(Nicosia) Canada is drawing on the experience in Cyprus to address the needs of migrant women and children, as well as those fleeing regional conflict zones, at a time of unprecedented global displacement, Canada’s ambassador for women, peace and security said Wednesday.
Canada is one of 13 countries to have signed bilateral agreements with Cyprus to temporarily host citizens urgently evacuated from neighbouring countries until their repatriation.
Fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could spill over into the region have grown in recent months. Cyprus helped repatriate nearly 60,000 third-country nationals evacuated from Lebanon in 2006, and did the same last year with evacuees from Sudan.
Canadian Ambassador Jacqueline O’Neill said her meetings with Cypriot officials provided valuable lessons that Canadian authorities can apply in future repatriation operations of evacuees, particularly pregnant women and unaccompanied minors.
She also said the two countries needed to consider how best to meet the needs of these evacuees, including providing them with appropriate facilities on board ships, specialist medical assistance and separate accommodation for women in transit to their home countries.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, Cyprus has extensive experience in welcoming migrants,” said Mr.me O’Neill told The Associated Press: “Keeping citizens safe isn’t just about putting them all in one place and holding them there until we get them all on the same plane; it’s about making sure their experience meets their immediate needs.”
Involving women
The Canadian ambassador also met with Cypriot women’s groups seeking a greater say in efforts to resolve the Mediterranean island’s 50-year-old ethnic divide after a Turkish invasion following a coup aimed at annexing it to Greece. Since then, negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations have been dominated by male representatives.
Mme O’Neill pointed to statistics showing that peace agreements are 35 percent more likely to last at least 15 years if women are meaningfully involved in the negotiations. “All over the world, communities are 50 percent women.
Why should we have people making decisions for this community when those 50% of people are not present and have no influence on it?
Jacqueline O’Neill, Canadian Ambassador
Women are not “intrinsically more peaceful” than men, Ms.me O’Neill, but they bring new perspectives and broaden the range of issues addressed in any peace process because of their lived experiences, such as having children, caring for family members and, in many parts of the world, being responsible for the household.
“It’s about saying that the best decisions and the best outcomes happen when the people most affected by those decisions have a say. When they’re closest to the people affected, the whole process is strengthened,” said Canada’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security.