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Canada National Statement, United Nations Security Council Open VTC on Peace Operations and Human Rights

7 July 2020

Madam President, 

Thank you to the Permanent Mission of Germany for convening today’s High-Level Open Debate on “Peace Operations and Human Rights”. Canada welcomes this important discussion on the central role of human rights in peace operations. Ending conflict and setting conditions for a durable and inclusive peace is impossible when the rights, dignity, and freedoms of people are not put at the heart of our efforts.

This is why Canada will always support robust human rights mandates for UN peace operations and the efforts of individual missions on the ground to fulfill those mandates. Protecting against backslide requires constant vigilance, particularly as we struggle to allocate finite resources across competing priorities. Recalling the Secretary General’s ‘Call to Action’ on human rights issued in February, and the challenges outlined for enhancing human rights analysis in order for peace operations to contribute more effectively to the promotion and protection of human rights, Canada would like to highlight the following five areas where we are attempting to put human rights at the core of peace operations:

1. To achieve their mandated objectives, Peacekeeping and Special Political missions require appropriate and predictable funding and human resources. Member states have a collective responsibility to ensure peace operations have the requisite human and financial resources to successfully carry out their mandates in the complex environments in which they operate. Ensuring that human rights components are staffed and resourced appropriately is essential. Canada stands as the ninth largest contributor to the United Nations Peacekeeping budget and one of the top providers of voluntary contributions to the Department of Peace Operations. We have also proudly contributed a total of USD $10.5M to the MINUSMA Trust Fund which is investigating human rights abuses and to ensure better protection of women and girls affected by conflict in Mali. We will continue to lead efforts along with our partners to ensure the proper resourcing for these missions and their human rights components are met.
2. The promotion and protection of human rights is a shared responsibility – one that requires coordination of efforts, not only with the host government, but also amongst contributing Member States and across the UN system. In a mission environment, ensuring a coherent, “One UN approach” is vital. Peace operations must work hand-in-glove with programs, funds and agencies to resolutely implement essential human rights tasks, working in partnership with the host government, civil society, and other partners. In Haiti, for example, Canada has consistently advocated for closer coordination between the Bureau intégré des Nations Unies en Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Country Team to address human rights concerns. As the country currently faces an overlapping sanitation, humanitarian and security crisis, we recognize that human rights cannot be dealt with in a vacuum or solely as a security issue.
3. Canada also believes that applying analytical frameworks such as gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) to the field of human rights will enhance the ability of peace operations to contribute more effectively to the promotion and protection of human rights, and is critical to address the full spectrum of violations and abuses. Human rights interventions, tools and mechanisms are part of the collective toolbox of the UN system and international community to support Member States. As the Secretary General so well articulated, ensuring that Special Representatives are provided with the necessary capacity and expertise on human rights will fully mobilize the diverse capacities of the United Nations, allowing missions to undertake human rights risk and opportunity analysis, including gender specific analysis. Analytical frameworks such as GBA+ will allow missions to better assess their needs and potential outcomes of activities with a lens to creating greater diversity with their approaches to mandated human rights objectives.
4. Canada also believes that investing in the meaningful participation of uniformed women in UN peace operations is more important now than ever before, as populations isolate in response to COVID-19 and some human rights abuses may become increasingly difficult to identify. We cannot ensure that the human rights of all are protected if peace operations do not accurately reflect the populations that they serve and interact with. Canada is pleased to have worked with Uruguay to introduce gender-balanced Engagement Platoons in the recent update of the UN Infantry Battalion Manual. However, these types of units are just one way for more women to deploy and support human rights in peace operations. The UN’s Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations also offers a premium for T/PCCs deploying Gender Strong Units, which include substantial representation of women overall and in positions of authority, provide gender equity training, and ensure parity of deployment conditions for all unit members. We encourage T/PCCs to apply for this innovative funding modality in the Fund’s second programming cycle.
5. To effectively promote and protect human rights the UN and its peace operations have an obligation to lead by example. Cases of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) involving UN personnel undermine the entire mission and efforts of the UN. They break the UN’s promise to protect the world’s most vulnerable. Combating this scourge while placing the rights and dignity of victims at the forefront of collective efforts is key. This is why Canada strongly advocates for the full implementation of the UN’s zero tolerance policy and urges troop and police contributors, as well as all components of the UN, to uphold their obligations to investigate allegations and take action. We are also proud to have provided financial support to the UN Office of the Special Coordinator on improving the United Nations response to sexual exploitation and abuse and to the UN Trust Fund in support of victims of these acts. Leading by example also means the UN Secretariat and peace operations ensure the full and effective implementation of the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy (HRDDP) on United Nations support to non-UN security forces. This is particularly important in contexts where UN peace operations are mandated to protect civilians and provide support to national security forces or regional operations.

It is crucial that the UN system leverages the full potential of its human rights instruments throughout its activities, including in joined-up analysis, shared objectives to common operational programming, decision-making and implementation. It is also crucial that human rights considerations be adequately integrated into the generation, operational configuration, and evaluation of uniformed personnel of United Nations peace operations.

Canada is convinced that peace operations and the promotion and protection of human rights are inexorably linked. Concrete solutions are at our disposal to ensure these initiative are fully implemented within UN peace operations mandates. Protecting and defending human rights is a shared duty. Canada will continue to work closely with other member states and civil society, including human rights defenders, in support of the work of UN peace operations in this area.

Thank you.