(ISIL) Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and I
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CANADA’S RESPONSE TO THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND THE LEVANT (ISIL) Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Dean Allison Chair MARCH 2015 41st PARLIAMENT, SECOND SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. Reproduction or use outside this permission or without authorization may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act. Authorization may be obtained on written application to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. 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Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca CANADA’S RESPONSE TO THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND THE LEVANT (ISIL) Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Dean Allison Chair MARCH 2015 41st PARLIAMENT, SECOND SESSION STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CHAIR Dean Allison VICE-CHAIRS Paul Dewar Marc Garneau MEMBERS Lois Brown Romeo Saganash Peter Goldring Gary Ralph Schellenberger Laurie Hawn Bernard Trottier Hélène Laverdière OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED David Anderson Nina Grewal CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Joann Garbig LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Allison Goody Brian Hermon iii THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT has the honour to present its EIGHTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2) the Committee has studied Canada's response to the violence, religious persecution and dislocation caused by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS CANADA’S RESPONSE TO THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND THE LEVANT (ISIL) ............................................................................................................................... 1 THE COMMITTEE’S STUDY ....................................................................................... 1 A. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 B. Overview ............................................................................................................. 1 THE RISE OF ISIL ....................................................................................................... 3 A. Origins ................................................................................................................ 3 B. ISIL’s Expansion in Syria and Iraq ...................................................................... 4 C. The Regional Context ......................................................................................... 6 ISIL’S IDEOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 10 THE CONSEQUENCES OF ISIL’S RISE .................................................................. 14 A. ISIL’s Record of Barbarism ............................................................................... 14 B. A Humanitarian Crisis ....................................................................................... 17 C. The Destruction of Diversity .............................................................................. 20 THE RESPONSE TO ISIL’S RISE ............................................................................. 21 A. The International Response .............................................................................. 21 B. Canada’s Role .................................................................................................. 24 C. Halting ISIL’s Advance ...................................................................................... 27 THE STRATEGIC CONTEXT AND WAY FORWARD ............................................... 29 COMBATTING TERRORISM .................................................................................... 32 A. ISIL’s Sources of Financing .............................................................................. 32 B. Recruitment ...................................................................................................... 34 C. A Counter-Narrative .......................................................................................... 35 STRENGTHENING IRAQ .......................................................................................... 37 A. The Legacy of Mistrust and Exclusion .............................................................. 38 B. Security Sector Reform ..................................................................................... 39 C. Governance Reform ......................................................................................... 42 D. Reconstruction and Reconciliation ................................................................... 43 ADDRESSING THE CONFLICT IN SYRIA ................................................................ 45 A. A Protracted Humanitarian Crisis ...................................................................... 46 B. A Political Solution ............................................................................................ 47 vii COUNTERING EXTREMISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST ............................................... 49 A. Governance ...................................................................................................... 49 B. Religious Freedom ............................................................................................ 51 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................ 53 APPENDIX A: LIST OF WITNESSES ........................................................................... 57 APPENDIX B: LIST OF BRIEFS ................................................................................... 61 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE ............................................................. 63 SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA .... 65 viii CANADA’S RESPONSE TO THE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND THE LEVANT (ISIL) THE COMMITTEE’S STUDY A. Introduction The House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (“the Committee”) has studied the violence, persecution and dislocation perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq, Syria and the region,1 and the Government of Canada’s response.2 The Committee heard from a range of witnesses, including Canada’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs and National Defence, departmental officials, academics, representatives of think tanks and humanitarian relief organizations, and faith and community leaders. The Committee’s last meeting with witnesses was held on 17 February 2015. B. Overview The Committee’s meetings highlighted the misery that has been inflicted by ISIL, a terrorist organization whose actions and methods violate human rights, human dignity and international law. The ideology espoused by ISIL is an affront to basic tenets of individual liberty and tolerance. The group is an existential threat to all who are present where it operates. Then-Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird3 provided a succinct description of ISIL during his appearance before the Committee in January 2015. He warned the Committee that ISIL exhibits “all the attributes of a cult, even a death cult.” What that means, in his words, is that, “Anyone who doesn't subscribe to their view of Islam, to their view of the world, is an enemy.”4 People have been killed by ISIL for simply belonging to a certain group or holding a certain faith. Others have been forced to flee with nothing. If left unchecked, ISIL could destroy the ethnic and religious diversity of Syria and Iraq. Moreover, ISIL threatens the region’s stability – acting as a magnet for extremist fighters, and seeking to establish adherents in countries beyond Syria and Iraq, while ignoring the borders and sovereignty of both. In short, the Committee’s study confirmed that ISIL is a malevolent organization that must be defeated. 1 In testimony to the Committee, witnesses also referred to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) by its other names: the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria / Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), Daesh and the Islamic State (IS). For the purposes of consistency, unless part of a direct