Madam Speaker, I am pleased to take the floor tonight to speak to the United Nations stabilization force in Haiti and to the critical support provided by the Government of Canada in this very important operation.
As this government has said before, our vision for Haiti is a country built on foundations of peace, security, rule of law and economic prosperity. This is a vision shared by the international community. The United Nations stabilization mission in Haiti, or MINUSTAH, as it is known by its acronym, is one of the most important manifestations of the international community's commitment to Haiti's stabilization and reconstruction.
Canada remains strongly committed to MINUSTAH. This has been a priority mission since it was established in 2004. Prior to the earthquake, Canada was already contributing high level Canadian Forces support and a number of civilian police officers and corrections experts to the mission. Since the earthquake, we have deployed even more support. Indeed, MINUSTAH now represents the largest number of civilians deployed to a mission outside of Afghanistan.
Canada recognizes MINUSTAH's continuing efforts in Haiti and the role of the United Nations in coordinating the international response. Since 2004, MINUSTAH has contributed to the overall improvement of the security situation in Haiti, including by playing a crucial role in managing the current security situation following Haiti's most recent elections.
MINUSTAH was established as a multi-dimensional, integrated mission, combining both military and civilian functions. The Security Council has provided MINUSTAH with a robust mandate under chapter 7 of the UN charter, which allows for the use of force in its implementation.
As a member of the Group of Friends of Haiti at the UN, Canada worked closely with Brazil and other countries committed to MINUSTAH to play an important role in the drafting of the resolution and renewing the mission mandate adopted by the Security Council in October of this year. MINUSTAH is also protecting civilians, supporting the political process in Haiti, professionalizing the Haitian national police and reforming the justice and security system reform.
MINUSTAH has also faced difficulties. The events of January 12 of this year took a heavy toll on the mission. Some 101 UN personnel perished in the Haiti earthquake, the largest losses to a UN mission in a single event. The victims included the special representative of the UN secretary-general, Hédi Annabi, and eight Canadians serving in police and civilian roles in MINUSTAH.
Despite those losses, the mission carried on, making valuable contributions to the relief effort and working with the government of Haiti and the international community to mitigate the effects of the disaster on Haiti's people. Canada has commended MINUSTAH for its efforts and has consistently encouraged it to continue to work for and with the Haitian population.
After the earthquake, the UN secretary-general requested additional resources for MINUSTAH, including police, to strengthen the mission's work in Haiti. Canada supported this request for more resources in these dire circumstances. Moreover, we provided additional personnel to the mission, something I will return to momentarily.
These additional personnel were necessary both in the post-earthquake context and in the lead-up to the Haitian elections in November, giving MINUSTAH a role in both. MINUSTAH's authorized uniform strength currently remains at 8,940 troops and 4,391 civilian police, alongside 1,900 civilians.
In his latest report on MINUSTAH in September of this year, the UN secretary-general further noted that, “Consolidating any gains in Haiti will depend in large part on sustained support from the international community, including to MINUSTAH”.
The secretary-general also recommended maintaining mission staff at its current level until the security environment has been assessed after the inauguration of a new president and the new government. Canada supported this cautious approach, as did the UN Security Council. Under the current mission mandate, the numbers of military and police personnel have been maintained.
In addition, the Security Council asked the Secretary-General to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the security situation following the election and the transfer of power to a new government in 2011.
The Secretary-General's report also underscored the importance of the authority given to MINUSTAH to provide direct logistical support and technical expertise to Haitian officials, though this authority is temporary. Because the earthquake dealt a serious blow to Haiti's bureaucracy and the state infrastructure, Canada agreed with the importance of allowing MINUSTAH to continue to play this role until other support mechanisms can take over.
Canada has been clear that this temporary direct support must be part of a process of constructive co-operation with the host government that strives, through training and mentoring, to build that government's capacity to maintain stability and to deliver services to its citizens.
Our government is committed to keeping our activities aligned with Haitian priorities with a view to transitioning back all governance functions to Haitian authorities once the interim need has passed.
In this vein, Canada supports the continuation of MINUSTAH's work to strengthen Haiti's justice and security systems in the areas of police, corrections and border services, to provide complementary support to MINUSTAH's work in this area. The assistance provided by the stabilization and reconstruction task force, known by its acronym START, through the global peace and security fund in Haiti, focuses primarily on the reform of the justice and security system.
Since 2006, Canada has provided nearly $72 million to fund the purchase of equipment to allow the Haitian national police to patrol on land and on sea for the construction of facilities for both Haitian police and corrections officers, as well as to provide funding for the improvement of community security and the re-establishment of the justice system.
Canada believes that MINUSTAH will continue to play a vital role as we collectively work to put Haiti back on the path toward long-term prosperity. For this reason, Canada is proud to contribute significantly to MINUSTAH.
After the earthquake, Canada increased the number of police officers available for deployment. Up to 150 police have been authorized for deployment under the Canadian police arrangement. As of this month, there are 132 Canadian police officers serving in Haiti under this arrangement, including the MINUSTAH deputy police commissioner for operations.
Canada also increased its capacity to deploy officers from the Correctional Service of Canada to MINUSTAH to up to 25. Seventeen officers are currently serving in Haiti thanks to DFAIT's global peace and security fund.
In addition, the Canadian Forces deployed an additional five staff officers initially for six months. The Minister of National Defence recently announced the extension of this deployment to April 2011.
The Government of Canada's support to MINUSTAH is another clear example of the priority we give to the people of Haiti. This support is mirrored by our partners in the hemisphere whose contributions demonstrate the importance of the continent's solidarity for the sustainable development of Haiti.
We believe that this unique engagement is opening a new era of hemispheric co-operation. Thus, the Government of Canada will remain strongly committed to MINUSTAH, including by continuing to deploy police, corrections and Canadian Forces personnel to the mission by continuing to play a key role in the Group of Friends of Haiti in New York, which helps to develop MINUSTAH's mandate, and by supporting key projects to assist the consolidation of Haiti's police, correctional services, border management and justice sectors, in order to complement and to support MINUSTAH in these areas.
