RECOMMENDATION 1

The Government of Canada should make women, peace and security a priority of its foreign policy agenda.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Government of Canada should increase the number of women it puts forward and supports as nominees for senior UN positions, up to and including the post of United Nations Secretary-General.

RECOMMENDATION 3

The Government of Canada should work within the United Nations and with troop- and police-contributing countries to develop a concrete and time-bound strategy that would lead to substantial increases in the number of women deployed to UN peace support operations.

RECOMMENDATION 4

Within the United Nations, the Government of Canada should insist on full adherence to the UN Secretary-General’s “zero tolerance” policy on sexual exploitation and abuse as a condition for all countries contributing troops and police to UN peace support operations, and insist on full transparency and regular reporting in relation to all allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as robust accountability measures, including prosecution.

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Government of Canada should work with the United Nations in order to improve the pre-deployment and in-mission training provided to UN peacekeepers on women, peace and security, as well as the prevention and investigation of sexual exploitation and abuse.

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Government of Canada should ensure that extensive training on women, peace and security is provided to Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Global Affairs Canada personnel prior to and during deployments to international peace support operations.

RECOMMENDATION 7

As part of the humanitarian and development assistance it provides in countries affected by and recovering from conflict, the Government of Canada should include in its programming the necessary short- and long-term resources towards services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual and reproductive health care, psychosocial support, legal assistance and economic reintegration.

RECOMMENDATION 8

The Government of Canada should work to significantly strengthen the rule of law and justice systems in conflict-affected and fragile states, including by providing appropriate support through multilateral and grassroots mechanisms for programs that seek to improve access to justice for women and to enhance national capacity to prosecute those responsible for sexual and gender-based violence.

RECOMMENDATION 9

The Government of Canada should support training programs that equip women in conflict-affected and fragile states with the skills, capacity, experience and networks necessary to play meaningful roles in peace and security processes and institutions.

RECOMMENDATION 10

The Government of Canada should vigorously use all of the diplomatic and financial tools – bilateral and multilateral – at its disposal to encourage the inclusion of women in a meaningful way in mediation initiatives, ceasefire and peace negotiations, and donor conferences, as well as in all aspects of post-conflict planning and decision-making.

RECOMMENDATION 11

The Government of Canada should significantly increase the diplomatic, financial and material support it provides to human rights defenders as part of its approach to women, peace and security, and advocate on the world stage for other countries to take similar actions, including by calling within the United Nations for the adoption of special protection measures.

RECOMMENDATION 12

The Government of Canada should consider contributing to the Global Acceleration Instrument for Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action.

RECOMMENDATION 13

The Government of Canada should provide development assistance on a multi-year basis and for core operations to civil society organizations – including at the grassroots level – that are working to implement the women, peace and security agenda in conflict-affected and fragile states.

RECOMMENDATION 14

The Government of Canada should consider allocating at least 15% of the international assistance it provides for peace and security programming to projects that have gender equality and women's empowerment as their primary objective.

RECOMMENDATION 15

The Government of Canada should engage in comprehensive consultations with parliamentarians and civil society organizations to develop a new, ambitious and well-resourced national action plan on women, peace and security.

RECOMMENDATION 16

Each Canadian government department and agency with responsibilities under the action plan on women, peace and security should identify a high-level champion who would be responsible for developing and overseeing a directive that would be specific to that department or agency's role in the implementation of the action plan, and which would, among other requirements, identify needed financial and human resources, as well as time-bound objectives.

RECOMMENDATION 17

The Government of Canada should provide a report to Parliament by 1 March of each year on the implementation of its action plan on women, peace and security, which must include detailed information on the financial resources it has allocated to all aspects of the women, peace and security agenda, and an evaluation of the outcomes and broader impact of those initiatives.