IV. THE PROTECTION OF OUR SECURITY, WITHIN A STABLE GLOBAL FRAMEWORK

Assuring Canada's security remains a fundamental responsibility of government, even as the international context and the security threats it poses have changed. In this new order, the task is much more complex. Canada is ever more affected by what occurs elsewhere in the world. As such, our understanding of the challenges to our security has expanded.

Canadians recognize the vital link between their own security and prosperity and the security of others. Just as Canadians appreciate that prosperity demands the best possible mix of domestic and international economic policies, so too they realize that protecting and enhancing their security and prosperity requires a security policy that promotes peace in every part of the world with which Canada has close economic and political links. For a country with interests as widespread as Canada's, this means that a global approach is needed.

However, the concerns of Canadians about security issues are broader than those of self-interest. The desire to help others to build peace reflects some of the most deeply-held and widely-shared Canadian values. Our security policy must reflect this spirit. Financial constraints do impose choices on us. It is essential, therefore, that we establish clear directions for our security policy.

As the Government's 1994 Defence White Paper pointed out, our memberships in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the North American Aerospace Defence (NORAD) Agreement remain key guarantees of our military security. Though today, direct threats to Canada's territory are diminished, the Government considers it necessary to maintain a military capability appropriate to this still uncertain and evolving international environment. However we are making adjustments within that capability to enhance our ability to contain conflict.

Protecting our security must go beyond military preparedness. New approaches, new instruments, new institutional roles and political responsibilities in the maintenance of international security must be developed. Movement will continue away from security policies and structures based on containment toward new architectures designed to build stability and cooperation. Canada will be at the forefront of those helping to shape a broader framework that responds to the demands of a changing security environment.

Security: the Basis for Action

Shared human security: a broader concept of security.

Serious long term challenges are posed by environmental, demographic, health and development issues around the globe. Some of these challenges - such as global warming - could affect us directly. Others may provoke crises producing humanitarian tragedies, epidemics, mass migrations, and other problems from which, even if half a world away, Canada will not be immune. Still others may result in the adoption abroad of policies that ultimately degrade our economic security by undercutting labour, health, environmental or other international standards. All of this demands a broadening of the focus of security policy from its narrow orientation of managing state-to-state relationships, to one that recognizes the importance of the individual and society for our shared security.

Meeting the challenges that this broader security agenda poses means, as the National Forum on Canada's International Relations concluded, working for the promotion of democracy and good governance, of human rights and the rule of law, and of prosperity through sustainable development. Canadian foreign policy will continue to pursue these goals.

There is consensus that such a broader orientation can best be achieved - at least cost, and to best effect - through approaches that broaden the response to security issues beyond military options and focus on promoting international cooperation, building stability and on preventing conflict. The Government will advance this objective through a more integrated approach, marshalling all our foreign policy instruments.

Because of the transnational or global nature of the threats, human security demands cooperative international action. Canada will continue to work with others in a variety of fora to address these issues.

Sustainable development: a precondition for human security.

The Special Joint Committee, and the many witnesses appearing before it, recognized that Canadian international development assistance is more than an expression of Canadians' values - of our sense of justice, and of our desire to help. They saw that it also plays a critical role in addressing many of the key issues that now head the global security agenda. Problems such as environmental degradation and growing disparities between rich and poor affect human security around the world and are areas where Canada can make an effective contribution by promoting sustainable development through its program of development cooperation. The International Development Research Centre also makes a notable contribution through its efforts to foster progressive change in developing countries and its focus on sustainable development.

Preventing conflict and peacebuilding are essential goals.

As set out in Chapter VI, Canada's International Assistance programs are dedicated, in significant measure, to forestalling these threats to global security.

The evidence is sadly clear, however, that development assistance is not enough to forestall conflict. Where stability does break down, and armed conflict looms, the international community must use all measures at its disposal, including a graduated set of diplomatic and military steps, broadly conceived and co-operatively executed, to prevent a slide into war.

Preventive diplomacy is most frequently conducted by multilateral institutions such as the UN, but can also be undertaken regionally or bilaterally. Canada, in co-operation with key partners at the UN and elsewhere, will focus on practical measures that hold prospects of success.

Regional security organizations can lead in this field, not least through confidence-building measures. We will be working to expand the capacity of regional organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the OAS and the OAU, to carry out such preventive diplomacy in the future.

Peacebuilding, the process of reinforcing efforts to build peace through economic and institutional rehabilitation, is critical to sustaining the efforts of local populations and of the international community to resolve conflicts. Canada's international assistance program will foster peacebuilding through technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of societies emerging from conflict to meet the needs and aspirations of their populations. In addition, the commitment to addressing individual security needs through the UN system will be a priority. This was reflected in the Government's approach to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, and will continue at the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen and at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

Instruments for Building Security

Conflict management at the global level: our commitment to the United Nations.

· The UN continues to be the key vehicle for pursuing Canada's global security objectives. Canada can best move forward its global security priorities by working with other member states. The success of the UN is fundamental, therefore, to Canada's future security.

But the UN must be more effective.

· We want the UN to be fully capable of dealing with the array of new global security issues. That is why we are putting so much effort into making the Organization work better. To this end, at the General Assembly in September 1994, Canada pledged to work to:

· strengthen the UN's capacity for preventive action;

· conduct an in-depth review of the UN's economic and social activities to reflect a broader definition of global security;

· strengthen the UN's rapid reaction capability;

· improve the functioning of the UN's decision making bodies; and

· put the UN on a sound financial basis.

Success in these efforts will make an essential contribution both to the short- and long-term effectiveness of the Organization.

· With a view to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the UN and to reducing duplication in activities, Canada intends to undertake, and will encourage other countries to do likewise, a full review of the Organization and related agencies. The results of this review will assist in decisions regarding future contribution levels.

Reinforcing the UN.

· Strengthening the peace function: We intend to press for improvements in the means of implementing UN peacekeeping and peace enforcement decisions in a timely and effective way. Serious shortcomings in UN capabilities in this regard have been highlighted by slow and hesitant decision-making in the UN that delayed deployment of personnel at the outset of UN involvement in Somalia in 1992, and again in Rwanda in the spring of 1994 when urgent reinforcement of the UN's presence on the ground UN's inability to respond quickly on the ground to such crises suggests the need for drastically improved rapid reaction capability. Intermediate solutions, such as those developed by the UN Standby Forces Project, have so far yielded only limited improvements.

Canada is leading, therefore, a ground-breaking study of options for a UN rapid reaction capability.

This study on how the UN can intervene most effectively in fast-breaking crises will be available in time for the UN's fiftieth anniversary during the next General Assembly session. Its conclusions on short-, medium- and long-term options will be offered to the UN membership for further action.

· Canadian expertise at international service: We will continue to offer the broad range of Canadian expertise upon which the UN and other international organizations have learned they can rely. A list of eminent Canadians has been submitted to the Secretary-General for use in preventive diplomacy missions. Our military personnel will continue, within our means, to be available at international headquarters and in the field to support and direct multilateral peace operations. Our internationally praised police will continue to be called upon to participate in, and to sometimes lead, critical monitoring and training operations, such as in Haiti today. Many Canadian civilians will continue working around the globe in support of peace at the service of the UN, Canada, international organizations and NGOs.

· Training: With UN peace operations' mandates ever-more complex and dangerous, training of participating personnel is essential. Many countries new to these operations offer personnel but require training that cannot be arranged at home. By virtue of its unrivalled experience in peacekeeping, Canada is well placed to provide this training for international personnel, civilian and military alike, at the new Government-supported Lester B. Pearson Peacekeeping Centre in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia.

· Helping the UN to share the burden: Given the number of conflicts world- wide and the UN's limited resources, partners need to be found to help the UN carry the burden of peacekeeping and peace enforcement. In Bosnia, the UN had to rely on NATO to support its objectives and operations. This partnership is an important one, given the need for the UN and regional organizations to cooperate with each other to make best use of their respective strengths and capabilities. Nevertheless, differences in the command and control procedures of the two organizations, and even in their institutional cultures, have at times produced strains between them. We intend to encourage clearer definition and acceptance of the appropriate roles of the UN and of regional bodies such as NATO in relation to peacekeeping missions.

We will also be working to expand the capacity of other regional organizations, such as the OAU, and possibly sub-regional bodies, to relieve some of the pressure on the UN. We will seek to build on the comparative advantages of these organizations at a time when the UN is seriously over-stretched.

Regional security: Canada is fully engaged.

· Western Hemisphere

· United States: Our defence relationship with the US is key for the security of Canadians. Canada's longstanding cooperation with the US through the Permanent Joint Board on Defence and NORAD has enabled us to share the security burden for North America at a significantly lower cost and with more effectiveness than Canada could achieve on its own. We look forward to working with the US towards the renewal of the NORAD Agreement, which expires in 1996.

· Arctic: The focus in the Canadian Arctic is increasingly on non-traditional security threats. Canada's recent appointment of an Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs will increase the focus on such threats. Our goal is to create an Arctic Council to meet the challenge of sustainable development in the North and to deal with the critical issues faced by all Arctic countries.

· Latin America and the Caribbean: Canada's growing interests in Latin America and the Caribbean argue for greater priority to the region's stability within Canadian security policy. We are encouraged by the spread of democracy, the increased emphasis on balanced economic development, and the ongoing trend to reform the OAS. Canada intends to make a significant contribution to regional approaches to security in our hemisphere. Our focus will be on promoting the development of frameworks, from fact-finding to negotiation, to enable countries to deal bilaterally and regionally with potential security problems. We will work to strengthen the capacity of the OAS to address security issues.

· Europe

· Continuing engagement: European stability continues to be a major priority. Although threats to it are in flux, too much binds the peoples on the two sides of the Atlantic for our commitment to waver. We share most closely a set of values. Our economic, cultural and human links continue to be intense and vibrant; our engagement in the international system is based on shared objectives. The constancy of our commitment is firm, as attested to by our contributions to NATO, the OSCE, and to UN peacekeeping within the European continent. The Government will pursue this relationship, including through high-level meetings with the European Union Presidency. We will, as well, continue to devote priority attention to key transatlantic bilateral relationships, as we have done with France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom over the past year.

· NATO: NATO remains critical to maintaining stability at a time of fundamental change in Europe. However, it will have to evolve. The threat it was built to meet has receded, while new challenges have emerged, such as those in the former Yugoslavia. To meet those challenges, Canada will press for an evolution in NATO's vocation and membership, while seeking to allay current Russian concerns over NATO expansion.

· OSCE: This organization deserves attention and effort from Canada, in part because it engages Europe - and particularly Russia - in security discussions with a broader focus than military cooperation alone. The OSCE still needs to prove its capacity to help provide stability in the region, and will only do so if all its members give it priority as a pan-European institution. Canada will continue to contribute to building up this organization for regional cooperation, for example, by contributing a planning unit to the proposed OSCE peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh.

· Central and Eastern Europe: The emergence of the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe will continue to be a focus of concern for Canadians, many of whom have links to the region. We will contribute to European security through our membership in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and through the Program of Assistance to Central and Eastern Europe, a uniquely Canadian approach to helping build pluralism, free media, the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights and free markets and environmentally sound practices in the new and fragile democracies that rose from the ruins of the Soviet empire.

· Asia-Pacific

· Challenges and progress: There are serious security challenges in the region including unresolved border disputes, human rights abuses, an increase in weapons acquisitions, ecological degradation, population growth, and narcotics trafficking. Our security interests are reflected in both a new institution - the ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) Regional Forum (ARF) - and in more diverse governmental and non-governmental vehicles. We are also expanding our political and security dialogue with Japan, South Korea and ASEAN countries, and promoting the integration within the region of Vietnam and China.

· Middle East

· More peaceful, but tensions remain: Despite progress in recent years towards a resolution of the Arab/Israeli conflict, the Middle East remains one of the world's major security fault lines. It is also an area that carries serious risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Multilaterally, the region is critical to the UN's security agenda.

Our focus in the Middle East will be on encouraging, facilitating and developing confidence-building regimes that can advance the cause of peace and development in the region. Our participation in the multilateral phase of the Middle East Peace Process, particularly our lead role in the Working Group on Refugees, provides us with an opportunity to serve the cause of peace and underscore our longstanding commitment to regional stability and progress.

· Africa

· Building a framework for peace: While progress has been made towards political and economic reform in Africa, much of the continent continues to be marked by instability and conflict. For institutions such as the OAU, even where the political will exists, a lack of resources often poses problems. The road to stable, representative, democratic governments will be a long one for many countries, and the international community will have to give attention to the most effective mix of policy instruments to influence change.

As part of this effort, Canadian policy will focus on working with key African countries to develop international and regional frameworks that can anticipate and prevent conflict, and on addressing those factors such as environmental degradation, population growth and poverty that undermine common security on the continent. We are also promoting greater respect for human rights and for democracy through organizations such as the Francophonie and the Commonwealth.

Nuclear non-proliferation and arms control are more important than ever.

· Nuclear Weapons

· Nuclear weapons still threaten us: The disposal of nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union and nuclear proliferation threats elsewhere, notably North Korea, South Asia and the Middle East, will continue to preoccupy the international community, and will require concerted efforts to prevent new sources of potentially catastrophic conflict. The threat of criminal or terrorist organizations coming into possession of nuclear materials, either through sale or theft, is a growing concern that must be addressed.

· Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT): Our highest priority is to secure international agreement to indefinitely and unconditionally extend the NPT, the most effective international instrument for stopping nuclear proliferation. As part of this effort, we are committed to strengthening the capacity of the International Atomic Energy Agency to effectively safeguard civilian nuclear systems.

There has been highly unfortunate North-South polarization in the NPT extension debate, based in part on the argument of some that the Treaty benefits "haves" at the expense of "have-nots." Canada will continue to emphasize that the Treaty creates security. All win: the security gains of one party are not the losses of another. We will continue to reach out to all parties, encouraging moderation and pragmatism in the review of Treaty implementation and extension, while pressing for continued nuclear disarmament.

· Other Weapons of Mass Destruction

· Chemical and biological weapons: Effective, coordinated international action will also be required to counter the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. The current international treaties in these areas are helpful, but more research on verification systems is required. Canada is working with other countries to develop effective measures on verification. We will also work to curb exports of weapons and delivery systems of mass destruction and of the materials to build them.

· Conventional Weapons

· Strengthening controls: A pressing problem is the excessive accumulation of conventional armaments by many states. The widespread and indiscriminate use of landmines, with attendant horrors for innocent civilians, is a serious challenge, especially in insurgencies. We are working with other countries to strengthen the relevant international convention. We continue to attach great importance to the UN Conventional Arms Registry, and will press other UN member states to make use of it. Canadian leadership in this area is demonstrated by our controls on the export of military goods, which are among the most restrictive of Western countries. These controls deny export permits when, among other reasons, the goods are destined to a country where they may be used to abuse human rights or where there are actual or imminent hostilities. We are also studying ways that conventional weapons proliferation can be addressed more effectively by the international community.

· Arms and Development

· Encouraging more productive spending: The Government is concerned over the continued imbalance in much of the developing world between spending on armaments and spending on human development, and will continue to use all means at our disposal to promote the call in the UN Charter's Article 26 for "the least diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources," especially in developing countries where scarce resources are so urgently needed to relieve suffering and to promote employment and growth. In particular, Canada will seek concerted action with others to influence governments which spend large sums on arms rather than on education and housing for their people. To that end, the Government will offer support for demobilization of military personnel, as well as training for civilian roles such as police activities, in order to assist societies which are committed to reducing military spending and reconstructing civil society.