The HILL TIMES online

Cabinet, MPs must take leadership to prevent genocidal disasters
Parliamentarians should advocate to implement the Responsibility to Protect as an international norm and as a 'vital part of Canada's foreign policy.'

By CYNTHIA MÜNSTER
Published September 28, 2009

The Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers, MPs and Senators must take a leadership role in Canada to prevent mass atrocities in the world, says a report released last week in Ottawa by the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia.

It says Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) should make preventing mass atrocities a national priority, he should name an international security minister, the Canadian Forces should be strengthened, the government should create an interdepartmental Coordinating Office for the Prevention of Mass Atrocities, Canada should create a civilian-led Canadian Prevention Corps to work on preventative diplomacy and it says if soft power doesn't work, countries will have to use force.

But it also says Parliament has an important role to play. It says Parliament should convert the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity into a standing joint committee and Parliamentarians should exercise their individual initiatives and use their existing powers to advocate the implementation of the Responsibility to Protect.

Declares the report: "Why is our record of preventing genocide and mass atrocities so poor? Since 1946, why have we done so little to halt the systemic killings of innocent civilians in Indonesia, Burundi, East Pakistan, Cambodia, East Timor, Rwanda, Sudan and the Republic of Congo? What stops the richest and most powerful nations on earth from vigorously combating the economic and social conditions that breed genocides? What discourages them from using their influence to interdict genocides once they are underway?"

The report, titled "Mobilizing The Will To Intervene: Leadership and Action To Prevent Mass Atrocities," was released by Liberal Sen. Roméo Dallaire, the retired general who led the horrifying UN mission in Rwanda 15 years ago; Frank Chalk, an expert on genocide and co-director of the project; Robert Fowler, the retired diplomat who was kidnapped in Niger for four months by an al-Qeada group and recently released; former NDP leader Ed Broadbent; and Conservative Sen. Hugh Segal.

"We ask for nothing less than a paradigm shift, a change in how our leaders view the world. Specifically, we seek to persuade the leaders of Canada and the United States to adopt a concept of the national interest that incorporates the notion that preventing genocide and mass atrocities serves the interests of their people and not doing so puts the welfare of their citizens at risk," says the report. "The age of the global village has dawned. Ignoring instability and conflict leading to genocides and mass atrocities today seriously threatens the health, security, and prosperity of our two peoples."

Although there has been interest from all parties, the government hasn't responded to the report. The Bloc Québécois has not responded, but the NDP and the Liberal parties have declared their support for it.
Sen. Dallaire said releasing the report was "phase one" and that he will be "going after them" through "every means possible to bring these recommendations to the forefront of influencing our policies and our instruments of prevention of genocide and mass crimes against humanity."

"That is going to be continuing to write, I'm writing to the minister of Foreign Affairs, Defence, and CIDA to start with. I'm looking at how in the Senate I might be able to introduce a subject matter and I hope that I'll have the opportunity of meeting the Prime Minister, or government representatives, and I don't care what level as long as I can get into the door and also meeting people from the Bloc Québécois and move the yardsticks on that side and then, of course, with the NGO community, public opinion and Canadian youth in particular, the university students, the under-30 crowd, of getting them engaged," said Sen. Dallaire.

Sen. Segal said he had so far heard nothing from his colleagues but expects there will be interest on the subject and the structural recommendations.

"The public service will look at the report and make recommendations to the ministers involved: the minister of Defence, the minister for CIDA, and the minister of Foreign Affairs, so that will take a little bit of time, understandably, don't forget the committee itself took a better part of a year and a half to get the work done so the notion that government could respond in an hour-and-a-half is probably unreasonable," said Sen. Segal, adding that he expects the government to respond "at some point."

Sen. Segal said he'd be surprised if "there wasn't some take-up of thrust."

The report linked genocide and mass atrocities to domestic concerns within Canada, arguing that massive human rights abuses committed globally can affect Canada in an interconnected world because these places can become fertile breeding ground for terrorist groups, creating national security concerns.

They can also create health concerns, with the poor health conditions of those fleeing violence spreading as people move and possibly enabling a global pandemic.

The report also emphasized that with different waves of immigration into Canada, global issues become domestic political issues as immigrants mobilize and use their numbers to force the parties into stating their position on the issues on the international stage.

"MPs, MLAs and local governments are going to be dragged into this and will be held accountable to that as, more and more, we build those diaspora capabilities so it is in our best interest for the nation, and particularly for the politicians, if they want to be smart about it, to anticipate this stuff and to get engaged," said Sen. Dallaire.

The institute will be hosting a briefing on the report for Parliamentarians, staffers, public servants, representatives from NGOs, and journalists on Oct. 1 in the Victoria Building in Ottawa.

cmunster@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times

Recommendations
For the Government of Canada:
• The Prime Minister make preventing mass atrocities a national priority for Canada.
• The Prime Minister appoint an International Security Minister as a senior member of the Cabinet.
• The Government of Canada support and promote public discussion on Canada's role in preventing mass atrocities.
• The Parliament of Canada convert the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes
Against Humanity into a standing joint committee.
• Parliamentarians exercise individual initiative and use their existing powers and privileges to advocate the implementation of R2P as an international norm and a vital part of Canada's foreign policy.
• The Government of Canada create an interdepartmental Coordinating Office for the Prevention of Mass Atrocities.
• The Coordinating Office for the Prevention of Mass Atrocities create standard operating procedures for disseminating intelligence concerning the risks of mass atrocities throughout the whole of government-building capacity.
• The Government of Canada establish a Canadian Prevention Corps.
• The Government of Canada increase its diplomatic and development presence in fragile countries.
• The Government of Canada continue enhancing the Canadian Forces' capabilities by increasing its force strength and developing operational concepts, doctrine, force structure, and training to support civilian protection.

Recommendations for the United States Government
• The President of the United States issue an Executive Order establishing the prevention of mass atrocities as a policy priority.
• The United States Congress create a Caucus for the Prevention of Mass Atrocities.
• Members of the United States Congress take individual initiative and use their existing powers and privileges to advocate for the implementation of R2P.
• The United States Government foster public discussions on preventing mass atrocities.
• The President create an Atrocities Prevention Committee to coordinate interagency policy on the prevention of mass atrocities.
• The National Security Adviser create an Interagency Policy Committee on Preventing Mass Atrocities to coordinate policy across the executive branch and liaise with the Atrocities Prevention Committee.
• The National Security Adviser create standard operating procedures for disseminating intelligence on the risks of genocide and other mass atrocities.
• The United States Government allocate federal funding to institutionalize the prevention of mass atrocities within civilian agencies.
• The United States Government reestablish its soft power capacity by expanding its diplomatic and development corps, and enhancing the field training of USAID and State Department officials.
• The Department of Defense develop and incorporate doctrine and rules of engagement on preventing and responding to mass atrocities and train the military in civilian protection.
Summary Recommendations for Civil Society and the News Media in Canada and the United States:
• Canadian and American civil society organizations develop permanent domestic constituencies by forming national coalitions for R2P in Canada and the U.S.
• Canadian and American civil society organizations expand their advocacy by targeting local/municipal and state/provincial levels of government to support R2P.
• Canadian and American civil society groups develop strategic, outcome-based proposals geared towards key decision makers in the government.
• Canadian and American civil society groups leverage new information and communications technologies to educate the public and government.
—Source: The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University report, "Mobilizing The Will To Intervene: Leadership and Action To Prevent Mass Atrocities."