A. International responses

Witnesses emphasized that the short- and long-term effects of conflict-related sexual violence are so profound, destabilizing and debilitating for individuals and communities that the phenomenon is now a key issue on the agenda of the UN Security Council.[200]

The Security Council first recognized that sexual violence has implications for international peace and security in Resolution 1325, passed in 2000, and subsequently in six follow-up resolutions.[201] Elissa Goldberg, formerly the Director General of the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force Secretariat at DFATD, explained to the Subcommittee that the Security Council’s resolutions on women, peace and security

[…] ask us to consider the fact that women, girls, men and boys each experience war differently. … [They] commit member states and the UN system to strengthen efforts to prevent violence, including sexual violence; advocate for the active and meaningful participation and representation of women and local women’s groups in peace and security activity; promote and protect the security and rights of women and girls; and work to ensure women’s equal access to humanitarian and development assistance, as well as justice.[202]

Resolution 1325 serves as the foundation of the UN’s efforts to combat conflict-related sexual violence and also frames the policy responses of many UN member states.[203] Resolution 1820 of 2008, discussed above, stressed that sexual violence used to target civilians as a tactic or war or as a crime against humanity can significantly exacerbate armed conflict and potentially impede the restoration of international peace and security.[204]

Nevertheless, Ms. Goldberg told the Subcommittee that the full implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security remained a work in progress internationally.[205] The Security Council has attempted to address this implementation gap by taking a stronger and more action-oriented approach to combatting sexual violence as time has progressed. For example, in its Resolution 1960 of 2011, the Security Council set out specific steps to prevent sexual violence and created institutional mechanisms within the UN to combat the phenomenon. In her appearance before the Subcommittee, Ms. Wallström emphasized the importance of the new listing mechanism created under this resolution, used for the first time in January 2012. The mechanism permits the UN Secretary-General to “name and shame” individuals, non-state armed groups and state armed forces that have committed crimes of conflict-related sexual violence, thereby enhancing accountability.[206]

In keeping with the trend toward more specific and concrete resolutions, the Security Council stressed, in 2013, the importance of national-level efforts to combat sexual violence, including through law reform, investigations and prosecutions. It emphasized the need for increased capacity to address and redress sexual violence in the context of UN peace missions and peace negotiations and set out specific measures to be taken in this regard. Finally, the Security Council requested relevant UN personnel and agencies to monitor and report on the implementation of previous resolutions in the context of UN conflict resolution, peacekeeping, protection and peace-building activities.[207]

Several witnesses highlighted the important role that the ICC can play in fighting impunity for crimes of sexual violence.[208] Nevertheless, Kristin Kalla, of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the ICC, expressed the view that “international criminal law is not victim oriented.”[209] She explained that, even though the needs and rights of victims have begun to attract more attention under international human rights and humanitarian law, the remedies available to them at international tribunals have so far been “inadequate and inconsistent.” To begin to address this problem, the treaty creating the ICC also created the TFV to administer reparations awards to victims, which are ordered by judges following ICC trials. The TFV also has a mandate to provide other forms of general assistance to populations affected by crimes with which the court is dealing, such as physical and psychosocial rehabilitation. A significant part of the TFV’s work to date has been directed at assisting survivors of sexual violence and their families.[210]

The common thread weaving through the evidence heard by the Subcommittee is the need to recognize women as active agents of change — and not simply as victims or bystanders — in situations of conflict and crisis. Women play many roles in conflicts: they may be rebel fighters and supporters, community leaders, members of civil society, human rights defenders or peace-builders; they need to be empowered to contribute to all aspects of peace processes. Witnesses argued that the international community should work to ensure that women affected by conflict have both the opportunity to identify their own priorities for change and the power to enforce their rights.[211] The Subcommittee believes that Canada is well placed to press international organizations and others to place a greater emphasis on women’s empowerment in the context of diplomacy and programming aimed at combatting sexual violence in times of conflict and crisis.

B. Canada’s role

Canada has demonstrated a sustained commitment to international efforts aimed at addressing conflict and crisis-related sexual violence. The Subcommittee notes that John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has emphasized that “[s]exual violence is not only a grave human rights violation but a huge barrier to peace, security and development.” The Subcommittee welcomes the fact that Canada has made it a priority to advocate for women’s rights around the world and for women’s active participation in all aspects of society on an equal basis with men, which includes ending all forms of violence against women and girls.[212] The Subcommittee believes that the promotion and protection of women’s human rights are integral to the development of peaceful and stable societies that respect the rule of law.

1. Continue to be a Leader in International and Bilateral Diplomacy

The Government of Canada has a strong track record of speaking out on the international stage to condemn gender-based violence and to defend the human rights of women and girls.[213] The Subcommittee encourages the Government of Canada to continue this valuable work and to use all of the tools at its disposal to urge foreign governments and multilateral institutions to meet their international obligations in this regard. The Subcommittee notes with approval that, in April 2013, Canada, along with other Group of Eight (G8) nations, adopted a Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, which emphasized the need to ensure continued focus on the issue of sexual violence.[214] Canada’s commitments in this Declaration are being followed up with a $5 million contribution in 2013 to help prevent conflict-related sexual violence and respond to the needs of victims.[215]

At the United Nations in New York City, Canada chairs the group of “Friends of Women, Peace and Security”, which is a coalition of like-minded states and NGOs that work to promote the implementation of Resolution 1325. Canada also chairs the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict, which aims to improve international efforts to protect conflict-affected children.[216] Using the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action[217] and Resolution 1325 as key points of reference, Canada continues to work to ensure that peacekeeping, peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts within different UN and international bodies, organizations and agencies are gender-sensitive. For example, Canadian-funded programs have attempted, with some success, to encourage the participation of women in African peacekeeping operations.[218] In addition, Canada has deployed female police officers as part of its contribution to UN peacekeeping efforts in the eastern DRC.[219] Canada has also been a consistent supporter of UN Women, the UN agency responsible for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.[220]

These diplomatic efforts have not gone unnoticed. As Ms. Wallström told the Subcommittee,

I have felt the support and the backing of Canada in everything I do. Also in the Security Council setting and around New York and through my political contacts, I must say that I have felt the support of Canada and your government. That has been very important.[221]

The Subcommittee believes that Canada could also play a useful role in pushing to improve the gender sensitivity of international humanitarian responses, including in the areas of camp design for refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as improving training and strengthening accountability mechanisms for international peace-keepers and humanitarian workers. The Subcommittee also believes that Canada is well placed to push UN agencies to take greater account of the knowledge and experience of women affected by conflict or crisis-related sexual violence in order to improve the success of international interventions and empower women to protect themselves.

2. Continue to Take Real Action in Conflict-Affected Countries like the DRC

In October 2012, Prime Minister Harper attended the Summit of La Francophonie in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, where he voiced Canada’s concerns regarding the prevalence of human rights violations, the increasingly poor security situation in the east of the country and the need to improve respect for democracy. In the DRC, Canada works with Canadian, international and local organizations to strengthen the capacity of the Government of the DRC to prevent and punish sexual violence and to provide support to victims of this type of violence. Canada does not provide financial support directly to the government, but rather implements its programming in the DRC in partnership with international organizations, such as the World Bank and the United Nations Population Fund, and with Canadian non-governmental organizations.

Canada also maintains an arms embargo on the DRC and targeted sanctions (including asset freezes and travel bans) against designated individuals, in accordance with the sanctions regime imposed by the UN Security Council.[222] Canada’s targeted sanctions apply to individuals designated by a UN Sanctions Committee on the basis of their alleged responsibility for serious violations of international law involving the targeting of children or women for sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.[223]

In 2011–2012, Canada provided $14.2 million in humanitarian assistance to the DRC, in addition to tens of millions more in development assistance.[224] The Government of Canada has committed $18.5 million over 5 years to support the “Fight against Impunity and Support to Survivors of Sexual Violence” program run by the United Nations Development Program in the DRC, building on a previous commitment of $18 million to combat sexual violence between 2006 and 2013. Canadian activities include programmes aimed at the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence against children, support and training for the Congolese police, support for the judiciary and correctional institutions in the eastern DRC, as well as support for criminal prosecutions of cases of sexual violence.[225]

Ms. Hill, from DFATD, explained that Canada supported the proceedings of the South Kivu military court, resulting in the trial and conviction of 11 army officers accused of crimes of sexual violence. Ms. Vaugrante commended “the good practices” linked to this intervention and underlined that the financial support had helped some women see their attackers face justice.[226] The Subcommittee observes that Canada’s support for these prosecutions is one way to push the DRC to comply with the full range of its obligations under international law, including its duty to prosecute international crimes of sexual violence in national courts.

The Subcommittee was pleased to learn that Canada actively supports a number of initiatives aimed at tackling the problematic link between conflict minerals and sexual violence in the DRC. Canada has provided support to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, which is implementing regional mineral certification mechanisms, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s  OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. In addition, Canada has funded initiatives aimed at increasing national control and taxation of resource extraction, including the registration of artisanal miners and the building of supervised trading centres.[227] The Subcommittee observes that there also may be a useful role for Canada and Canadians to play in providing capacity-building assistance to improve women’s access to economic opportunities in artisanal mining towns, as well as improve respect for their human rights in these areas.

Witnesses from DFATD stressed that Canada works closely to coordinate its programs in the DRC with other donor countries and UN agencies in order to ensure that Canadian resources will be deployed effectively.[228] Ms. Kalla, from the ICC’s Trust Fund for Victims also noted, however, that there is “oftentimes a disconnect between what's happening at a policy level internationally and globally and actual assistance and support reaching grassroots women in the most rural parts of Congo.”[229] She recommended that donors consider ways in which they can improve the inclusion of grass-roots organizations in international coordination efforts. Other witnesses who appeared before the Subcommittee pointed out that UN agencies are sometimes unable to work effectively with the grass-roots organizations that are best placed to understand local needs and to identify priorities for intervention. For various reasons, including resource and capacity constraints, small, local organizations often cannot meet the strict accountability criteria of international organizations. The Subcommittee was told that, as a result, a number of local Congolese women’s groups felt marginalized by UN and international NGO programming. Some of this programming has, in the past, been supported by Canada.[230]

The Subcommittee was therefore pleased to learn that Canada has provided support directly to “women's collective groups involved in combatting violence against women and girls in Burundi, the DRC, and Rwanda.”[231] In addition, Mr. Tougas described Canadian efforts aimed at “the strengthening of local medical clinics and the creation of mobile clinics — a Canadian invention” as “very successful.”[232]

In the Subcommittee’s view, Canada should continue to support the fight against sexual violence at all levels — internationally, through national institutions in conflict-affected states, and through support to and coordination with grass-roots organizations and local human rights defenders. The Subcommittee is also of the view that UN-led programming in the DRC could benefit from improved communication and coordination with local organizations. It notes that Canada can lead by example in this respect.

3. Effectively Implement the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and Report Regularly on Objectives Achieved

Canada’s commitment to the fight against sexual violence is reflected in its “National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security” (National Action Plan), which was published in 2010.[233] The Subcommittee was told that the development of the action plan involved a “fairly extensive” consultative process[234] in which “the views of civil society were welcomed by government.”[235]

The National Action Plan aims to guide the government’s implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security. The National Action Plan is intended to influence all activities of Canadian departments and agencies that are related to women, peace and security.[236] The action plan has four pillars:

• prevention of armed conflict and of violence including sexual violence, in peace operations, fragile states and conflict-affected areas;
• participation and representation of local women and women’s groups in activities related to building peace and security, including peace processes;
• protection of the human rights of women and girls;
• relief and recovery, including ensuring that women have equal access to and receive equal benefit from humanitarian and development assistance.[237]

The Subcommittee is pleased to note that, on 31 January 2014 and 7 March 2014, progress reports on the implementation of the Action Plan were tabled in Parliament.[238] The Subcommittee looks forward to learning the results of the Action Plan’s 2014 mid-term review.