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Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development FAAE Ï NUMBER 065 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 41st PARLIAMENT EVIDENCE Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Chair Mr. Dean Allison 1 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Ï (1100) I'm here today with my colleague, Stéphane Michaud, who just [English] returned from a four-month mission in Mali in September. Stéphane will be available to answer questions as well. The Chair (Mr. Dean Allison (Niagara West—Glanbrook, CPC)): Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), our briefing on the Before I turn it over to Robert Young of the International situation in Mali will start. Committee of the Red Cross, I will focus on three key points: the I want to extend greetings to our witnesses today for being here importance of investing in long-term development activities; the and for once again coming on such short notice. unique capacity of the Mali Red Cross; and our plans moving forward. We have Mr. Chris Rosene, who is director of development programs, international, for the Canadian Red Cross. Allow me to give committee members some background on our long-term development activities in Mali. We feel it is important to Welcome, sir. You'll be starting off for us. highlight these because the Canadian Red Cross has had a longstanding experience and history of working in Mali dating back We also have Stéphane Michaud, senior manager of emergency to 1986, and a partnership with the Mali Red Cross. These programs response for international operations. are made possible thanks to the generosity of the Government of Welcome to you, sir, as well. Canada and the Canadian public. From the International Committee of the Red Cross, we have As the conflict unfolds in Mali, the Canadian Red Cross stands Robert Young, who is a senior delegate. with our partner, the Mali Red Cross, during these difficult times, and we will be there to continue to support them when the conflict Mr. Young, welcome to you. ends. It's important for us to keep in mind that this type of longer- term work will help us stay the course and will have an impact on Last but not least, as an individual we have Mr. Robert Fowler, saving lives, and hopefully reduce the humanitarian impact should who is a senior fellow of the Graduate School of Public and further tensions arise. International Affairs of the University of Ottawa and a long-time member of our foreign service. Examples of the long-term work include development programs Welcome. I'm glad to have you here as well, sir. that improve the health of women and children, such as malaria prevention and vaccination campaigns. In 2007, the Canadian Red Mr. Rosene, why don't we start with you? Cross, through support from the Canadian government and public donations, worked with the Mali Red Cross and the Mali Ministry of I believe you have anywhere from eight to ten minutes for a Health to deliver 1.8 million mosquito bed nets as part of an presentation. We'll have all the presentations, and then we'll go back integrated child survival campaign that also provided measles and and forth to the witnesses over the next hour, for the members to ask polio vaccinations and other medication to over 2.8 million children questions. under five. Thank you once again for being here. Core to our mandate of preparing for and responding to disasters, We'll turn the floor over to you, Mr. Rosene. We look forward to in 2009 we started a five-year program to build the capacity of the your testimony. Mali Red Cross to respond to emergencies and to improve service delivery and community-based programs in four regions of Mali. Mr. Chris Rosene (Director, Development Programs, Interna- tional, Canadian Red Cross): Thank you, Mr. Chair. Since 2011, our work in Mali has continued to focus on maternal Thanks very much for giving the Canadian Red Cross an and child health programs through to 2014. These health programs opportunity to address the committee today. will ensure that life-saving interventions are delivered to address critical childhood illness and will reach a further 875,000 people, My name is Chris Rosene, director for development programs in including more than 150,000 children under five. These efforts the international operations division of the Canadian Red Cross. continue to progress despite the conflict. 2 FAAE-65 February 12, 2013 We are also responding to the current food security crisis that is Let me first express the ICRC's sincere thanks to the Government taking place in parallel with the conflict in Mali and the other nations of Canada for ongoing financial support for our work in Mali in of the Sahel region. The Canadian Red Cross is supporting Canadian particular, including the $2 million announced recently in Addis experts in-country to reinforce the Mali Red Cross management of Ababa. This kind of support allows the ICRC to carry out our the food crisis. mandate, entrusted to us by states as a neutral, impartial, and independent humanitarian actor in armed conflict and other I would like to emphasize the important role of the Mali Red situations of violence. Cross during this current crisis. The Mali Red Cross was founded in 1965 by an act of its government as an auxiliary to the public authorities. It has been fulfilling this mandate particularly in the As you know, the structure of the conflict in Mali has changed areas of disaster response and in training of nurses and first aid. It significantly in recent weeks with the involvement of other currently has a network of 7,500 volunteers, which allows it to have countries. The Malian and allied armies to a great extent control a vast reach across the country, including in the north, in transition the cities of Gao, Timbuktu, and Kidal, where the ICRC continues to areas like Mopti and Timbuktu. Responding to conflict and other be present and operating. From the humanitarian and security parallel issues is not unlike the situation faced by other national standpoints, the situation is critical. The conflict is not over. societies in this same region, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d'Ivoire, who have all played crucial roles in times of crisis. In all conflicts around the world where ICRC operates, we seek to In addition, the Mali Red Cross will have a vital role to play post- establish dialogue with all of the parties involved. This includes conflict. It will be very important not to lose sight of the remaining confidential dialogue to promote respect for humanitarian law and to needs once the conflict ends, be it in relation to food security or discuss alleged violations of IHL. This is the case in Mali, where the recovery activities to rebuild the country. The Canadian Red Cross ICRC has been present since 1982, and where we've increased our stands ready to continue this capacity-building work with the Mali operations over the last 30 months. Since the conflict began in Red Cross. January 2012, we've been explaining our strictly humanitarian mandate to government forces and armed groups alike throughout To conclude, Mr. Chair, the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement is Mali. This dialogue has been essential to the acceptance of the ICRC able to have a wide range of coordinated activities in Mali and in the by all of the various parties, helping to ensure our continued access region. Canadian support has allowed for a building of local through all regions of Mali. Today we have 100 staff across Mali, capacity, thus strengthening their ability to respond to multiple based in offices in Bamako, Gao, Timbuktu, Kidal, and Mopti. issues: conflict, food crises, and health needs. Unfortunately, we anticipate that humanitarian needs will continue Throughout the conflict, and to date, the ICRC has been granted in the coming months. At the Canadian Red Cross it is our job to access to all of these key centres, as well as to the remote rural areas plan for the worst and be prepared for the unexpected. We have around them, where few organizations have access. We have made contingency plans accordingly, including plans to support the managed to maintain staff presence in the north, with some minor Mali Red Cross in its current and post-conflict activities. interruptions. This has ensured our access to the most vulnerable I'd now like to turn it over to Robert Young of the International people in the Gao, Kidal, Timbuktu, and Mopti regions, providing Committee of the Canadian Red Cross before we take questions. them with food and other essential aid, in cooperation with the Mali Red Cross, with whom we work closely. Ï (1105) Thank you. My colleague from the Canadian Red Cross has explained the The Chair: Mr. Young. important role of the Mali Red Cross, and I won't elaborate here. [Translation] Mr. Robert Young (Senior Delegate, International Committee Our own operations in Mali are backed by our regional delegation of the Red Cross): Mr. Chair, I want to start by thanking the in Niamey, Niger, where we also work closely with the Niger Red committee for inviting the International Committee of the Red Cross, Cross, which is also responding to the crisis in Mali. or ICRC, to appear. [English] Beyond the food assistance to more than 700,000 people we have I'm Robert Young, the ICRC's representative in Ottawa, part of provided to date, I'd like to give you a few snapshots of some of our our regional delegation for Canada and the U.S.