Mr. Chair, at the start of this 39th Parliament, I rise to speak in this House for the first time. I rise not to thank, congratulate or pay tribute to anyone in my riding, but to debate the drama unfolding in Darfur. With dignity, in humility and out of respect for these people and my colleague from Saint-Lambert I speak this evening in the House.
The education I received from my parents and the values they passed on lead me to believe that every person is entitled to health, freedom and happiness. In support of my remarks, I quote Benjamin Franklin, one of the fathers of American democracy, who, in 1776, wrote:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Three hundred years later, this declaration still underlies the fundamental principles of human rights.
Negotiations are currently underway in Nigeria in order to reach a peace agreement in Darfur. The African Union proposed this agreement and agreed this morning to extend the talks between the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebel movements until tomorrow evening. The role of the African Union in the peace process must be maintained and respected to ensure better cooperation between the parties.
The extent of the UN mission must be inversely proportional to the progress of the peace talks and, in the event an agreement is reached, close communication must be maintained in order to adequately support the African Union.
The Bloc Québécois unreservedly supports the African Union's mission and believes the Canadian government must provide financial and logistical support to the African Union so that it has the resources to achieve its objectives.
The African Union does remarkable work in Darfur and as Kofi Annan said:
The UN peace mission must not replace the African Union peace mission. This is above all an African conflict and the African Union must have leadership in the talks and in implementing the mission to help these people.
We absolutely must not get involved in the power struggle of the Islamic extremists in Khartoum by giving the impression that the West is telling the Africans and the Muslims what to do.
That said, Darfur has been in the battleground in a civil war for more than three years and a serious humanitarian crisis has so far resulted in nearly 300,000 deaths, 2.4 million displaced persons and 200,000 refugees in Chad.
The situation is critical and the Bloc Québécois believes that the international community has to be more proactive in order to overcome this crisis.
The issue is not whether or not there is a genocide, it is about taking action as soon as possible with a peacekeeping force that would cooperate fully with the African Union's mission in Sudan on technical, logistical and financial levels. The violence must stop so that the civilian population can live in peace.
Obviously, the Bloc Québécois will always remain faithful to its principles and will support a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
The humanitarian situation has been deteriorating since early 2006. Last Friday, the World Food Program, the WFP, announced that it was forced to cut its rations in half because donor countries' contributions were too low.
This year, the World Food Program received only $238 million of the $746 million it requested from the international community. The World Food Program wants to hold on to its reserves so that it can help people until harvest time in September. Currently, half of the population of Darfur depends on this humanitarian and food aid. The Bloc Québécois is asking the federal government to boost its humanitarian aid by increasing its contribution to the World Food Program.
Last March 9, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cut its operating budget for Darfur by 44% because security conditions had deteriorated. At the same time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees declared that humanitarian conditions were worse than ever. Over the past few weeks, several NGOs have been forced to leave Sudanese territory, which has resulted in aid being denied these suffering people.
The lack of security that now characterizes Darfur is threatening to impede the work of humanitarian organizations. Half of Darfur's population needs humanitarian aid and protection.
The international community must take greater responsibility for protecting civilian populations and maintaining its support for the African Union Mission in Sudan. With only 7,000 people to patrol an area the size of France, the African Union has its hands tied, and in its current form, the African Union Mission in Sudan can do little to meet the needs of the people.
Community organizations must be able to reach people in need and provide them with the care they require.
More than 300 villages around Gereida have emptied since the end of 2005. The villagers, who were thrown out of their homes, are now living in crowded temporary camps near cities, where resources are far from adequate. The rapid growth of these camps is placing enormous pressure on supplies of water, food and health care.
The UN is threatening to suspend its aid operations and planning to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions. Unfortunately, now such actions would only make things worse for people who have already been hard hit.
In closing, we have to ask ourselves at this point how we can best help Darfur, how we can best get involved without making matters worse in Darfur and Sudan.
As Christophe Ayad said:
The word “genocide” carries such serious connotations that it must not be misused. Describing a situation as genocide when it is not is not a solution, and the word must not be used merely to mobilize support.
Some analysts say that using this term could even jeopardize the peace process that is under way and threaten ratification of the peace treaty that Khartoum and the rebels are about to sign.
In practical terms, using the word “genocide” will not enable the international community to act any more quickly than if we simply refer to “war crimes” or “crimes against humanity”.
