Foreign Affairs committee  I believe that Canada's contribution to one objective that was appreciated was the support for the process of democratization, the support of civil society organizations to prepare people for the elections, the support of the Independent Electoral Commission. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the process of democratization, there were plans to have local elections after the legislative and presidential elections.

Foreign Affairs committee  I would like to say a word about the rebels who have been terrorizing, raping and massacring the people for the last 15 years. These are not high tech armies with extraordinary resources. There are leaders who are well organized, but many of them are young people, adolescents who are forcibly conscripted.

Foreign Affairs committee  We feel that there can be a combination of supports for various institutions. For example, Mr. Tougas mentioned the Parliament. There are members of Parliament who were elected and who have the confidence of the public. At the same time, it is important to support civil society initiatives, civic education programs, so that the public can play a role.

Foreign Affairs committee  I wanted to say that the fighting in the eastern part of the country is having repercussions throughout the entire country. It has a destabilizing effect both politically and in terms of security. As a result, progress or the process of democratization is impeded, for example. In fact, if there is fighting in one part of the country, resources and attention need to be mobilized.

Foreign Affairs committee  Good afternoon. My name is Serge Blais. For the past 17 years, I have been working for a Canadian organization called Development and Peace. Since the early 1980s, I have also been working with African and Canadian civil society organizations. I salute this initiative and, with our African partners, we feel that it is time to ask questions about Canadian foreign policy and Canadian cooperative policy in Africa.

Foreign Affairs committee  As a Canadian civil society organization in discussion with African civil society organizations, particularly civil society in Central Africa, we are asking questions about Canadian foreign policy which, like that of a number of wealthy countries, is promoting half measures to resolve deep-rooted problems.