Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on March 19th, 2013

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to our witnesses today for their time.

I just want to continue with Mr. Sweet's question on youth in Honduras. Since in Honduras 60% of the population is under the age of 25, this represents quite a significant human capital potential. In the short term, it will be really very difficult for the government to meet the country's need for health care and education services, partly due to the worsening physical situation, combined with the significant pressure placed on these services by the young and rapidly growing population there.

Could you please elaborate a little bit more on other measures, besides education, that CIDA is taking care of? Is anything else being done there for the youth, besides education?

[Lise Filiatrault]

Besides education I can mention our health work. We have a number of health initiatives. I mentioned an initiative we have to help prevent some diseases. I also mentioned in my statement a project that has now been completed where we helped with community health—training at the community level.

I also mentioned that we have an ongoing project with UNICEF and UNFPA, where we provide services to adolescents, talking about youth, helping them deal with some issues that are specific to adolescence. That also goes a bit beyond health per se, but it helps them by giving them some skills for their self-esteem, choosing healthy lifestyles, like doing sports. That goes a little bit beyond health or education per se and equips youth to engage in activities that keep them outside of the more risky behaviours that we know are a big challenge for the country.

In terms of health, we do have a few other initiatives. I should indeed have mentioned that through the World Food Programme we are providing meals for the children at school. This is another important measure, because it's been researched that not only does this help the kids achieve better learning outcomes, but it stimulates the parents to send them to school and keep them in school. This is a very important measure as well when it comes to protecting the children.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Speaking of health, CIDA has a focus on child and maternal health there. This being said, how does CIDA work to improve the prevention of illnesses and disease for children and mothers?

Furthermore, is there any kind of support by the Government of Honduras to improve the health system specifically for children and women there?

[Lise Filiatrault]

Yes, indeed. In fact, Kate can also speak to that in more detail in terms of our specific programs. When we work in any sector—so in the case of education and health—we actually work and support the government programs. Obviously, we are concerned about the sustainability of this support, and it's important to help develop the government capacity as well to manage and deliver those services. We do have initiatives that are supporting the health. In the case of health, in fact, we've just started an initiative to help the government collect better information so that they have the right information systems in place to make better decisions in terms of investing in their health programs. We all know that information is key in order to make the best choices. We do help them also at a more systemic level to develop their capacity and their tools to make better investments.

[Kate Stefanuk, Deputy Director, Honduras, Americas, Geographic Programs Branch, Canadian International Development Agency]

To add to what Lise has already contributed, I would also just highlight that our programming with the World Food Programme also addresses vulnerable groups. In addition to the nutritious school meals we provide on a daily basis, we also have a component through the WFP that provides supplementary nutrients and meal supplements for vulnerable groups. Those include women, children, and families who are basically in dire poverty, whose children are being monitored for their health and who are known to be undernourished.

We also have a project that I'll just speak a little more to, which Lise mentioned in her opening statement, regarding Chagas and leishmaniasis. When you were asking about specific programming to reduce illnesses, both Chagas and leishmaniasis are preventable diseases, and they're treatable if they're actually identified. Certainly Chagas is, if it's identified in those under the age of 15. So we've been programming in that area to help the government reduce the incidence of both Chagas and leishmaniasis in Honduras.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Chair, do I have some more time left?

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Wayne Marston]

You have 12 seconds.

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

That's fine. Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Wayne Marston]

I thought it might be. We were told by the chair to keep things very much on the line.

At this point we'll go to the Liberal Party.

Mr. Cotler, go ahead, please.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I want to thank you, Ms. Filiatrault, for your very comprehensive presentation.

I'm going to focus on the human rights issue per se, though I'm not unmindful of the fact, as you mentioned, that your work in the areas of food security and health and education has a human rights fallout, particularly in the matter of child protection.

I want to focus on the human rights issue. The issue of human rights defenders, the plight of human rights defenders, has been a central concern of this committee. It was even behind the establishment of our inquiry into Honduras, which was established in October 2012, which was in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of two prominent human rights defenders at the time. Indeed, as a preamble to the motion setting up this committee established in October 2012, already 76 lawyers had been murdered over the previous three years, and there have been more since.

My questions to you are as follows. I'll do them all so you can deal with whichever.

CIDA represents Canada on the G-16. Human rights, as you mentioned, are one of the five priorities of the G-16 in its joint declaration of 2012. Has the issue of murdered human rights defenders been put on the agenda of the G-16? That's question one.

Question two, an independent and impartial judiciary is a key component of human rights protection. CIDA is involved in the justice sector programming, as you mentioned. Is CIDA involved in the education and training of judges in Honduras? Do you have any appreciation of the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary?

The final question is whether this issue of murdered human rights defenders has come before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which you referenced in your presentation, by way of petition or otherwise.

Those are my questions.

[Lise Filiatrault]

Regarding your first question, I just want to clarify that the G-16 is represented at the level of ambassadors, but because our ambassador is not resident in Honduras—our ambassador is resident in Costa Rica—and because our director of the CIDA program is resident in Honduras, she sometimes would represent Canada at the G-16. Also, the G-16 works at the donors' level.

I must say, I don't know if this issue of human rights defenders was ever on an agenda of the G-16. I would have to check with our colleagues in order to answer that question. I suppose we can get back with an answer to that question. I'm not aware.

I don't know, Kate, if you have that answer.

[Kate Stefanuk]

No, sorry.

[Lise Filiatrault]

I'm sorry, I don't have that answer.

In terms of education and training of judges, the one initiative that I mentioned where there is training of judges is through this Justice Education Society of British Columbia. This is a Central America initiative. This is the project we talked about earlier, the Justice Education Society of British Columbia.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

I know you referenced that the project is intended, among other things, to reduce impunity. Impunity, of course, is central to what is going on with the murdered human rights defenders. I don't know if any independent investigation has even been set up in Honduras to that effect and whether CIDA is involved in that type of issue with the B.C. group.

[Lise Filiatrault]

CIDA funds that initiative, and there has been training of judges during the course of that Central American initiative. But in terms of more specificity of a dialogue, we are not directly involved. In a way, it would be a good question to ask this group that is actually implementing that training, I would suggest.

Then going to your third question....

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

The whole issue of the murdered human rights defenders has been brought before the Inter-American Commission.

[Lise Filiatrault]

The Inter-American Commission, yes. Actually, again, that's a very good question. I know there were four petitions. In fact, let me just check.

There were a number of petitions brought by Honduras in front of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, but I don't have the details of each petition, so I wouldn't be able to tell you. I think there were 16 petitions that were brought. If you just hold on a second, I think I do have that number for you, but I don't know the details of each petition.

Sorry, there were 24 petitions that were received from Honduras in 2011 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, but I would have to do more investigation to find out which topic they brought up specifically.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

But it would be open to Canada to also petition on that issue, would it not?

[Lise Filiatrault]

I guess Canada can submit petitions. I don't know if it's possible to submit petitions on other countries. When you say “Canada”, it can be an individual or an organization that can submit petitions to the commission.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Wayne Marston]

At this point, on this conversation, the time is up for this particular witness, as much as I'd love to give them more.

I understand Mr. Sweet has a follow-up he'd like to put forward.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Along the line of Mr. Cotler's questioning, the program that you're in charge of, where you're training government and non-governmental organizations in the justice sector, can you give me a little bit more detail about where this training is targeted? Who are the individuals in the justice sector who are being trained by CIDA?

[Lise Filiatrault]

Just to be sure, we're again referring to this project from British Columbia, correct?

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

No.

[Lise Filiatrault]

Okay, sorry. I'm glad I asked.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

No, there's a different one. CIDA's inter-American program trains justice sector personnel.