Destination: protection of peace, security and women’s rights in the Middle East. Canada punches its ticket with the implementation of its National Action Plan 2017-2022, which aims to implement the United Nations resolutions on women, peace and security.
The document’s front page reads: “Canada is committed to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls everywhere, and to promoting their human rights and -be. Canada is also committed to contributing to conflict prevention, conflict intervention and the creation of a more peaceful and prosperous world. »
Balance sheet? The train left for the Middle East, where humanitarian crises and armed conflicts have been increasing since 2011, jeopardizing the peace and security of women. Canada remained on the quay.
Canada’s involvement
Although government reports report Canada’s financial participation in various humanitarian projects in the Middle East, let’s put things into perspective. What have we concretely done for women and peace?
Efforts in Afghanistan during the presence of the US military in the hope of structural transformation of society ended in failure, highlighted when the Taliban regained power in 2021.
Canada has also turned a deaf ear to requests for intervention in the Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel, leaving women living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to their fate.
The country has also been singled out in 2020 for its contribution to the Yemeni civil war by selling arms to the parties in conflict.
In this context of social and political instability, the organization Amnesty International has repeatedly denounced in recent years the gender-based violence perpetrated against women in the Middle East: kidnappings, “honour-based” crimes , sexual violence that has gone unpunished, eviction from public space.
As many forms of gendered oppression as opportunities missed by Canada to act in accordance with its Plan. Poor record.
Will Canada take the next train?
Never mind, another train is about to leave: a new Canadian national action plan is being developed, and the precarious conditions regarding peace and security for women in the Middle East are still unfolding. news.
In particular, women’s rights are more than ever under threat in Afghanistan. In the last year, Afghan women have lost the right to go to university, to work and to leave their homes unless necessary.
However, last January, Canada withdrew its financial support to the organizations CARE and International Medical Corps. They worked for gender equality and the provision of health care in the east of the country. The intention was laudable: the aim was to prevent the funds from being used by the Taliban. But no other form of help was offered.
Another region, same problem: the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar has been threatened with demolition by the Israeli government since 2018, raising fears of an expansion of illegal colonization of Palestinian territories. The condition of women in this territory is more than precarious. In the West Bank, according to Amnesty International, 46 other Palestinian communities are at risk of forcible transfer, which constitutes a war crime.
On February 20, 2023, the United Nations reacted by describing Israel’s colonization of Palestinian territories as “an obstacle to peace”. Radio silence on the side of Canada, which must be busy designing its new Action Plan for the implementation of the resolutions on women, peace and security.
There are plenty of opportunities to take action on the women, peace and security agenda. Hopefully, Canada will finally make it to the Middle East.