Thank you, Madam Chair. Welcome to our three witnesses.
My colleague mentioned that there was a great deal of concern regarding all of the changes in terminology being made. You said yourself that you wanted to examine the matter carefully. You brought the major players to the table to talk about the situation and how you could address it. Earlier on, you also said that your objective was to facilitate dialogue between the Minister's office and the other units in the department.
So, here is my first question. The issue of violence against women in the DRC has been raised many times. Several areas where we are now sensing a change at foreign affairs significantly affect women. That is why the committee is concerned with this whole approach.
Foreign affairs speeches dealing with the DRC used to mention violence and impunity. Now, the emphasis is more on prevention, although we know full well what is happening on the ground. After all, Mr. Weetman, you brought people to the table who could confirm that. In reality, however, the talk on the ground is about displaced persons. Wars like these bring with them major acts of violence, especially towards women. The first people to be displaced in a country are very often women and children.
We cannot be afraid of telling it like it is in situations like that. When you look at speeches at the departmental level, you can see that the language has changed. Those terms are not longer in use. A number of NGOs have come here to confirm that trend in your department.
I would like to hear your views on that. Was an action plan put in place as a result of the meetings that you had? What action was taken to improve dialogue between the Minister's office and everyone else, to use your expression?