Madam Chair, to start, I would like to say that it grieves me that just two weeks ago we were standing here talking about another regime that was killing its own people, the Ahmadinejad regime in Iran. Unfortunately, we now find ourselves talking about another regime, this one led by Bashar al-Assad.
The appalling massacre in the Syrian town of Houla on May 25 and the subsequent attacks on the city by government forces are the latest tragic episodes in the Assad regime's campaign of repression against Syria's pro-democracy opposition.
In March of last year, when this region was still in the throes of unrest throughout the Arab world and into North Africa, a group of Syrian children painted anti-regime graffiti on the walls of a school in Daraa. Their subsequent detention and cruel torture sparked protests, which the regime attempted to quell by force. However, this only caused the demonstrations to grow and spread to other cities until people all across the country were peacefully demanding a free and democratic Syria.
The courageous and peaceful nature of these protests stands in stark contrast to the inhuman brutality of the Assad regime with its use of force against unarmed demonstrators, military assaults on civilian areas, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, summary executions, denial of medical treatment, torture and sexual violence, including against children.
As our Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs have said, the Assad regime has lost all legitimacy by killing its own people to stay in power. I could not agree more. One of the world's worst human rights tragedies is unfolding in Syria day in and day out, even as we speak here tonight.
In February, the United Nations Human Rights Council's commission of inquiry for Syria reported that there is reliable evidence that Syrian military officers and civilian officials at the highest levels are responsible for gross human rights violations.
In March, the United Nations confirmed a death toll of more than 9,000 over the first year of unrest.
In April, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that more than 65,000 Syrians had fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have also been internally displaced.
Canada is deeply concerned about the plight of ordinary Syrians affected by the unrest and has responded with humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs arising from this crisis, which were well outlined by the parliamentary secretary earlier here tonight.
From the outset, the regime attempted to justify this relentless repression by painting an essentially peaceful pro-democracy movement as a violent threat. I do not know how Assad can try to get away with this when, as UNICEF has said, 400 children have been killed, and that is not including the current massacre, and another 400 have been imprisoned.
Assad's propaganda machine created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Faced with relentless repression, military defectors turned their weapons on the regime and formed what is now called the Free Syrian Army. They were joined by erstwhile civilians who took up arms to protect their communities. This has developed into an armed insurrection, although the Free Syrian Army remains decentralized and lacks substantial cohesion or a genuine command structure.
Since late last year, we have also witnessed the worrying spectre of several large-scale bombings in the previously calm urban centres of Damascus and Aleppo. Extremists, possibly linked to al-Qaeda, are taking advantage of the unrest to advance their own agendas. However, the regime remains directly responsible for the overwhelming majority of violence and has itself created the conditions that have driven some of its opponents to take up arms.
A resolution to the crisis has thus far proved elusive. Bashar al-Assad has gradually unveiled a series of purported reforms that have proven limited in both scope and implementation, while the actions of Syria's security forces belie any genuine commitment to such reforms.
The regime's limited constitutional reforms as well as the subsequent legislative elections, which were boycotted by the opposition, were farcical exercises in propaganda that lacked any credibility with Syria's pro-democracy forces or indeed anyone with an ounce of common sense. Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition is becoming more organized, but much remains to be done.
In addition to the grassroots groups organizing on the ground, such as the local coordinating committees, we have seen organizations such as the Syrian national council and a national coordinating committee establish themselves as umbrella organizations for opposition, both within Syria and throughout the diaspora.
Canada has been engaging Syria's peaceful, pro-democracy opposition since the crisis began and is providing support to pro-democracy actors. However, it is now imperative that the Syrian opposition come together and unify on a shared transition plan for a post-Assad Syria. We have also been urging the opposition to reach out to ethnic and religious minorities that are absolutely essential elements of Syrian society. The Syrian opposition must do this if it is to convince the Syrian people that it can be a viable alternative to the Assad regime.
The agreement of all parties to respect the ceasefire brokered by UN and the Arab League joint special envoy Kofi Annan, Syria's acceptance of the Annan peace plan and the recent deployment of the United Nations supervision mission in Syria have opened a small window of opportunity for peaceful political transition in Syria. However, the way ahead is fraught with peril and challenges are considerable. As the events in Houla demonstrated all too well, al-Assad leads a ruthless regime with little respect for its own people, let alone its own international commitments.
Acknowledging the frustration opposition supporters are feeling, given the continued violence and lack of progress in the political track, we continue to urge both parties to adhere to the peace plan before us. The Annan plan is the best option we have for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. It is the only alternative to an almost certain descent into chaos, increased violence and possible civil war. This would be a tragic outcome in which everyone concerned would suffer, most notably the Syrian people.
Canada urges the international community to seize this opportunity to ensure success of the Annan plan. We are providing $250,000 in support of the joint special envoy and have imposed extensive sanctions against the Assad regime in order to push it to live up to its obligations. Along with our partners in the international community, we are working to apply concerted pressure on the Assad regime to step aside, end the violence and allow a genuine political transition to occur. We call upon the UN Security Council to strengthen these efforts by adopting binding international sanctions against the Assad regime. We urge countries with influence in Damascus to persuade Assad to immediately implement the Annan plan before more innocent Syrian lives are lost. The people of Syria can afford no further delay.