Republic of Congo will be holding elections soon. The elections will be held in less than a month, on November 28. People will be able to elect their leaders by using their democratic voice. But we feel that, at the moment, whatever the results of the elections, the Congolese people may well be worse off.
We are facing a crisis today. People who follow events in Africa see how terrible things are. So we think that it is time to protect the Congolese people. We think that the Government of Canada, which is already playing a very important role in providing development aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo, should do more.
In terms of rape, through the embassy or through CIDA, you even have clinics and hospitals caring for rape victims. But we want you to go further because, like it or not, these are displaced people and they eventually come to us here as refugees. If our policy were one of prevention, they could stay in their own country and live in peace. That is what we are asking for.
So that is how I would go about answering your question.