Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, it's a really strong point that Canada has not met its obligations in peacekeeping forces. That is a really interesting lever to pull and one that could be used to push the Government of Canada to do so and to meet this gap that's caused by distrust in the AU. In terms of a

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That report documented some substantial evidence that relates to various prongs of genocide. It also clears up some of the competing narratives we were seeing on the ground by, for example, placing the blame squarely at the feet of the Ethiopian and allied governments for the den

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  To answer bluntly, it seems to always be a bit difficult to motivate when we're dealing with Africa, and it's really unfortunate that it's a trend we have seen over many years. Also, there were competing narratives on the ground that were fuelled, among other things, by a blockag

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think one of the most important things—and the easiest, in the sense that Canada can do it now—is imposing sanctions. Particularly, I want to focus on Eritrea, because Canada has a history of sanctions on Eritrea, as many of you will know. We had sanctions on Eritrea, which wer

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm sorry. Is that the difference in the reaction or the difference in motivation?

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  When it comes to Ukraine, Canada has pulled out all the stops. It has reacted very quickly. It's reacted in a number of ways. Bringing in Ukrainian refugees happened very quickly. That's something very tangible that we can and should apply to the Tigrayan refugees in Sudan—65,000

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Not to my knowledge, but we have seen the term “a serious risk of genocide” being used by, for example, the WHO chief recently.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, that's right. Under the genocide convention, state parties to the convention have an obligation to prevent genocide. Canada is a state party to the genocide convention—as is, interestingly enough, Ethiopia. In the case of Bosnia and Serbia, which came out of the ICJ in 200

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  It's a great question. That's right. The genocide convention does not outline specific actions. Essentially, Canada should be using all of the tools available at its disposal to prevent genocide. That can include targeted sanctions against Ethiopian and Eritrean forces for resp

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you. It's a great question. I see a lot of similarities with Rwanda as well. As far as peacekeeping forces go, I think Canadian involvement is a great idea, particularly because of the failures of the African Union and, as we've heard already, its proximity to the Ethiopia

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would echo what the doctor said. The African Union has ceased to be a feasible option. I would note that a Human Rights Watch report suggested a Security Council-led arms embargo. That's an option: using other, more international or multilateral institutions. Just last night,

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The issue with political solutions and negotiations.... There's actually one point I'd like to raise in my very short time, and that's the involvement of Eritrea in this process. I understand that at one point Eritrea was invited to the negotiating table. In my view, and in the v

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That's a great question. Genocide is an international crime. It's an atrocity crime that's defined very clearly in the genocide convention and in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. I've already gone through that definition in my opening remarks, so I won't rep

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I guess I'll jump into that first. When it comes to recognition of genocide and the political aspects, I would encourage this committee to approach genocide with the legal test, because, at the end of the day, genocide is a crime with a very precise legal definition. If that de

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That's a good question. Someone mentioned this earlier in the first panel. I think the key is that we don't want to appease current leadership for fear of something that may happen in the future. I would also note that, in terms of Canada's obligation to act, even if we don't g