Mr. Chair, in today's uncertain global landscape, it is essential to have an effective, rules-based international system that promotes and protects the interest and prosperity of all Canadians. The current system is based on a respect for international law and the territorial integrity of the states, and guided by the fundamental premise that no country can accomplish alone what we can accomplish together.
This system has contributed to the relative peace and steadily expanding prosperity of the last 75 years. It has facilitated massive trade growth. It has helped advance collective security by reducing the use of hard power between states, instituting rules for the use of force and supporting peaceful settlements of disputes. It has provided an expanding framework to foster the conditions for open markets, the rule of law and democratic governance. It has allowed the world to manage issues of common interest from fishing rights to air transport, extradition, postal services, telecom regulations, and the creation of legal frameworks for the promotion and protection of human rights.
Through the decades, this system has largely proven resilient in the face of interstate tensions. However, the system has been stressed by several factors in recent years, amplified during the pandemic, such as increased geopolitical competition. Some states increasingly disregard principles and institutions they find inconvenient; notably, those related to human rights, the rule of law and good governance. Protectionism has grown alongside isolationist domestic politics. Financial, organizational and leadership challenges affect the ability of some multilateral entities to fulfill their mandates effectively. At the same time, we face acute global challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation and forced migration that cannot be solved by countries acting alone.
In the face of these pressures, action is required, not just to protect the current system, but also to strengthen and reform it to address the challenges that will shape our future. From the development of the Bretton Woods institutions, NATO and the UN, to more recent multilateral action to ban land mines, prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers, or to fight climate change, Canada has a long history of working with partners to develop and leverage rules-based multilateral mechanisms to address global challenges. Today we must reach out and rally as many partners as possible, to future-proof the system, so that it can address emerging issues and adapt to serve the interests of all states and all people.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for collective responses to complex global challenges, from the provision of vaccines to the entire global population, to the technological and economic transformations needed to address climate change. More broadly, Canada has a long and proud tradition of constructive involvement in the United Nations. This is why we co-chaired, in January, the UN peacebuilding fund replenishment conference and why we are working with partners to advance the UN reform agenda for making the UN a more efficient, transparent and accountable organization that remains an effective platform for advancing Canadian interests.
At the same time, Canada is a respected voice across other institutions and forums, many of which we were instrumental in developing, including NATO, the G7, the G20, la Francophonie, the Commonwealth, APEC and the Organization of American States, among others. Through all of these settings, Canada prioritizes the advancement and protection of human rights, and the push for gender equality. However, even as we work to revitalize international institutions, we may also need to create new collaborative forums where old ones no longer meet the challenge. For example, Canada is acting as co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition and co-founded the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, which convenes experts from science, industry and civil society, dedicated to the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.
Today we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to build on our past efforts. Seventy-three years ago, countries around the world came together to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which outlines the fundamental rights and freedoms to which we are all entitled.
While much progress on human rights has been achieved since 1948, events of 2020 reminded us that there is still a long way to go. The multilateral human rights system remains a critical tool in pursuing our common goal of ensuring the protection and promotion of human rights for all. For Canada, it is one of the most important ways to engage in advancing human rights around the world. That is why Canada continues to actively engage in the UN human rights system, including through mechanisms such as the universal periodic review, where member states receive peer feedback on their human rights records every four years.
Canada is also proud to engage at forums like the UN General Assembly's third committee and the Human Rights Council, where we have led resolutions on ending child, early and forced marriage; ending violence against women and girls; and supporting human rights in Iran. Sadly, Canada and like-minded countries are continuing to witness the rising trend of anti-rights and gender equality backlash in these settings, but that only further underscores the need to progress and sustain dialogue.
In the face of this backlash and the challenges posed by COVID-19 around the world, including in Canada, human rights defenders, members of the media, volunteers, civic leaders, indigenous representatives and more are fighting for more inclusive and just societies. Many are doing so in the midst of shrinking civic space, including Internet shutdowns and other threats to freedom of expression.
Too many, especially too many women human rights defenders, are risking the safety of themselves and their families through the course of their work. Canada is continuing to listen to the experiences of these brave individuals and is investing in initiatives such as “Voices at Risk: Canada's Guidelines on Supporting Human Rights Defenders”, a publicly accessible resource meant for use by Canadian officials at home and abroad.
Around the world, Canada takes action with a clear understanding of its national interest and a commitment to stand firm in the defence of our most cherished values and principles. This requires that we work to advance gender equality through all of our international actions, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The rules-based system has been essential for promoting and supporting gender equality. Multilateral co-operation and the advancement of gender equality are closely linked.
The structures, goals, operations and resources of both regional and global institutions have a significant influence over how Canada and the world are able to take action in support of gender equality and human rights in a time of profound change, complex challenges and considerable opportunities. Canada will continue to play a constructive role in shaping the evolving global system for the benefit and prosperity of all Canadians.
I have a number of questions for the minister.
The pandemic knows no borders. The collaboration between countries during this pandemic illustrated the importance of diplomacy and cross-border co-operation. From PPE to vaccines to addressing various human rights crises, international cross collaboration has continued and deepened since 2020. The pandemic also illustrated the need to maintain and promote a rules-based international order. Throughout the crisis, our government has been engaging on the international stage, and ministers have regularly engaged with their counterparts around the world.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs recently resumed in-person diplomacy, while continuing to abide by all health and safety measures, and has attended the G7 and Arctic Council meetings. Could the minister tell us about Canada's priority at the Arctic Council meeting and what outcomes came out of the meeting? Also, could the minister can tell us about his meetings with his counterparts from the United States and Russia?