Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee.
Gerardo and I are here today as conduits and witnesses of what defenders tell us in their own words and in data. We thank you for the opportunity at a moment when the questions you're studying carry real stakes.
Democracy worldwide is under growing pressure. No country can take its resilience for granted, according to the 2026 V-Dem democracy report. Recently, Prime Minister Carney acknowledged what communities have long known: Human rights commitments are not applied consistently, enforcement is selective and accountability is uneven.
That raises a question: Why continue to champion human rights in such a weakened system?
The answer is that abandoning the framework would mean losing the only universally agreed upon set of principles that build stronger, more cohesive communities and countries. In moments of fragility, the task is not to discard the system but to strengthen and reform it, keeping what remains essential to its purpose. It's in this context that building up informed, connected and rights-aware citizens is essential. As our two peers have spoken to today, democratic resilience depends not only on institutions but on the people who claim their rights.
For nearly 60 years, Equitas has worked in Canada and globally to strengthen leaders and organizations. In the past 14 months, Equitas trained over 150 human rights defenders from 40 different countries. Nearly one in three faced threats, surveillance, physical violence or the targeting of their families. Not a single one of them stopped working, but when those defenders needed protection, 60% of them turned to a trusted peer. Only 27% reported to police, and nearly half never used a formal channel at all.
We're often asked what the connection is between democracy and human rights. For many communities, both concepts feel abstract and distant from local realities. At their very core, human rights are the values and principles that protect human dignity, and democracy is a system that gives those values effect in public life through participation, accountability and the power to shape the rules that govern. A healthy democracy requires meaningful, safe and equal participation. When rights are weakened, democracy weakens, and when marginalized communities are excluded, systems fail.
At very key moments, Canada has demonstrated bold international leadership, from its contribution to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—with Canadian John Humphrey as a co-author—to advancing the global land mines ban in the 1990s and supporting efforts to end apartheid in the 1980s. Looking back, these efforts reflect a consistent pattern: When Canada leads, it helps shape global norms around dignity, equality, justice and accountability.
What if Canada acts now so that 10 years from today, it's recognized not only for its principles but for how it supported and connected human rights and democracy defenders?
Gerardo will continue.