Honourable Paul Martin
Honourable Pierre Pettigrew
Prime
Minister of
Canada
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of
Commons
House of Commons
Parliament
Buildings
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa,
Ontario K1A
0A6
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
FAX:613-941-6900
Email: [email protected]
FAX:613-996-9607 Email: [email protected]
Re: Canada's Responsibility to
Protect in Sudan
Dear Prime
Minister Paul
Martin - and - Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew,
Canada must do much more to end the ethnic cleansing in Sudan and safeguard
the security of Sudanese civilians at risk. The Sudanese government is
demonstrably unable or unwilling to put an end to these crimes. The case for
humanitarian intervention in Sudan is unavoidable.
The following measures should be supported by Canada:
Humanitarian intervention
Canada should support intervention to protect civilians at risk along the lines
of the plan developed by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
The DPKO plan would deploy 4,000 to 5,000 troops to an African Union (AU) force
with financial and logistical support from donor governments (including Canada).
The AU force should be authorized by the UN, but failure to reach agreement
at the UN Security Council should not preclude deployment of such a civilian
protection force. In these exceptional circumstances, faced with ethnic
cleansing and large-scale loss of life, an AU force would conform with
customarily accepted principles conditioning military intervention outside
the authority of the UN Security Council. These norms are outlined in "The
Responsibility to Protect", the report of the Government of Canada sponsored
International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty.
Criminal responsibility
Canada should encourage a formal process of investigation of criminal
responsibility for crimes against humanity committed in Sudan. This could
occur by formal reference from the UN Security Council to the International
Criminal Court, or through some other official investigative commission created
specifically for this purpose.
Sanctions
Canada should encourage the UN Security Council to impose
targeted economic sanctions on the government of Sudan, including an arms
embargo and restrictions on Sudanese oil exports.
Humanitarian aid
Canada should allocate extra funds, in addition to the
$23 to $25 million committed to date, for humanitarian assistance to relieve
the plight of Darfuršs displaced and affected citizens.
Diplomatic engagement
Consistent with the above measures, Canadašs diplomacy should also be more robust
and include high level engagement by the Prime Minister and relevant cabinet
ministers, as well as Canadašs Special Envoy to the peace process in Sudan,
Senator Mobina Jaffer.
The government of Canada supports measures such as the creation of the International
Criminal Court, the Responsibility to Protect report, a "human security" framework
for policy engagement and the NEPAD (New Economic Partnership for African Development,
which encourages the further development of the AU). A stronger commitment to end the
atrocities in Sudan would be fully consistent with Canadašs existing foreign
policy.