Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure for me to be here this evening to speak on this particular topic, especially because I would like to focus my remarks with respect to the women of Afghanistan. There is quite a story there.
Canadian engagement in Afghanistan is making a difference in the lives of Afghans, in the lives of ordinary people, and in particular, women and girls. Women and girls have a reason to be hopeful about their future and the future of their country. They are being empowered to be participants in civil society and in government.
It is only by making women a part of Afghanistan's recovery that change and progress will be sustainable. We must draw upon the capabilities, resources and commitment of both men and women in order to ensure that sustainable reconstruction is achieved. Women possess skills and capacities that can help in the task of rebuilding the country. Without the participation of women, there is no sustainable development, not only in Afghanistan, but in any country that I know of.
Canada has been outspoken about the importance of the active participation of Afghan women in political, economic and social life. We have drawn attention to the ongoing violations of human rights in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls, and made the promotion and protection of human rights a priority. We have focused much of our advocacy and diplomacy work on the violence that continues to be perpetrated against women and girls across the country.
Because the Canadian approach leverages resources across government in support of a common goal, we are able to maximize our impact. Improving the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan has required mutually reinforcing engagement from the military, diplomats and development professionals.
We have worked within the multilateral context, including at the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Human Rights and the UN Commission on the Status of Women to ensure the human rights situation in Afghanistan gets due consideration and remains integral to the work of the international community.
Canada has funded a number of projects specifically targeting women, such as Afghanistan's first ever human rights development, which includes a gender development index, which looks at the discrepancies between men and women in terms of the human development indicators; the process of constitutional consultation with experts and civil society, including women's organizations; the Afghan women's rights fund and Montreal-based Rights and Democracy; gender training in the context of reconstruction and peace building; and the media support projects by Vancouver based NGO IMPACS, which has created women's radio stations across the country and enabled women to participate in the reconstruction of their own society.
These are our achievements because they are creating an inclusive society where women in fact are partners in building and taking back their communities, their society and their country.
With Canadian funding and support, Afghan women played an important role in drafting the Afghan constitution in which the principle of gender equality is enshrined. The constitution also guarantees women's rights to serve in parliament.
On October 18, 2005, just two weeks shy of the fifth anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, which calls for the involvement of women in all efforts to build peace and security, 582 women ran as candidates in Afghanistan's provincial and parliamentary elections. This is quite a historic achievement considering where women were before Canadians and others were there to assist the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
When I was Minister of International Development, I remember being involved and trying to provide education to women, yes, in a covert way because we could not get past the Taliban to even provide nutrition so women and girls could actually survive physically. To get doctors to them was actually taking one's own life in one's own hands in those days. Now we have 582 women running for Afghanistan's provincial and parliamentary elections. This is absolutely fantastic. Women accounted for 44% of the new voter registrants. Showing up at the polls on voting day and casting their ballots, Afghan women demonstrated that they are taking control of their future, even in the face of threats.
However our work is not done. Women and girls continue to face challenges and serious violations of human rights. Canada is working to ensure that constitutional and human rights norms are implemented throughout the country. The crucial step now is to take the guarantee of equality between men and women enshrined in the Afghan constitution and make it applicable to the daily lives of women and girls.
For instance, there are still communities where early and forced marriages take place. Violence against women remains prevalent. Women are still being treated as property. This is the case when some men use their sisters and daughters as payment for their debts.
Canada is committed to assisting the Afghan authorities to implement human rights obligations, including their obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination, a convention to which both Canada and Afghanistan are a party. This requires building the capacity of both women and men, boys and girls, so that they play a concerted and equal role in the rebuilding of their society.
In the reconstruction of Afghanistan, Canada continues to press for the full participation of women in post-conflict governance and rehabilitation activities and for the creation of a government wide gender strategy and action plan.
As a special advisor on women, peace and security to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I will continue to press for the inclusion of gender concerns and the participation of women in an effort to bring sustainable peace and security to that country. Canada will continue to work with Afghans to build a stable, democratic and self-sustaining state, respectful of the rule of law and human rights throughout the country.
It is absolutely fundamental that we continue to work with women and girls in Afghanistan. As I said earlier, I have not seen a nation which Canada has worked with in development where development is sustainable without the participation of women at all levels of society, whether it be social, economic, political or governance. It is also extremely important for the stability of the democracy and the governance of a country that women are part of the structure and part of the decision making process.
I am extremely pleased to see that we are doing a great deal but we have a long way to go. To me these are, to some degree, baby steps. The most critical thing right now is to maintain the kind of stability that will allow for the governance structures of a democratic process to really become consolidated, strong and grow really deep roots. Otherwise, the gains that we have made could be lost.
This is a critical time when we actually have to maintain a sustained effort and support the work for the long term so that it becomes a permanent part of Afghan life. This is where it is most important. I find sometimes we move out of situations a little too soon. We think we have accomplished peace because we have stopped either the killing or the violence in the short term but that does not give the long term stability that is needed. I could mention a couple of other places where I have been where that may have happened.
I would encourage us all to keep focused on the long term because that is where the results and the gains will be made.