Mr. Speaker, as I respond to this question on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs I would like to acknowledge the important contribution that the member for London West has made to the issue of child soldiers. She really has made a difference in advancing the cause of human safety and security when it comes to the lives that those children will have.
It is true that on February 12 the Minister of Foreign Affairs travelled to New York to preside over a special meeting of the security council sponsored by Canada on the issue of protection of civilians in conflict.
It is a recent innovation of the council to hold its meetings on a thematic focus. This enables the security council to consider cross-cutting security issues in a broader, more integrated context than its usual crisis mode of interaction. We support this practice which also permits the council to hear from outside non-state sources, for example the International Committee of the Red Cross.
This initiative is a key element of Canada's security council human security agenda which we hope to advance during our two year council term. At issue is the rising toll of modern conflict on civilians, particularly vulnerable groups such as women and children who are not only victimized by new forms of aggression but are often directly targeted, as the hon. member who has worked so hard on this difficult issue has noticed, and used as child soldiers, which is a very serious issue. Our goal is to explore new ways for the security council and the international community to address this pressing human safety concern.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs delivered Canada's statement on this theme and reiterated to council members that the ultimate aim of the council's work was to safeguard the security of the world's people, not just the states in which they live. Clearly, with the disproportionate toll modern conflict takes on civilians, the protection of individuals should be a primary consideration in the council's activities. The minister called on the council to meet its responsibilities and to face the challenges of this issue head on.
As a result of the February 12 briefing, the council adopted a presidential statement which condemned all attacks against civilians in conflict situations, including women, children and refugees, and called on the—