Is Canada’s commitment to Darfur enough?
By ANNAMIE PAUL AND MARK FREEMAN, The Toronto Star
May 13, 2005 — This week, the federal government made a series of announcements on military and humanitarian assistance to the Darfur region of Sudan. As part of the package, the government will send up to 100 Canadian troops as well some equipment to support the current “monitoring” effort in Darfur.
Some have applauded Canada’s initiative, arguing it will have a significant impact by providing African Union troops in Darfur with essential support, and drawing international attention to the continuing genocide and humanitarian crisis. Others, most notably David Kilgour, the independent MP leading the call for increased Canadian involvement in Darfur, have rejected the aid package as falling far short of the mark.
Is Canada’s most recent commitment to Darfur enough? How will history judge our latest action plan for the Sudanese? Just days after the anniversary of VE day, we can look to World War II for the answer.
Prior to and during World War II, Canada allowed some European refugees entry into the country. Under this policy, a few thousand European Jews received safe haven in Canada. No doubt those who were saved will be eternally grateful to Canada. However, at the same time Canada was admitting some European Jews, it was turning many more away. The title of an authoritative book on the subject, None Is Too Many, says it all.
What we remember 60 years later is not Canada’s munificence in admitting a few thousand Jews in the face of the Holocaust but the shameful policies that contributed to the deaths of thousands who might have lived. It is an indelible stain on Canada’s proud World War II history.
Regrettably, Canada’s current policy on the genocide in Darfur seems like history repeating itself. As many as 15,000 civilians are dying each month in Sudan. The United Nations estimates that 12,000 troops are needed to turn the tide – a fivefold increase from the approximately 2,400 that are currently in the region.
While it is true that Canada’s skilled troops would be capable of providing support to the African Union well beyond their actual numbers, the commitment of up to 100 troops cannot be viewed as anything more than a symbolic gesture.
By offering such a small force, with little information about plans to send additional troops in the future and only a vague long-term commitment to provide increased financial, technical or equipment assistance, Ottawa should not imagine that it has done all that it can to help the Sudanese.
We are capable of much more. Our record in peacekeeping, and our lack of history as a colonial power, has earned Canada a unique diplomatic position in comparison to other Western states.
In the past, this position has allowed us to play a major role in halting other humanitarian crises, such as in Kosovo in 1999, that extended far beyond our military capabilities. It is what Prime Minister Paul Martin has described as our ability to “punch above our weight” internationally.
In the case of Darfur, rather than focusing on the “defence” pillar of our new “3D” foreign policy approach, Canada should be concentrating on “diplomacy.” We should leverage our significant international moral authority to ensure that NATO, or countries with more military capacity than Canada, act immediately to stop the genocide.
Canada could also seek to rally world opinion to the cause of Darfur in the same way we did during the famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s.
Alternatively, if Canada decides that it must intervene directly, then it should go all the way. Instead of responding with half measures, we should commit the real dollars, equipment and personnel needed to stop the world’s worst genocide since Rwanda.
While there is no doubt this would be a major commitment, Canadians have proven that they are ready to support their government in the face of international crises, even at some personal cost, the Asian tsunami being the most recent example.
The gathering momentum of grassroots activity surrounding the Sudan genocide suggests that Canadians will again be up to the challenge.
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Annamie Paul is executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Political Leadership. Mark Freeman is co-author of International Human Rights Law and author of the forthcoming Truth Commissions and Procedural Fairness.