Canada’s Statement to the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Mediation and Dispute Settlement, delivered by Ambassador Louise Blais

August 29, 2018

Mr. President,

Allow me to start by thanking the United Kingdom for convening this important debate. Let me also thank the Secretary General, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and Ms. Mossarat Qadeem, Co-founder of PAIMAN Alumni Trust for their insightful and thought-provoking briefings.

I also want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to civil society actors and human rights defenders around the world for their courage in pursuing peaceful solutions to conflict. People like Chantal Bilulu, a Congolese human rights defender who was recently in Ottawa to launch the Women of Courage, a project to empower women peace builders at the grassroots levels in Colombia, the DRC, the Philippines, South Sudan, and the West Bank.

The briefers today have spoken eloquently about the vital role that mediation processes play in conflict resolution and prevention. I’d like to pick up on the issue of inclusion of women and youth, and express Canada’s full agreement with the call by the UK and others for an increase in the number of women mediators. A growing body of research provides evidence that when women’s groups strongly influence peace negotiations, an agreement is much more likely to be reached, while when women’s groups are not involved or have minimal influence, the chance of parties reaching a peace agreement diminishes considerably. The involvement of women’s groups is also associated with much higher rates of implementation once an agreement is reached.

The UN, sub-regional organizations, and civil society are already doing excellent work to involve women in mediation at the local level. Canada is proud to be supporting three such initiatives:

1. The first is in Burundi, where women have historically played an important role as agents of peace. Canada is a donor to the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, which has done exemplary work in mediation and peaceful dispute settlement. In partnership with UN Women, the Fund established a nationwide network of women mediators who organize local-level dialogues, work with provincial and local authorities, and organize community dialogues. In only two years, this Fund has enabled hundreds of women mediators to mediate thousands of local conflicts, often preventing disputes from erupting into armed hostilities.
2. Second, Canada has been funding efforts to intensify the engagement of women, youth and churches in support of the IGAD-led peace process in South Sudan. We are also sponsoring a gender advisor within IGAD whose task is to ensure that women’s views are shared and incorporated in the peace talks. The constructive role of women, youth, and churches has made an important contribution to the peace agreement that was signed in June. Incidentally, this was one of the topics discussed last month by young people from across Canada who gathered in Edmonton, Alberta for the “South Sudan Youth of Canada” Conference.
3. Third, the extraordinary work that Peace Ambassadors are doing in Mali is another example of youth- and women-led initiatives that are driving peaceful change in conflict-affected areas. Peace campaigns, such as those organized by the NGO Search for Common Ground, are using radio as a tool to ensure the transmission of accurate, constructive, and conflict-sensitive information about women’s needs and rights to the general public and local authorities.

These initiatives illustrate what effective conflict mediation looks like on the ground, day to day. It takes the form of community peace dialogues, early warning monitoring, information dissemination and dispelling false rumours, and active political engagement.

Mr. President,

From Colombia to Yemen, from Afghanistan to Guinea-Bissau, mediation and dialogue efforts that include women and youth have succeeded in reaching breakthroughs that would not have otherwise been possible.

The UN has made major strides in strengthening inclusive mediation, such as through:

• the establishment of a gender-balanced High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation;
• the work of SRSG Ghassan Salamé to ensure greater participation by women in Libya’s National Dialogue Process; and
• the efforts of Syria Special Envoy Staffan De Mistura to ensure that the perspectives of women of all political stripes are incorporated into the Geneva Process.

However, despite this wealth of examples, prejudice and intimidation too often deter women and youth from participating in peace processes.

If we want to achieve meaningful and sustainable conflict resolution, we must continue to work TOGETHER – with UN agencies, regional organizations, and civil society partners – to systematically and meaningfully engage and empower women and youth so that they can be the architects of lasting peace.

Thank you.