In early November, two lawyers from Canada walked into a courthouse in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, along with two Honduran human rights defenders. They were there to support a group of 20 Honduran organizations united in support of #SomosMuchas, a consortium challenging the constitutionality of the absolute abortion ban the government rammed through last year.
Absolute prohibition means that it is illegal to terminate a pregnancy for any reason — even in cases of rape or when the mother’s life is in danger. With the financial assistance of the Canadian government, the aid organization Lawyers Without Borders Canada was at the side of these women and these organizations in order to support them in their fight for their rights.
In Ukraine, Canadian support is helping refugees stay safe from Russian aggression. When the rest of the world turned its back on the plight of the Rohingya minority in Burma, Canada provided assistance and financial contributions. When press freedom came under attack in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Canada protected local journalists who exposed human rights abuses.
Canadian aid has made it possible to achieve great things. Our funding is going in the right direction, although we still lag a bit behind other countries in the percentage of investments to gross national income (GNI) in aid. Canadian aid investment levels were among the lowest of wealthy nations when the Trudeau government came to power in 2015, promising to refocus aid on empowering women and girls around the world. The numbers have steadily increased, although they remain a tiny part of Canada’s overall budget.
Today, however, Canada’s foreign aid funding is at a crossroads.
Pressures from budget deficits, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the threat of a global recession are all challenges that could lead the federal government to cut funding for the international aid. Such a reduction would be a blow to the impact of Canadian foreign aid, a blow that could set it back for years to come, if not decades.
At a time when the world needs hope, and at a time when women everywhere need Canada’s support, we cannot afford to let them down.
An investment
Canadian aid is not just a gesture of charity. It acts as a bulwark against the rise of authoritarianism by supporting democracy and development in countries where rights are under threat. It’s an investment in the kind of world we all want to see as we mark Human Rights Day today.
PHOTO OUSMANE MAKAVELI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Women took refuge in a camp for displaced people in Bamako, Mali, last November.
Whether in a courthouse in Honduras, in hospitals in Pakistan where female doctors treat patients, or in Mali where more women are being supported in government, Canadian development funding is a difference.
NGOs are united in calling on the Canadian government to maintain its current levels of international aid funding and commit to a predictable three-year increase in its 2023 budget.
They call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and all Members of Parliament to continue their leadership in the global fight for human rights.
Canadian aid is important and now is the time to do better and do more. Letting go of our partners around the world is not an option.
* Co-signatories: Kate Higgins, President and CEO of Cooperation Canada, which brings together organizations in the international development and humanitarian assistance sector; Julia Anderson, President and CEO of the Canadian Partnership for Women’s and Children’s Health, which brings together more than 100 members to improve the health of women and children around the world.